My Memoir

The bang of the door echoed throughout the hallway. I walked slowly inside the pitch-black apartment, shivering from the cold drizzle outside. I tip-toed in my ninja-like way in to the kitchen and clicked on the light, partly hiding behind the closet door, just in case there was anyone out there, waiting to attack. I’d always felt like there was someone watching you, their yellow, beady eyes following your every move, even though I knew there was nothing there. That’s why I loved the rain. It made me feel like those eyes shut closed and don’t open until the rain stopped. I looked out in to the dim hallway before walking out. It was then that my energetic brother ran into me, spinning around like a tornado. Out of nowhere, my dad walked through the door carrying fifteen bags of groceries in each arm. Both of them were drenched from head to toe. And there we were, the crazies of the building, all standing under one roof, safe from the gloomy skies. But the safety didn’t last for long. My father kindly suggested that the family to take a walk in the rain.

I had been sitting on the couch in my fluffy white robe that fit me awkwardly, being that it was twice the size of me, slipping my milky hot chocolate. Taking one last swig, I jumped up off the couch and put on my sneakers. Then, looking back at the dining room table, I found my brother still making his way to the bottom of his mug. I stepped out of the doorway into the echoing hallway that held the entrance into the pouring rain.

As I took the first foot into the gloominess, I took in a deep breath. The air was misty but fresh, like it was breathing for the first time. I ran up ahead of my father, down the block, further onto the abandoned street. The street lights were majestic and had an orange glow to them, making the whole block seem like a fairytale. And after my dad caught up with me, he held my hand like I was only 5, and crossed the intersection even though there was not a soul in sight.

The rain was filling up the neighborhood, in the gutters, around the car tires, engulfing everything around. I stood on a bench at first, letting the rain sift through me, dancing on my skin, soaking my hair. My father sat next to me, just looking out into the nothingness. We then decided to go to the park. The trees billowed in the howling wind. The leaves circled around me. the water grew its own tiny waves, and the grass was losing the fight against the wind. I splashed into the three feet of water, not even caring about my ruined sneakers. I kicked and spinned and danced throughout the park. I jumped up on the benches and climbed over the fences. At one point, I sat back on the same bench next to my dad and closed my eyes, enjoying the last moments of the storm before the sun weighed it down in defeat, bringing civilization back to the world.