The rain

What was a gentle fall of rain turned heavy shortly after I went outside. It was lunchtime; the way to food was through the rain. As I walked further, the rain intensified, until I got to a point where the buildings were no longer taking the brunt of the force from the wind and the rain. The rain was battering in my eyes; the rain was sharp, like pins. With the rain so heavy, and my glasses obscured due to the water on them, I could barely see. A few seconds later, I got to a shop to buy lunch; refuge.

When I walked in, someone in the line asked whether I could see, to which I cheerily responded “no!”; amid a storm, there was a sense of community. A few of us got talking about the weather. We were smiling. I like to think we made the time as enjoyable as we could; we all knew that we would have to be outside soon, so we may as well make the most of the warm weather.

The line was almost out of the door but we all moved to make room for whoever needed to come in. Indoors was a bit cramped, but preferable to the outdoors.

Whereas standing in line is often a solitary practice, in that lunch shop, for a few moments, there was joy, bound by our shared experience of going through the stormy weather. Despite the rain, I enjoyed the lunch time break, enhanced by the words exchanged with people with whom I had never spoken who were standing in line.