Go Away, Come Again (Original Short Fiction)
A soft drumming echoed across the fields as a steady rainfall quietly thundered down. Dylan stood amidst the downpour, his face turned up towards heaven, his eyes closed in simple serenity. He inhaled deeply and let his lungs fill with the cool, damp air.
"You'll catch your death out here."
Aiden leaned casually against a support beam on the front porch. Dylan remained standing in the rain with his back turned towards him, grinning.
"What a way to go."
"You do this every time it rains. What is it with you?"
Dylan opened his eyes slowly, barely bringing them beyond a tight squint. The rain ricocheted off his eyelids and occasionally his corneas. It was a pain, but a joyful one.
"If you don't understand, how can you expect me to explain it?"
Aiden sighed.
"It's just rain. Water precipitating from the sky and falling to earth. I appreciate that it waters our crops for free, but besides that, I do not see what the fuss is about. You behave as though it is the very countenance of God shining down on you."
Dylan turned slightly, just enough to glance at Aiden from the corner of his eye.
"And who says it isn't?"
"Science, Dylan. Science says it isn't. It's a rudimentary and, quite frankly, boring scientific phenomenon. And even if it weren't, it is still just water. Surely you realize that."
Dylan turned back and closed his eyes again.
"I know this. I understand this. I appreciate this. It is not I, but you who have failed to know and understand and appreciate. Water is the essence of life. Without it, there could be no living thing. It is the most basic lifeblood of our being. It falls from heaven not merely as a scientific necessity, but as a gift -- the gift of life itself. Rain is refreshing, rejuvenating -- it quenches the thirst of animal and plant alike; it coaxes from the earth its most pleasant aromas; it drowns out the horrible silence and stillness of our thoughts, giving us at least a fleeting and momentary respite from the prison of our own minds. It is a crime that such a gift should go unappreciated."
Aiden grinned smugly.
"Is that right? Then why is it that Seattle, Washington has the highest annual rainfall and the highest suicide rate in the country?"
"I'm surprised at you, Aiden. A man so devoted to science should not buy in to such myths. Las Vegas has the highest suicide rate in the country. You'd be hard-pressed to find a correlation with rainfall there, unless it is a negative one."
Aiden scoffed.
"Whatever. All I know is that too much rain causes floods, and floods kill both animals and crops. If it doesn't let up soon, we might all be drowned before the week is through."
Aiden turned and walked back inside. Dylan opened his eyes again, letting the unrelenting rain sting them without remorse. Around his feet, trickles of water began to rise slowly.
"What a way to go."