September 2001
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ARTS & EXPRESSIONS


Short Story: The Raindrop Spirits
By: Danielle McC., Booth Memorial, St. John's, NF

There once lived a girl who lived in a magical, wonderful place. Butterflies fluttered gaily, clouds were marshmallows, and the sunshine visited her everyday. The girl was happy in her place in the world; she felt safe and secure.

One day however, the butterflies flew away, the clouds turned an angry shade of grey and it rained. It rained from the heavens in heavy sheets, like God's tears were unstoppable. They reeked of pain and hurt. The girl then realized that sunshine doesn't always come, the clouds aren't marshmallows and all butterflies aren't as pretty as she thought. It upset her to learn everything she believed in was untrue. Sometimes the nature...life...is unhappy.

For days the girl wandered aimlessly around her home and thought of how she could be so foolish. Her family and closest friends kept telling her that it as okay to feel sad, and that in time the rain storm would pass and the sun will reappear.

So the rain continued to pour and the girl continued to weep. She wept for bright days passes and sunny days never to come. She wept while she was alone, so that no one would see that she was still longing for the sun.

Tired of the girl's incessant crying, a young but wise Raindrop spirit viciously told the girl to stop. "Your tears will not make the rain go away," he said. But the girl did not listen, and continued her depression. Again and again the spirit told the girl the things she did not want to hear. He said things like "keep that up and the sun will never come back!" and "if only you could stop thinking about the sunshine and enjoy the rain, you would be much happier." It was then she finally realized he was right. Slowly, with much difficulty at first, the girl began to see how the rain was actually needed to keep the flowers healthy and the animals fed. She began to enjoy the sensation of raindrops on her eyelashes. She splashed in the biggest puddles there were and laughed until her sides hurt. Sometimes she found herself wishing for the warm rays on the sun, but those days became less and less...further and further apart.

One morning the girl woke up to discover that there was a glimmer of orange on the horizon. The powerful rain had ceased and the sunshine was peaking through. Joyful, she hopped out of bed and a piece of paper fluttered to the floor. It read:

"The weather changed as frequently as the events in your life. The sunshine returned because you accepted it as willingly as the sun does come. Always remember that if you withstand the rain, sunshine will certainly follow."

It was signed the raindrop spirit. The girl never forgot those words, and from then on looked upon those days of rain with great pride because she endured God's tears with the help of the spirit's wisdom.