Life experience.
Early summer rain came with thunders crashing and lightning striking the sky in competition for bravery. The brightness and the loudness could have come from the joy of the changes in season. Rain, thunder, lightning, and the warmth of the summer in Georgia, USA, was my sudden invite to walk into the downpour and just be.
I sat in the middle of the back lawn in a cotton salwar and kameez, taking in the calming wetness. While the rain soaked my clothes until they stuck to me like a new layer of skin, I opened my ponytail and let the hair loose to take all the rain I could on my head. I had to blend in thoroughly with the grass on which I sat.
Within a short time, the heavy downpour created pools in random places across the lawn. The lower patches of the ground became magical mini lakes, and the ground around them looked like mini islands. I got up and started to walk barefoot on the grass. I took careful steps but was unsure of the ground under the water. With every step, the water splashed around me. Grassblades that were sharp tickled my feet. I wondered if I was going to step on earthworms or something. The thrill of walking in the rainwater and having big fat drops shower me was too big a treat to go inside the house.
Blinding streaks of lightning made me close my eyes. Were the streaks of lights playing with me? Why…