The menacing clouds had split as the perpetual rain began cascading down over the acres of land. The thick drops of water spattered excessively against the hood of my car, and an involuntary sigh then dragged out of his mouth.
"It wasn't supposed to rain," Tyler's angelic voice whispered, cutting through the misty air.
"That's okay, I like the rain." I felt words come out of my mouth but it didn't feel like I was talking; my voice was unfamiliar and my mind felt like it was clogged up with empty memories from a life I never had. But it wasn't until he reached over to rest his hand on my shoulder that I felt myself come back into a safer place in my mind. My eyes wandered over to the droplets draping over the laminated windshields - most of them stayed in place while others slithered down an unusual path but I knew the rain was something so fascinating to him. I never knew why.
Ultimately, there was nothing terrible about it. As the rain began to gradually impinge upon the earth, I could see why the rain could captivate someone's attention. It was like bees buzzing in the summer and you hear that faint screaming of giddy kids - the rain was no different in comparison.
"But every time it rains -"
The inky night was crepitating with an eerie whistling cacophony. A long streak of pure light weaved its way over the stormy blanket of grey, leaving Tyler in a trance-like state. "Light," He muttered, gliding his eyes over the fading luster, pulling his hand off my shoulder.
"Yes, Tyler," I slowly spoke, making sure not to speak faster than what he would've liked. "That was a flash of lightning."
Tyler was still looking at the sky, his big brown eyes full of curiosity. It reminded me of a child watching their very first fireworks.
Then I realized why he was so stunned by the lightning... He was terrified.
"N-No," He began, licking his lips to prevent them from getting dry. "Light!"
My glance darted towards the midnight sky, watching nothing but a cloud of smoke from his hot breath cloud my vision. I furrowed my eyebrows in concern as I watched his chest rise and fall quicker than the drops of rain could even touch the ground.
"Tyler, it's okay," I assured him, rubbing his shoulder. "It'll all be okay soon, just relax."
Immediately, he shrugged my hand off as if they were to burn his skin if I touched him. He rolled his seat back up, fiddling with the handle of the door before disappearing into the rain.
"Tyler, get back in the car!"
The boy with fluffy brown hair and eyes that sang turned his head so that he could see me from the corner of his eye. "It wasn't supposed to rain," He stated once more, his throaty voice cutting through all the noise around us as he fell down into the mud. "Every time it rains..." I unbuckled my seatbelt, throwing the car door open before helping myself out. Tyler was supposed to be carefully observed throughout the day, and although it was indeed my job to watch him, I knew deep down that I did this because I loved him.
None of that matters now, does it?
Since the wind kept pushing me down, I remained hunched over, trying my best to get to the other side of the car as quickly as possible.
"...there'll be light."
My legs trembled and my heart raced as a sudden coat of burning light came washing over me.
There was no sound - not even the soothing beat that the rain would repeat. The air was no longer moist, the wind had stopped whistling and my pulse was practically nonexistent at the time.
Everything was silent.
Everything was dead.
After a minute, the wind began to blow softly again and the rain continued its humming. It was like time had unfrozen itself from the past, allowing the world to move forward.
Alerted, my eyes peeked over the hood of my car, noticing that Tyler was no longer there. "Tyler?"
There was a sudden pummeling in the center of my chest, but I held my head up, using every fiber in my body to walk over to where Tyler was kneeling minutes ago. Instead of finding any signs of him, I bent down to only then realize that he was gone. All that was left there was a small puddle of ruby red branching off underneath the vehicle. It stained the ground, just like imprints from my steps. My throat suddenly felt like it was burning, slowly engulfing my entire being into flames.
I looked up to the mournful sky, watching the lightning stretch across the earth. It was like a special gift sent down from heaven but was gone before it could cure us.
"Light," I quietly muttered, letting my head hang. "He was talking about the light."
Somehow, saying that sentence aloud, stung. His last velvet words had brought light to another piece of the puzzle, but at that moment, I had refused to put them together.
"I'm sorry, Tyler."
It was either the rain that had bothered me, or it was the tears that rolled down my cheek–I couldn't tell which was which anymore. All that I could be sure of was the sweltering heartache trembling throughout my veins. All this pain for someone who was never here.
"Tell him I'm sorry."
The skies roared in response.
And all I did was wait for the rain to bring back the light.
YOU ARE READING
bring back the light
Fanfiction❝It wasn't supposed to rain,❞ Tyler stated loudly, his thick voice cutting through all the noise around us. ❝Every time it rains... there'll be light.❞ + revised; 2018 ✓ published; 2017 ☺︎
