Rain

Carmen had always loved the rain.

The rain brought with it a sense of serendipity and a cold feeling of longing. Longing for warmth, for fire, for love. Longing to feel anything. It awakened within her a sort of comfort - a contemplative reverie, as if time stopped and her mind was free to journey wherever it wished. Out of the lonely, damp streets, to a dream of a place where she was loved and supported. Where hatred had no meaning, and all of time stood still. Her happy place. As she grew older, it faded more and more. The darkness of the world invaded the light, turning it sour and barren. Only when it rained did the flicker of those warm imaginings return, painting pictures in her mind of a fictional better time. In addition, the rain washed away the traces of a footprint, a trail, or even blood. Beneficial for someone involved in criminal activities. Older and more jaded, Carmen saw the rain as the tears of the sky - a beautiful outpouring of emotion; emotion she wasn’t allowed to feel. With the Hellcats, emotion was weakness - and showing any weakness would get you killed.

Daisy loved the rain for different reasons.

The rain nurtures the land, bringing life to plants and animals alike. Everyone went inside when it rained - the rain provided a special kind of solitude; one to be appreciated for what it was. The life-giving properties of the rain were beautiful in her eyes. Everything looked greener under the raindrops; more vibrant. Even the thrumming of rain on pavement was beautiful - a soft, soothing sound that never failed to bring with it a fog of calmness.

Whenever it rained, Daisy would stop whatever she was doing, run outside, and let it coat her skin. She didn’t care that her long fur soaked up the moisture like a sponge. She didn’t care about the weird looks she received, nor the danger of lightning. The rain gave her life like it did the flowers she cared for.

It rained the day she died.

It was one of the most torrential downpours Carmen had ever experienced. Thunder shook the sky and lightning illuminated the slick redness of the street. The day she saw her love lying lifeless before her; the day she signed that fated contract to bring her back in exchange for her own soul. The day of her monstrous transformation into something unholy, the day her name had been screamed over and over as she succumbed to her own wounds.

Those memories are long since gone, leaving naught but ghosts in the mind. I used to love the rain. A fact she knows with what certainty she has about her past life. Now it brings nothing but headaches. The thunderstorms are the worst, bringing headaches so intense that they leave her bedridden. Laden with memories desperately trying to be remembered. Then comes the guilt, the pain, the grief. She’s not sure why, but it hurts all the same.