Puddles

PUDDLES

   The rain came again and again in fierce, beating blasts washing all colors away if you dared to raise your eyes to look ahead. The road, the sidewalk, it all looked the same. Everywhere a sheet of water lay, making every surface a puddle.
        Some puddles were deeper than others and she avoided those she could see, often choosing between the more shallow of two and mostly choosing wrong. She was grateful for her boots and the warm, dry feet inside them carrying her over the wet pavement. Her breath came out in white clouds with every other step.
        Puddles were like little seas to her when she was the little girl who loved to play in the rain and pretend that the sticks carried along were ships, her ships, off to new adventures, different places full of new experiences. The muddy waters were the bad seas, full of monsters and hidden danger. Those that filled with clear, sweet looking water became, in her child's mind, the elegant, friendly ocean of aimless wandering and endless satisfaction. It was a piece of her childhood that claimed a place in her heart, forever changing a small, secret part of her that she would take out and look at when events triggered that in her.
        She did not see or hear the car coming and even so, she had no awareness of the wet street and the puddles in the asphalt there, near the curb. She heard the whoosh of water only dimly but the drenching shower of coldness broke over her and brought her up to full attention as the wetness soaked through her clothes, chilling her completely. The salty dampness of wet, dripping road water poured over her face, leaving a nasty taste on her lips.
        She straightened, shivering greatly as the wind, seeming even colder and harsher than before, added its own special misery, making her skin feel like it was cracking and falling off her bones. Her face stung coldly and even her anger did not warm her.
        Drawing her coat closely around her shivering frame, she walked toward her home. The water in her shoes squirted between her freezing toes and the coat, limp from the dirty water, offered no protection at all. The chill was more serious now and she was miserable from the cold cramps that made their way into her toes and up her legs. She thought of home and how angry he would be with her for her lateness and her getting soaked by the puddle. She was certain her coat was ruined.
        Stinging rain flogged her face and the bare backs of her hands. Unaware, with head lowered and eyes squeezed nearly shut as if to black out the misery, she stepped full into each puddle and trod onward until the stoop of her house appeared in the corner of her field of vision.
        The steps were slick and she placed each foot as if expecting to slide down a steep hill. At the door, her key fell from her numb fingers. She steadied herself as she bent to retrieve the key. She did not notice her hand was pressing the door buzzer. After a long time, or what seemed like a long time, she had the key and was about to insert it when the door opened, startling her.

        His face was shocked, concerned and he stripped off her coat immediately and wrapped her in a large towel once the door had closed behind her. He led her to the bathroom, started a hot shower, and ran to fix some hot tea for her.
        Later that night, laying in bed next to each other with their limbs entwined and the intimate contact of skin on skin, she stopped shivering and the two of them began another journey together.

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