Winning Entry: Rain - Katie Daniels

The wind sings.

The rain pours around me, but on the grass it is silent and there is only the wind.

The singing wind.

It sings to me of sleep and rest, of peace... a lullaby.

I stand in the rain and listen to the wind sing. I am as wet as the mud I stand in, but I don't care. I close my eyes and let the rain run down my cheeks. The water from the sky hides the water on my face. The rain turns the heaped mound before me into a muddy dip in the ground. The flowers that have been laid on the grave wilt under the onslaught. I welcome the destruction.

I draw a shuddering breath and hold my arms wide, welcoming it. The singing of the wind stirs a part of me that hasn't been touched since the accident. It took hours before the paramedics got there, and we had kept each other alive, talking of everything we were going to do when we were married.

It had been raining all evening. The road was dark and we were giddy and distracted. That was why we didn't see it, why the car had hydroplaned and hit the guard rail. We were both pinned under the car, unable to reach each other. It rained all night. Sometimes we couldn't  hear each other from the drumming on the wreckage.

The firemen came and got us out of the debris. The rain had cleared up so they could work. We were taken away in separate ambulances and I never saw him again. I didn't get to say goodbye. We fought our own battles, alone, afraid, and so far apart. It was a week before I knew anyone around me and nearly a month when they finally told me just how alone I was. It hadn't rained since the accident.

They told me I was lucky to be alive. I had both my legs broken and would have to have therapy to learn to walk again. My parents took me home, and my friends sent me sympathy cards. I worked hard to get better and watched the sky. The sun shone relentlessly and the farmers talked worriedly about drought.

Finally today... I came. I came to say goodbye. The rain is silent, but it is raining. The sky is weeping for me, and finally I can weep with it. And the wind sings my broken heart to sleep.  

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