Pouring

Posted on by gmfx

The screaming of panic in Javi’s ears was almost as loud as the roar of the pouring rain. He hadn’t been able to beat the rain to the laundromat, and he hadn’t been able to wait out the storm either.

“You need a lift?”

Javi barely noticed the words as the blurred and warped in the falling sheets of water. What was he going to do?

“Hey 5G!” Javi started, suddenly able to focus on the truck idling at the curb. “Hop in,” the driver said. Javi recognized the silver-haired woman as someone who lived down the hall from him, but he still hesitated.

Electric purple radiance.

A breath.

BOOOOM!

It was barely six paces to the door of the waiting vehicle, but he was still soaked by the time he was sitting in the truck.

“Crazy shit, eh?” she said with a squinty smile. And then they were driving.

“Thanks . . . uh . . .”

“Valerie.”

“Valerie. I’m Javi.”

The cab of the truck smelled like cats and cigarettes. Javi held his laundry bag close, feeling intensely uncomfortable. But then he heard the words coming through the stereo:

“My gift is my song, and this one’s for you.”

“My sister loves this song,” he said.

“No shit?” Vallerie answered genially. “And I thought kids these days hated the oldies.”

“Some.”

“This is my wedding playlist,” she explained. “I play it every year on my anniversary.”

“Oh,” Javi said. Then, when he realized what an inadequate response that was, he added, “Congratulations.”

“For what? Oh, you mean the— Well thanks, but the sunovabitch died twenty years ago, so it’s not exactly a confetti and streamers sort of day, you know?”

Rain pounded on the roof of the car. Javi clenched his teeth. Elton John crooned. Javi wanted to be anywhere else in the world.

“I hope you don’t mind, I hope you don’t mind . . .”

It was only another minute before they pulled into the apartment lot, splashing through potholes. “Thank you for the ride,” Javi said, hand already on the door handle.

“Of course!” Valerie said brightly. “And listen, I’m always happy to help a neighbor, so feel free to ask anytime you need a lift.”

“Sure,” Javi said, with no intention of ever getting into this truck again.

Valerie eased the car into a parking spot, but just before coming to a stop, she said, “And Javi.”

“Yes?”

“Thank you.” He blinked. Valerie flashed another squinty smile at his confusion. “I know I’m just some crazy old lady. And like I said, this is a complicated day for me. But it always helps to talk to folks, remind myself that there are people out there other than me. And here you are! 5G is an actual person, with laundry and a sister and everything.” She looked up at the building they both called home. “There’s a whole lot of life out there. And that really is worth celebrating.”

Radiance.

A breath.

The world shook.

“How wonderful life is, now you’re in the world.”

* * *

Story by Gregory M. Fox

Rain

Posted on by gmfx

Reflections of red and green danced in the falling rain. She hugged herself tightly as she walked. Nothing could stop the chill seeping in through her sweater, but it was the only comfort she had.

Lights from behind. A revving engine. She turned sharply, ducked down a narrow alley and just kept walking. The car didn’t even slow.

She kept walking.

Water poured into her shoes. Thunder rattled her bones. She leaned against a wall, trying to remember how to breathe. She stared up at street signs trying to make the letters into words. And then she was in front of the building, not even knowing how she had arrived.

She stood on the sidewalk for a long time, then turned back toward the road. The asphalt sparkled, faintly in the cold darkness. She climbed the steps and knocked.

Nothing.

She knocked again, paused barely a moment, then knocked again furiously. Sharp pain in her numb fingers as her knuckles wrapped on the wood.

A light sprang to life in the apartment. No sound.

She knocked even harder than before until finally the door opened. Her sister’s face, haloed by warm, steady light.

“Penny?”

“I don’t know where to go.”

* * *

Story by Gregory M. Fox

Rain

Posted on by gmfx

Don’t think I haven’t been faithful or even happy.  Because I have.  All I’m trying to say is that I’ve never been able to love my wife with my whole heart.

When I was eighteen, I went out into a field during the rain.  I danced, splashing in the mud.  There was a girl walking through the tall grass and singing a sad, slow song.  And she kissed me once before going on her way.  When the rain was gone, so was she.

I loved her.

But I never saw her again.  A month later I met the woman who would be my wife.  She came like a ray of sunshine and illuminated all of the dark recesses of my heart.  It was in her that I first knew myself, and her warmth helped me accept all of the wild shadows I had never realized were inside of me.  She was comfort and stability.

We were happy.  We have always been happy together.

But whenever it rains, I remember that kiss beneath the clouds.  I remember the taste and rhythm of untamed passion that fell into my life.  And for a moment, my wife does not have all my love.

     *     *     *

Story by Gregory M. Fox
from A Breath of Fiction’s archives
originally published November 4, 2010