Boston Rain

I stared up at the dismal skies smiling. They say sad people like the rain. I think that is because at least to me the rain is a sign that the sky is crying for me. Like a god that has claimed pity. Or a friend hugging you tightly after you whispered your secrets to them. It was enough to overcome grief at least for a short enough time.

The city looked grim despite my happy mood as I walked down the street slowly compared to the others who were running through the rain. A student held their backpack mercilessly over their head as they stumbled through the doorway of the indoor mall complex. I wanted to linger outside a little longer but I knew better than to block the door.

I too stepped inside shuffling my feet along the carpet before stepping onto the cool white tiles of the hall's floor. My small backpack had a notebook and some pencils along with my laptop. I had opted to leave my skateboard at home. The streets were hazardously flooded from the downpour outside but I still imagined riding along it indoors. The smooth floor allowing me to basically float from place to place.

I couldn’t help but sigh at the thought. The rain was nice but so was the breeze when I rode. Guess that you can’t get the best of both worlds can you. It was desolate indoors. Most people didn’t opt to go in the rain at all and the few who were mad enough to go out seeked shelter here.

Most of them were young and seemed content with scrolling through their phone and sipping whatever beverage they were holding. I wasn’t planning on picking up my phone until I heard it buzz.

Sorry gonna be late, traffic sucks with this rain, Ari texted me. She always hated cloudy days. Something about them made her so grim. I could see how her eyebrows would wrinkle in dismay over the pitiful weather as she stared over the steering wheel of her small black beetle.

It was almost enough to make me dislike the rain too. Almost. If it weren’t for the fact that this mall felt so damn peaceful. If it weren’t for the fact that the rain and wind tousled my hair like my older brother would when we were kids. It was enough to make me laugh like when I was a kid. Enough so that when the rain and wind left I would miss them. Just like I missed him.

For now he was here. Ruining people's days like he always used to. Creating a wave of chaos down the streets of Boston with a smile on his face. Running by as people muttered curses and dropped their groceries. Making men’s suits soaked and glasses fall off faces. Kicking up mud and splashing in puddles until he reached the ocean.

That’s where he slept at least where I guessed. I imagined he sunk to the ocean floor of the harbor and lay there peacefully looking up at the lights of the city as if they were the stars in the sky. He told me about that. How light pollution made it so you could never really see the beauty of all those stars. I’m sure when he’s down there he believed or at the very least pretended that all those glittering lights were the Galaxy staring back at him.

I remembered how he brushed up against me looking up in the planetarium in wonder. We must have gone hundreds of times. I would kill to see the stars with him again. Real stars. A Trip to Antarctica or something.

I sighed being taken back to present by the snapping of the front door opening and closing in the wind. I couldn’t resist stepping through the door as my brother held it open for me letting it snap shut behind me. He tousled my hair once more and started to walk back out to the sea. I escorted him the whole way, the two of us crying as we reached the docks.