Drenched

Things don’t always happen according to plans, he thought.

Just ten minutes earlier, the late afternoon, mid-springtime sun was boasting of its splendour and the blue sky beyond was visible through a huge hollow of low, thin, and fast-moving white-grey clouds hovering above Lake Weeroona.  The weather had been unfriendly for almost a week now—there were heavy rains and flooding but the condition a little earlier seemed to have gotten relatively better.  So James decided to run around this beautiful ornamental lake as if making a bold statement that he’s serious about his goal of shedding those pounds he’d gained over winter.

But after taking a few trots down the pathway, a strong gust of southeasterly wind started blowing; the cloud cover suddenly changed—it had gotten darker, instantly brought unexpected showers and freezing temperature around this man-made reserve.

James stopped running and stood on the boardwalk gazing across the lake while allowing himself to get drenched.  The people in the park—men and women, including the children on the playground nearby seemed to have vanished into nowhere as they quickly sought refuge from this unforeseen cloudburst!  All that’s left were flocks of Australian white ibis braving the rain and cold, perching on the sycamore sprigs and on the Japanese bamboo culm down the grove.

Now soaked, James closed his eyes and took a deep breath, unexpectedly inhaling the foul stench of ibis dung instead of fresh air!  Though that was much stronger, the smell reminded him of petrichor—that earthy scent emitted as the rain drops on a dry soil after a spell of drought.

Like this continent Down Under, James’ solitary existence had been through constant drought and flooding… It’s certainly uncertain; it hadn’t always gone according to plans.  His physique had gotten thoroughly wet now, almost frozen—pretty much like his spirit that’s been dampened by those unexpected storms in life.

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