Strawberry Stone

Rain Part 2

TW: Homophobia

Rain. It had kept drumming down on the roof of the house, and wearing down the walls. But, like all things, it came to an end, exactly 22 hours and 19 minutes after Wisteria logged off Minecraft. It was 10:04 when the rain stopped.

And, as usual, Wisteria was asle-

Oh. Nope.

The teenager was up. She'd woken up at 5 when a call had rang out through the house, coming from the vintage-style spray cyan-green phone set upon a wooden set of drawers in her dad's office. Upon stepping into the room, set between the kitchen and bathroom, nostalgia had flowed into her. She remembered when she was 12, and played Minecraft on the computer. Making friends on Hypixel, losing sleep over that one toxic friend. The biz.

"Hello?" Wisteria winced at how raspy and grumbly her voice was. Morning voice.

"Hi Wist." Her dad's voice came from the receiver. His voice was a high pitched one, and it always had the quality of someone looking on at the world for the first time after a depressive episode: amazed. He sounded close to half alive, specifically in their song called 'creature'. He held a funny british accent. Wisteria heard the sounds of a road in the background: the whoosh of cars passing, music playing from the radio set on Bluetooth. It painted an image within her mind: the man sitting in the old family's small java blue van, his phone pinned between his ear and his shoulder, driving along. "So sorry I didn't tell you yesterday, or woke you up. I came in and you looked so peaceful. I was so excited. Throughout the entirety of the next three weeks, I'll be away. First two weeks, there's a convention, and the last week, a colleague of mine," Wisteria didn't miss the odd way he said colleague. It was suspicious. "needed help with spriting. He wants me to show him physically. So, I- dang it."

"What?" Wisteria asked, awaiting what it was 'dang it' worthy.

"I meant to go down to Miss Archer's before I left for this week's delivery, but I forgot." He sounded incredibly disappointed, the frown on his face like a smile: Wisteria could hear it.

"I can go get it." Wisteria offered. Her dad perked up, the smile back in his voice.

"Thanks! It really means a lot. Uhh, there's food in the fridge and pantry, and the broom should be in the closet. Check the peep-hole before opening the door if someone rings, and keep your phone nearby - call in if you have a problem -" Her dad instructed, ticking things off his mental checklist.

"I know! Dad, it's fine. I can take care of myself." Wisteria exclaimed before her dad could lose his breath. "It's all gonna be fine."

"Yes, yes, I know- Oh! I have to go, I'm coming up on a police check! Thank you, I'll call Friday!"

"Bye!" Wisteria said, and awaited the click of the phone hanging up. There were a few awkward seconds of silence as both waited for the other to hang up, until, finally, her dad hung up.

Wisteria glanced at the clock. She groaned when she saw what time was shown: 5:14 AM. God. Might as well get productive early.

The sky was a shark grey blanket of clouds. The lampposts were still on, forming blurry blobs in the rain. The smell of dew and petrichor hung in the air. The scene's colors swirled together to form a picture of early morning. It was beautiful, but nostalgic, in that bittersweet, tear-wrenching way. The sort you got whilst listening to certain songs, remembering events within your past. Wishing you were back there. No worries, just laughter and happiness. Everyone has an event like that.

Wisteria's was a roadtrip. It had been the middle of summer 19', she'd been 15, and her dad had rented out a camper. The events of the past year still weighed down on both, both having different reactions.