It had been raining all morning.
She sat back in the recliner and took a deep breath before sucking at the frothy island floating on the surface of her cappuccino. It was the first break she had had all morning and it felt good to have a moment to herself.
Her eyes retracted from the depth of the blurred garden and came to rest on the windowpane before her, following drops of rain one by one in random pathways as they meandered over the glass in a kaleidoscope of journeys, impatiently seeking something more, something less, something new, something different - while carrying with them her curiosity into the dawn of a perfect daydream.
She noticed how each droplet was perfect in transparent form and seemingly empty - yet weirdly abundant with energy and life. Thousands of raindrops cascaded down from a torn sky, each on a personal quest while unaware of the silent stalker seated before them. With eyes glazing, she pondered the similarities and complexities between raindrops and humans. As she tracked their tributaries down the pane, she observed how some trickled cautiously past one another - like strangers preferring anonymity, while others preferring company and friendship, paused to meet and greet along the way.
Spectating from her front row pew, she observed how some drops rivaled and raced competitively and confidently across the vast expanse of glass, while the gentle-natured among them leisured in meditation closer to the frame. Pryingly, her eyes lingered on two droplets as they surrendered to temptation - teasing and testing each other in a forbidden rendezvous, while not far away, a spooned love-pair twirled the tango in foreplay as their passionate love spell unraveled unplanned.
Behind them, she witnessed a droplet betray its promise of undying love, breaking loose from its lover without warning or conscience and fleeing jubilantly in a deflected direction to kiss and tell with newfound freedom. Just then, her attention deflected to a coven of singletons who mischievously ambushed a troupe of wanting partners to solicit deals of no-strings-attached flings. Not far away, a ministry of celibate lovers remained faithful in vow, while a loner droplet roamed the pane longingly in hope of finding a second chance at love.
Her eyes shifted to where a string of shy water pearls lay hidden in a covert cluster while upstream, a flashflood of daredevils, weighted by their embellished egos, sped past with reckless abandon. Along the window ledge, an outcast of introverts huddled awkwardly together, hidden from the radar, as they debated their demise before fracturing into their own sects of purpose.
Her eyes zoned in closer on a sect of failing droplets attaching themselves to bigger ones, veiling their failures under pretentious success, while those behind, unable to make a comeback, whittled pitifully and dissolved of life. Alongside, a shamed outcast, hunted by karma from having lived an arrogant life of trick or treat, died insignificantly, alone and forgotten within a flaw of the wooden beading. Her eyes continued to bounce about as she absorbed the dramatic play before her while cheering the victorious ones to the finish line and herding the stragglers trailing in last.
She tilted her mug to allow the last island of tepid froth to slide onto her tongue. Just then, a new sight beheld her when her eyes settled on a giant bead of fused droplets clinging frightened and panicked to the familiarity of the pane. She witnessed the daredevils amongst them take a blind leap of faith and thrust themselves forward to fall free and fanciful into the unknown below. Like a juror, she sat testimony as one droplet after the next was lured to their demise by the bling of a charming puppet master, dangling promises too good to be true. Nearby, she observed a posie of tiny droplets seeking refuge in the crypt of a water lily, while others, fearing exposure and judgement, opted for asylum within a heap of fluffy brown earth.
Finally, the finale climaxed as a congregation of liberated raindrops, newly repented from their sins, yielded themselves to reborn redemption under the light of a breaking sunray, while behind them, a hostage taker seduced a string of gullible strays into a furrowed abyss and down a gutter pipe - never to be seen again.
If humans pave their destiny by the choices which they make while walking through life - perhaps raindrops do the same while falling from the sky - she considered in the stillness of her private contemplation. Her focus broke when a starling glided across the water stage and led her attention to the paving outside where rows of raindrops could be seen foxtrotting across a glossy puddle.
'And then there are those who just love to party', she whispered to herself as she observed a small flock of ring-neck doves’ pirouetting around each other in a friendship bath, flicking water confetti upwards and outwards as they merrily embraced the rainbow's glow in the cradles of their feathered canopies.
In that moment the doorbell began to buzz repeatedly, perforating her perfect daydream - and signaling her time was up.
