Blue Coffee Mugs and the Agoraphobic [boyxboy] ✔

Austin's Opinion on Rain

SIX

And then I see him. Again, he's sitting on the sidewalk, legs crossed, letting the rain fall on him, soaking his hair and clothes and he seems to be perfectly fine with it.

For a while, I just watch him. Why would he do that? Why would he sit out there like that?

I get up and walk downstairs and the outside into the front yard. The rain is falling fast and hard, it almost hurts on my poorly clothed skin. He sits closer to my house than I thought, so I hurry to get as close to him as possible.

"Austin?", I ask. He looks around, seeming a bit startled. "Oh. Hey, Alan."

He gets up, walks over to my house and sits back down on the gravel-path that goes from the tiny little gate, through the front-yard, to the porch.

"I love sitting in the rain.", Austin suddenly whispers.
"Why?", I ask.

"Because...", he starts, "Because it reminds me of when people cry. Other people let that person spill on them and comfort them, but when it rains, everyone goes inside. But I feel like the sky is crying. The thunders are sobs, the lightnings show frustration, you see?
So I sit out here and let the rain express its true feelings as people express their own. And that's why I sit out here in the pouring rain. I sit out here because I care."

I think about it a bit.

"That's some deep shit.", I finally decide to say, "And you're calling me philosophical."

"You are philosophical. Very. I bet you can come up with something deep that will make me think in a matter of seconds. Try it. I dare you."

I think for a few seconds, before I, in fact, come up with something, "Have you ever wondered when your day will be?"

Austin looks at me, his eyebrows furrowed together what most likely is confusion, "What do you mean?", he asks.

"I mean... Like, my day. Your day. Everyone has their day, I think. I imagine my life as a book. A nice story, called "The Adventures of Alan Ashby", or something. And then, I imagine what the first chapter would be. If you think logically, obviously the day I am born. But let's face it, nobody wants to read about the day Harry Potter was born. Nobody cares about how the weather was or what time he was born. Nobody would even read through the first chapter because it would be incredibly boring and ordinary. People don't read books for ordinary stories. They read books to get away from their ordinary, everyday life. So who would read about a day, on which Harry Potter eats with his uncle, aunt and cousin, if that day, coincidentally wasn't also the day he was to find out that he is a wizard? It's a life-changing day and that's exactly what people want to read about. They want to be able to get into something new at the same time as the main character does. Because if the main character is already familiar with the things happening in the story, the main character is going to be bored, boring the reader in the process. I don't know if I'm making any sense right now, but I think about my day, you know? The day my life changes. The day that something significant happens that will effect everything, that will break my routine, mess up my schedule. I've been waiting for that day for a while now and I'm beginning to ask myself, when that day will be and what exactly will happen. I'm tired of my schedule. Maybe that day even lies in the past already and I just don't know yet... Wake up, go outside with a coffee. Maybe read a bit. School. Lunch, some more school. Reading and then I go to bed. I want something to change, no matter what."

"Everything you say makes me question everything."

I just hum in response.

A few more minutes pass, before I decide to speak up again, "Austin?"
"Mh?"
"I'm getting cold. Can we go inside?", I ask. He nods, getting up slowly. I do the same and notice him smile at the sky for a second, before he follows me into the house.

We get dry, changed and warmed up, when I feel like crawling into bed, so I do. I suddenly feel incredibly insecure and unsure and sad... I don't even know why.

"What are you doing?", Austin asks me quietly. "I'm laying in bed.", I answer.
"I can see that. Why, though?"
I shrug, "I'm cold... I'm tired. And sometimes, when I get sad, all I can do is hope I fall asleep before I fall apart."

He frowns, "Why are you falling apart?"
"Because I'm afraid."
"Afraid of what?"

"You, me. Everything."

[what the hell was this chapter rip]