Raindrops and Laptops

I’ve always found solace in oddities. Thunderstorms, cemeteries, rambling estates and well-worn books bring me more pleasure than any day at the beach ever could.

I do love the sea. But only at dusk when the day-trippers make their exodus -- soothing sun-licked faces and snaking trails up the beach with oversized carts full of empty coolers, folding chairs and flip-flops –- leaving me with nothing but roaring waves and my thoughts.

Rainy days are my favorite. As a kid, I spent most of my summer vacation counting the hours until school started again and wishing for storms so I wouldn’t have to leave the house and suffer the indignity of socialization. Rain meant I could hide away reading books, writing stories and getting lost in my own mind.

Even today, when a storm rolls in I feel energized and excited and creative in a way that’s difficult for those who don’t need that sort of inspiration to understand.

Angry weather gives me a legitimate reason to stay locked away from the world building sentences with words, arranging those sentences into paragraphs and hiding in stories, still.

  

by Cynthia Gunnells

July 25, 2017