Dating : Above the clouds

Emily wasn’t a fan of the rain. She didn’t like to say that she hated things, but she’d go so far as to say she hated the rain.

Thunder echoed through the sky, and a crack of lightning could be seen reflecting off of the mirrored buildings from an unknown location. Emily stood at the lobby of her workplace, reluctant to make the trek home. She could see straight through the massive glass entrance. People in suits and large coats with their umbrellas above them. Bustling, weaving through each other, trying to get to their next destination as quickly as possible. Heavy rain was pounding down on them all, with a strong wind behind it. It was a funny sight to see. Everyone walking from her right to left was leaning into the wind, pushing into it with their umbrellas like Spartans trying to make their way through their enemies. The people going from her left to right were just trying to not get knocked down by the wind hitting their backs.

“The wind is like a big schoolyard bully,” Emily thought to herself, “Just running up and shoving people from behind. Jerk.”

She watched people going in and out of the building. Everyone coming in was soaked, and they all had a look of relief. Everyone walking out did so with gusto. They knew they’d have to brave the weather, so they faced it head-on. Emily knew that she had to do the same — face the rain head-on — that would be her best bet to making it home in one piece. Well, it wouldn’t be head-on because she would have to turn right as soon as she walked out of the door so the wind would be at her back… but you get the reference.

Emily wasn’t one to face anything head-on. She had been standing in that lobby for an unreasonably long time. Honestly, she had planned to stay in that lobby until the storm had passed or at the very least until the rain had subsided. If you wanted to know the truth about Emily, how she was handling the rain was the same way she got through a lot of her life. Limited conflict. Emily hated confrontation.

In fifth grade, Emily asked to switch schools when the other kids made fun of her for bringing roast duck for lunch. In high school, she had her best friend Kate break up with her boyfriend for her. Just last week, Emily stopped herself from asking for a promotion. Her justifications were that “Maybe it was too soon,” and “Maybe I haven’t proven myself enough.”

It was now or never, she had been standing in that stupid lobby for long enough. She did a quick check. Handbag, on. Coat, buttoned. Shoelaces, tied. Umbrella, ready. Emily took a deep breath and braced herself. She headed for the door. She made sure to walk with purpose. That’s what her father always told her to do.

“If you’re going to confront anything, you have to do so with purpose,” is what he’d say to Emily.

She went through the revolving door and immediately popped her umbrella open. Emily took a sharp right turn and merged into the pace of the crowd. A strong gust of wind hit her from behind, and she stumbled forward a bit. She felt the tug of the umbrella and grabbed it with her other hand to keep it from blowing away. As she regained her balance the wind suddenly changed directions. It was like it had stopped for a split second and now another gust hit the front of her body. Emily started to fall backward. She closed her eyes. The wind kept coming, and oddly enough it was keeping her up. She held onto her umbrella. It was difficult to open her eyes due to the rain, but she realized that she hadn’t fallen. The wind was carrying her backward. People started moving out of the way to let her by.

Soon, her feet were dragging only by her tiptoes. She was a foot off the ground. Three feet. She started asking people for help, but everyone just went about their busy lives. Emily was above peoples’ heads now. She was no longer going backward, but she was more so heading up. The rain was still pouring, and she was being whirled around a bit. She tried to yell to the people in the tall buildings she was passing by, but no one paid her any mind. Soon, she was above the buildings. She spotted her apartment building. She could even make out her balcony. It had the white lawn chair outside that she liked to sit on and have a cigarette in the mornings. The people below her started to look like scuttling ants.

“Dengit,” Emily said out loud to herself. She realized that she was probably going to miss her favorite show.

She got to the clouds. They were dark and angry. She could see the thunder rumbling through them. Lightning struck in the distance. Emily held her umbrella tightly. The roar of the storm was deafening. She was being whipped around violently through the clouds.

Then, as quickly as she had entered the tempest, she found serenity. Her head poked out from the clouds. Emily could still see the sparks of thunder scattered throughout them, but she was slowly rising above them. The setting sun was behind her. Gently, the wind turned her around and pushed her forward towards it. She was headed west.

A moment later, Emily saw something that surprised her. As she continued to rise, a set of feet came into vision. There were more of them, dozens! The feet became legs. A torso followed. Then a face. She was face-to-face with a man holding an umbrella of his own. Emily no longer felt a lift, she was simply gliding.

“Howdy!” the man said to her. “How’re you today?”

The man had a long grey handlebar mustache. He wore a tan suit, a green vest, held a suitcase with one hand and his umbrella with the other. All the other people had umbrellas as well, but they were all dressed in various garbs and apparel. As Emily looked around at them in awe, some smiled and others waved. She waved back to them.

“Hi,” Emily said hesitantly.

“Where are you off to today?” the man said jovially.

“I’m not sure,” Emily responded. “I just got swept up with the wind and now I’m here. Where are we, anyway?”

“That’s alright, sometimes we never know where we’re going. But this group, we go where the wind takes us,” he responded. “And as for where we are, we’re above the clouds!”

Emily thought that sounded nice, going wherever she wanted to.

“How do you get down?” Emily asked.

“Here,” the man said as he handed her a pair of scissors. “I had an extra set just-in-case. If you want to go down, just poke a hole or two in your umbrella!”

The group traveled together all around. Some people left. New faces joined. Emily got to meet a variety of people from all over the world. She loved meeting new people, and she learned quite a few new greetings.

Anyoung haseyo

Selamat siang

Merhaba

Goedendag

Olá

They told stories, made jokes, and even shared food. Soon, the man with the tan suit left, and Emily found that she was the one telling first-timers about what was happening. The best part of being where they were above the clouds — was that the sun was always shining.

After a bit of time had passed, Emily realized she was missing something. She thought of her little white lawn chair. Sitting out on the balcony and watching the cars roll by. Hearing the horns and the never-ending noise of the city. She remembered her parents and her friends. They were probably worried about her. But the one thing that she reflected on the most… that she yearned for… was rain.

With that, Emily took the scissors out of her back pocket and punched a hole in her umbrella. And she did so with purpose.