The world after a bath

The sky gets a funny color before it rains. It’s not gray, not really. It’s like a deep blue blanket is being pulled over the sun. Everything gets quiet. The birds stop singing for a minute. The wind holds its breath. I can smell it coming. It smells like dirt and wet rocks. I like that smell. It means something is about to happen.

Then the first drop hits the window. Plink. Then another one. Plink. Plonk. Soon it’s a whole song on the roof. A fast song, then a slow one. I like to sit inside and watch. The world gets blurry through the glass. The streetlights look like fuzzy stars. It feels safe inside. Warm and dry while everything outside gets a big drink.

The sound makes me sleepy. It’s a good sound. It’s not loud like a yell. It’s loud like a whisper that fills the whole house. It says, 'Be still, be quiet, just listen.’ And so I do. I listen to the water falling from the sky. It feels like the whole world is being washed clean.

And then it stops. Just like that. The song is over. A new quiet comes. It’s different from the quiet before. This one is full of little noises. Dripping from the leaves. A puddle splashing somewhere. And the birds start singing again. Their song is so loud and happy. Like they are saying thank you.

I go outside. The air feels brand new. I take a big breath, and it feels so good in my lungs. Everything is shiny. The leaves on the big oak tree are bright, bright green. The red flowers my dad planted look like they are smiling. There are little jewels of water on every spiderweb. The whole world is sparkling.

The worms come out to say hello. They wiggle on the wet sidewalk. I am careful not to step on them. They are helping the dirt get ready for the plants. The squirrels run out and shake their big tails, sending water flying everywhere. They look busy.

The rain helps us, too. It fills up the big lake where we get our water to drink. It helps the vegetables in our garden grow tall. Soon we will have red tomatoes and crunchy lettuce. All because of the rain. It washes the dust off our car and makes the street look dark and clean.

It feels like a new beginning. Even if the day was sad before, the rain comes and washes some of it away. It doesn’t fix everything, but it helps. It makes me feel like things can grow again. Inside me, too.