“Monsoon is here!” she heard the presenter on the radio. The
forecast said there would be heavy rainfall the following week. She thought to
herself, “Better carry my umbrella.” She remembered last year when she was
drenched to the bones when she forgot her umbrella and had to go to the work. It
was the most embarrassing day of her life.
She had only started
her new job a month before. Her boss had her do a report on the earthquake that
devastated the country a few months earlier and she was supposed to submit it
that day. She reached the office all wet and drops of water dripping down her
long pointed nose. She was never into makeup like the most city girls of her
age, but had worn a light streak of mascara to make her more presentable for
the presentation she was to give. To her horror, her mascara had smudged all
around her eyes and that she thought she looked like some ghost. Her long black
hair looked as if she had just come out of a bath.
She felt angry at herself for not bringing an umbrella and
nearly broke into tears thinking that all the other employees must have thought
she was stupid. Her co-workers, however, helped her clean up and her boss moved
her presentation the next day so she could replace the papers that had been
damaged by the rain.
She opened her cupboard, took out a small yellow umbrella
and put it in her bag. She had had this umbrella for some years now. It was a
gift from her friends at the college on her birthday. They used to have so much
fun during the birthdays of each other. The birthday girl was thrown a party by
other friends in their group and they used to try out new restaurants every time.
They also had a pact that the birthday gift should be useful. On her birthday that
year, they had a blast at this fancy Italian restaurant just about fifteen
minutes from their hostel.
Seeing that umbrella took her back to those days when all
her friends would run and play in the rain without any hesitation. She had
argued that the umbrella was not a useful gift as they loved the rain too much.
Oh, how that had changed over the years.
She always liked the rain ever since she was small. There
was so much memory that associated with rainy days. Her father used to let her
skip school if it rained too heavily. He used to say, “It’s raining heavily,
you will get sick in this rain. So, stay home but do study a little.” The whole
family met at her house and prepared momos.
She loved hot momos on cool rainy
days.
She also loved the rain for romantic reasons. She had her
first kiss on a rainy day. She and her first
boyfriend were on a date in this
lovely park on the edge of the valley and it had suddenly started to rain
heavily. They did not have an umbrella so they were standing under a tree even
though it helped very little. Her boyfriend had grabbed her by her hip and had gently
kissed her. She still can’t describe what she felt on that day but she always
remembered her first kiss very fondly.
She was all occupied in her thoughts when there was another
announcement on the radio. The voice
on the radio read the news, “Heavy
downpour has caused a number of landslides that have claimed the lives of
thirteen, injured hundreds and unknown numbers of people are still missing.” That
news threw her back. She suddenly felt very sad, even devastated. She always
was an emotional person, not able to see sorrows of others. But this news
flooded her harsh memories and her eyes were wet.
Her mascara ran all around
her eyes. It was not the rain but tears that did it. She remembered why she did
not like monsoon anymore.
Three years ago, her parents were coming to meet her in her
college for her graduation. She had been so excited to see her father and
mother after a long time. She was trying her robes when she got a call that the
car her parents were travelling in was caught in a landslide and they were killed.
She pulled herself together, cleaned up and got ready to go to
her office. Her big brown eyes were always filled with joy when she was young.
But now, those beautiful eyes shared a mix of the same innocence of the young
and the substance of an independent women hardened by what she had experienced
in her life.
She came out onto the street. Huge clouds roared
ready to pour an ocean in the sky and in her heart. She opened her yellow
umbrella and disappeared into the crowd to live that day, just like everyone
else did.
