Sound of Rain

Think for a moment: Is the sound of rain, truly what you are hearing?

Imagine this, you're sitting there in your underwear (don't try to pretend you're not). It's raining outside and you've been browsing the internet for the past seven hours. It's already 3:13 a.m. in the morning and a sudden hint of nervousness seizes you. It's silly really, you don't have to attend school, nor do you have work in the morning, but somehow you still feel as though you should force yourself into bed.

You crawl under the covers and bring the blanket up to your chin. Your mind runs over all the things you've done today and you stare at the ceiling, trying to find a comfortable spot on the bed, listening to the sound of rain as it goes pitter-patter on your window. Yet, somehow, the rain sounds different tonight. You feel a strange sinking in your chest and a rising sensation of fear.

The pitter-patter no longer sounds like gentle droplets of water hitting the glass. It sounds more like the fingers of hands rattling against your window pane. You lick your lips and try not to look, you turn your head away but curiosity gets the better of you. You turn quickly and stare hard at the window. Nothing, it was only the rain after all. You smile and comfort yourself, thinking your parents are only a room away. If anything happens you could go straight to them couldn't you.

With that thought in mind you begin to drift off to sleep, but something doesn't quite sit right with you. The sound of pitter-patter, didn't it sound more like the rushing of feet?

Oh dear...

-Siddhartha Chen, 18th May 2014