Let it Rain | Teen Ink

Let it Rain

May 26, 2009
By jennee21_ann GOLD, Helper, Utah
jennee21_ann GOLD, Helper, Utah
17 articles 0 photos 568 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Don't gain the world and lose your soul....wisdom is better than silver or gold."

"You can always close a book, but you can never close the mind of a writer."


I sat there the last day of school and watched the sky catch fire. I stayed curled up in a ball as the wind whipped my long hair around my face. I imagined gathering up all the memories in my mind and throwing them into the sky, laughing with delight as I watched them burn. But no such thing was happening as I sat there and said goodbye to my 8th grade year. The memories were only flowing down my cheeks in the form of small, silver tears.

I remember one year ago, the exact same day. I was swinging on the tire swing diagonal from me. I was listening to the moans of the river and the whispers of the wind. I remembered laughing with my heart as my eyes sparkled with the anticipation of summer. But this year, no such thing would happen. The wind only whispered the things I was longing to forget. And the moans of the river were only the cries of helplessness.

As the fire was doused in the sky and the dark blue night began to creep upon me, I could hear the chirping of crickets in the background. The river seemed to calm itself as it prepared for the night. The wind only whistled through the trees now. It seemed as if they were finally satisfied that they had broken me. It was as if they were proud of what they had done. But what had they done? Made me relive my memories…make my nightmares come to life? No, no. They had only made me remember what I wished would disappear.

I pulled my knees closer to my body and rested my head on my knees. A déjà vu floated into my mind. Hadn't I spent the last 180 days in this position as I curled up by my locker on the 2nd story hall? At that moment, the wind kicked up and rustled the leaves and the thick grasses. It echoed through the fields like laughter. The river gurgled quietly, just like whispers. The laughter, the whispers, and the fallen position…the story of my 8th grade year.

I looked up into the dark night sky and watched the stars appear. Some of them twinkled back and forth, as if a conversation was going on in the heavens. The falling stars were the ballerinas of the skies. All was peaceful and calm in the skies. Quiet. There was no wind or worry up there. It was almost as if everything wasn't really there. Maybe they're physical selves were in the sky….but was their mind "in the clouds", or on the ground?

The memories of that year came back in flashes. One certain thing could make me relive the darkest moments of that year. The quack of a duck reminded me of the squeaky shoes in the halls. A rusty swing swaying in the wind represented a ticking of a clock. And yet, I could find some noises that resembled happy moments. A horse's neigh was like the final bell. The sprinklers spraying the night were like the beat-boxers in my home room.

So for many, many hours, I stayed there and listened to the sounds of the night and remembered everything from that year. From the moment of my closing locker, to the yell of "Time Out" everything from that year poured out into the darkness and peacefulness of the night.

When the night grew old, and the sounds became still, everything from that year was lying on the dirt beneath me. Every bad memory was beneath my feet. Oh how I would have loved to stamp my feet on them and smothered them into the dirt. But would they have just crawled up my legs and found themselves into my mind again? I would have loved to pick them up and carry them to drown the memories in the river, but would they have floated to the top again? Not knowing what to do with them, I sat and waited.

The bright orange was peeking over the bowl and beginning to light the world. But somewhere in the far off distance, the rumbling of thunder could be heard. As if millions of horses were stomping closer to me, the storm moved in closer. It was almost near the end.

As I curled myself under the tree and left the memories beneath me, the heavens opened up. The rain came down in heavy, cold pellets and washed the Earth clean. As the rain came down and splashed, it carried all my memories away. As they slowly ran down the hillside and collected in a puddle, everything was washed away.

The only left to do…was to wash away myself. I ran out into the rain, hands out and head up to the sky. I let the stinging bullets pierce my skin. I let the rain soak my hair and drench my dress. I let my converse shoes fill with mud and I let my skin turn to ice. Because when it was done, I was a new person. The rain had washed the old me away, the clouds lifted, and I finally found myself again.

The author's comments:
This story is based on my 8th grade experience, and how I got rid of all the bad memories of that year.

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This article has 52 comments.


Abbyy GOLD said...
on Aug. 22 2009 at 6:34 am
Abbyy GOLD, Shanghai, Other
12 articles 1 photo 22 comments
This piece is amazing! The way you are cleansed of those memories is described so beautifully. May your writing skills never be washed away! Thanks for the comment, by the way~

on Aug. 21 2009 at 5:07 pm
ashleyt PLATINUM, Midland, Texas
22 articles 65 photos 53 comments
i have read this before but it just gets better and better each time i read it. thanks for writing this god bless you

on Aug. 21 2009 at 1:41 am
MariaMarie DIAMOND, Washington Court House, Ohio
70 articles 0 photos 181 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Life's a mountain on a beach"-Unknown
"Will: This is either madness or brilliance. Sparrow: It's remarkable how often those two traits coincide."-Pirates of the Caribbean:Curse of the Black Pearl.

Wow.. and yet- that is not enough to describe this! lol, the same thing you said of mine. And thanks by the way. I really love this poem. As for the rain thing.. I would sooo do that! Nature is like a calming, healing place for me. But i could never live there:) And rain.. Gosh don't get me started! lol, this is truley amazing.

on Aug. 19 2009 at 7:21 am
rockitxrells BRONZE, Pago Pago, Other
2 articles 3 photos 6 comments
Superb poem! I absolutely LOVE the rain, so I might be biased but this poem rocks! lol. I love the imagery, pretty awesome :)

on Aug. 19 2009 at 6:41 am
Hollywog. PLATINUM, Mole Creek, Other
21 articles 23 photos 65 comments

Favorite Quote:
It's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all..

An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind - Ghandi

This is totally amazing, girl!! Well done! Thanks for commenting on my work. I think this piece is incredible and thanks for sharing it with me. 5/5!

on Aug. 19 2009 at 1:42 am
Dreamer123 SILVER, Oviedo, Florida
9 articles 4 photos 45 comments
This is amazing!! This made me think of how can your last year of jr high can be full of misery and horrible memories. Anyway you help me inspire to write this is beautiful. I would give you a 100 :D God Bless you. you got talent :D

on Aug. 18 2009 at 1:04 am
Writerzhand GOLD, Ball Ground, Georgia
16 articles 0 photos 30 comments

Favorite Quote:
I wanna carry a piece of who I was before so when I hit the wall, I REALLY hit the wall.

This is great, you're a very descriptive writer and give a lot of meaning. i love it. Thank you very much for commenting on my work, i appreiate any feedback :)

on Aug. 17 2009 at 7:58 pm
unearthlyhaphazard GOLD, N/A, New York
15 articles 0 photos 176 comments

Favorite Quote:
"There are three rules for writing the novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are."~W. Somerset Maugham

Fantastic. The intensity is just so powerful.

Angel4u SILVER said...
on Aug. 17 2009 at 6:26 pm
Angel4u SILVER, Woodbridge, Virginia
9 articles 2 photos 7 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Cowards Die Many Times Before Their Death ; But The Valiants Never Taste of Death but Once".
"One's Heart Can Be Broken,but One's Faith Can Recover".
"Well Done Is Better Than Well Said".

I love the imagery of your story...and the personification is perfect :) PS: thanks for your comment on my poem.

on Aug. 16 2009 at 11:32 pm
Electricity PLATINUM, Bradenton, Florida
30 articles 0 photos 271 comments
I saw you commented my writing, and so I am reading some of yours. This is a very nice piece. It's descriptive, and well written. Great job, it's amazing!

on Aug. 16 2009 at 3:17 am
ashleyt PLATINUM, Midland, Texas
22 articles 65 photos 53 comments
wow this is the second or maybe even third time i have read this and it seems to get better each time hey and i will definatly check out all your other work thanks and please chack out t he rest of my stuff.

on Aug. 15 2009 at 10:44 pm
saratana95 BRONZE, Tulsa, Oklahoma
2 articles 1 photo 5 comments
Wow. Your amazing. And thank you for commenting on my story, Megan, that really makes me feel good :D

on Aug. 14 2009 at 4:45 pm
KDtheGhostwriter GOLD, Jefferson City, Missouri
18 articles 0 photos 31 comments

Favorite Quote:
"You are not special; And I am no hero."

Also, middle school was bad most of the time for me, so I can relate with the whole theme of trying to forget.

on Aug. 14 2009 at 4:44 pm
KDtheGhostwriter GOLD, Jefferson City, Missouri
18 articles 0 photos 31 comments

Favorite Quote:
"You are not special; And I am no hero."

Very,very,very good! I agree with many of the others, I consider it an honor and a compliment, really, that you would take the time to read my work. You really did a good job when choosing your words and language. Few people can tap into the sheer power that words carry with them. You can do that. Well done, and keep it up!

Joanna said...
on Aug. 13 2009 at 11:14 pm
Joanna, St. Catharines, Other
0 articles 0 photos 165 comments
Having read that, I'm honoured that you thought to comment on my work...

Geez... What to say...

When I read this, I imagine an intelligent and beautiful girl sitting behind her computer typing along easily. You make it seem so, SO, easy. Nothing seems forced in this. the language and imagery you used to describe this is just brilliant. It kind of reminds me of Markus Zusak's writing in how much impact it has. )he's my favourite author!)

I imagine that you're beautiful in that you've been though though times. Most of your work has themes of remembering and forgetting in them. Just... It's weird, but I worry. You've got so much of your life left to live, you can't let memories hurt you this early. I don't know what else to say, but thank-you for reading my work.

on Aug. 10 2009 at 3:23 am
MoreThanYouKnow PLATINUM, Camarillo, California
20 articles 0 photos 14 comments
wow that was amazing and i cant believ someone as good as you commented on my work! the strange thing was even though i wish i didnt have to leave middle school i totally felt like i can relate becuase it reminds me of those days where nothing seemed to go right

Lindsey_O GOLD said...
on Aug. 7 2009 at 11:12 pm
Lindsey_O GOLD, Marshfield, Massachusetts
11 articles 0 photos 180 comments

Favorite Quote:
Words slide off the lead,
creating permanent marks;
writer's secret code.
~Lindsey O'Connell

that was sooo... haha i can't even describe how good that was! it was absolutely amazing, and it couldn't've been better :]

on Aug. 7 2009 at 8:20 pm
FreakyEyed DIAMOND, Juneau, Alaska
53 articles 29 photos 111 comments

Favorite Quote:
"This, too, will pass."

Magnificent writing! I especially enjoyed all your metaphors, and the way you described that sky... your work is very inspirational; please, don't stop writing... I could -feel- everything you described... Five stars, my friend, five stars with their minds in the clouds; feet planted on the ground...

~S.E.M

on Aug. 7 2009 at 6:25 pm
ashleyt PLATINUM, Midland, Texas
22 articles 65 photos 53 comments
just like you asked i checked out your stuff after you commented on mine and i am glad i did. FIVE

tor10jax GOLD said...
on Aug. 7 2009 at 4:18 pm
tor10jax GOLD, Livingston, New Jersey
10 articles 0 photos 143 comments
Wow. You are a great writer. The only 'advice' I can think of (because you know how I'm about getting critique) is to shorten it. But even without doing that, this is perfect. Thanks for commentng on my poem.

Keep writing!