All The Stars In The Sky

state of mind

i'd pick your thunder,
i'd pick your rain, 
over anyone's sunshine, 
any day.

There are two sides to everything. Just like two sides to a coin, two sides to a story and two sides to any situation. It just depends on which side you see.

This is the story of a girl who learned that lesson; and learned to be happy.

------------

It's raining again.

The streets are silent except for a couple of children on the sidewalks, splashing through the puddles that have gathered after the rain.

In her apartment across the street, Annaliese sits cross-legged on the floor of her balcony, a mug of steaming hot chocolate held tightly between cold fingers as she peers down at them.

She knows that even though it rains constantly, the city she lives in is anything but dreary. It's constantly busy, constantly moving forward.

Too loud, too busy.

When she looks down, she can see strings of colorful lights everywhere- wound around streetlamps, tied from one signpost to another.

Annaliese supposes rainy places don't always have to be grim and gloomy.

She notices that the empty apartment across hers now has a light in its window.

Weird, she thinks. It's been empty for as long as she can remember.

As if on cue, a head pokes out of the window. A mop of dark curls and a dimpled smile, hands cupped around a pot of colorful flowers.

"Hey!" a cheerful voice calls across the space between their balconies.

Annaliese gives a small wave. The brown-haired boy leans over his balcony, ready to say something, but Annaliese is already back inside her apartment, curtains drawn over the windows.

--------

The window blinds are drawn back.

Sunlight streams into the apartment. The cheerful ring of a bike carries across the street, and Annaliese squints, the noise and light too much for her to handle on an early Saturday morning.

Light rain is still dripping from the sky, but her new neighbor is already out on his balcony.

He looks up, smiling.

It's probably too early to shout across the space between them, and the boy must realize that, because he simply waves. Then he ducks into his apartment. Annaliese thinks he's gone inside, but he reappears a few minutes later with a giant cardboard sign.

"Good morning" is written across it. Annaliese smiles a real smile for the first time in weeks, and she waves back.

----------

Annaliese hasn't been outside in a long time.

She doesn't enjoy going outside.

But today it's sunny, and Annaliese has unexpectedly found herself downtown, sitting in a coffee shop opposite a busy city. High rise buildings, cars and taxis leaving just as suddenly as they arrive, strangers with their own agendas and jobs. Everyone seems to have a sense of purpose.

She brings out her laptop, deciding she might as well as get some work done. Annaliese isn't particularly fond of her job. In fact, it's quite the opposite. Working with deadlines and endless piles of calculations stresses her out.