Fading streams of light trickled to the ground, barely able to brush its surface. The light flitted in perfect rhythm to the gentle rustling of the autumn leaves, who in turn twirled round the deserted streets. A whispering wind stirred them up, lifting blurs of fire and sun into an effortless dance. The crisp air filled with vibrant color as each gust raced through the bare branches overhead.

A quiet pattering of droplets joined the chorus. A single splash echoing through the air, followed by another, and another. A steady drumming that calmed the leaves into a silent rest on the forest floor. Occasionally, one would struggle against the heavy hold of the steadily rising streams; flitting into the air in a feeble attempt to once more begin the dance. These few attempts were quickly forced to cease as the storm raged on.

One by one, droplets encroached on my shelter. At each cold bite of rain, I flinched, shivering as it ate away at my bare skin. Within a single backward stride, I found a place to sit and examine the storm beneath the safety of the large metal awning. Soon, however, my gaze was distracted from the relentless rain, by a figure. A slim frame was barely visible against the rain; a silhouetted image in the fading light. She stood, quivering in the cold, facing me. Frozen and abandoned, the figure was still and silent; statuesque against the water that poured over her, consuming her.

Approaching headlights caused her image to flicker, and as the bus pulled into a resting place before me, I clambered on. However, as my eyes eagerly sought for the woman in the street, they could not find her. She had washed away with the rain…