Rain and Memories

The first drop fell after what seemed to be an eternity of waiting. As it ran from her shoulder to her elbow a chill crawled up her spine and then fell back down her body. She sat quietly on the roof, her dark thighs flat against her chest, her toned arms wrapped around her legs, and her chin sat perfectly nestled between her knees. The rain increased in size and speed falling silently a first and then turning into a raging thunder storm. Lightning flashed all around her, but she remained still and noiseless. Her hair stuck against her arms and back. She stared into the placid streets, a person occassionaly running from the Tavern into Thallow Flats. The rain began to subside and slowly turned into a drizzle and then it stopped as the sun began to make his ascent into the day. Alana sat on the roof of her home soaking wet waiting for the sun to shake off the rain. She had expected something to change, for the rain to rinse away the pain and the fear. Nothing was different; she was still angry, wistful, and timid. Alana stretched her legs out dragging her heels across the rough cement. Her knees cracked as she stretched her entire body, laying flat, arching her back with her arms pushing the air above her head. Alana lay there, staring at the gray sky with cleaves of blue shoving their way through the clouds. The sun poked his head over the horizon and announced the beginning of day. She rose with the sun, stretching each individual muscle until she was standing, flexing her calves and thighs. Alana sauntered over to the edge of the roof staring at the ground intently. She stared down at Barnaby's house and the lot in front of it wondering what this world was like thirty years ago. She had heard rumors but none of them conjured an image that was detailed enough for her. She heard the door to the roof open. A pair of strong arms wrapped themself around her waist and pulled her backwards, she laced her finger into his and leaned her head back against his chest.

He rested his chin on her shoulder and whispered, "I love you Alana."

The cement cracked, and a rush of fire came from the earth. Alana screamed and jumped back watching the flames throw themself into the air. Small hands and tiny faces accompanied by the screeches of young voices poured out of her memory and into the fire in front of her. The heat enveloped her body striping it of the moistures from the rain. She pulled herself up from the roof and jogged over to the edge where she stared down at the smoldering pyre. The crackling of wood burning filled her ears as tears blocked her eyes. The crashing of old man Barnaby's house resounded between Thallow Flats and the other buildings. Alana watched as the tail end of the house fell to the ground in it's majestic last stand. She stood there watching the lot burn out, as the memories of her past floated away from her.

Nightmares

After spending the majority of the evening with Jason in her apartment, Alana finally climbed into bed and curled up against her pillows. The thoughts that had been finally relieved of their corners in the brain were too much for her to handle, too much for her to comprehend. She allowed her mind to wander away from the night and into other places.

The evening wind breezed through her thick black hair, as the approaching night gently carressed her shoulders and back. Her long tanned legs wrapped around the thick dark body under her as Alana leaned down urging her forward. From over the dune she could see him standing there with his kind loving eyes beckoning her home. As she urged Amani to move faster, her father's figure seemed to fall backwards into the sand. Alana dug her bare heels deeper into Amani's sides begging her to reach the fading figure before he disappeared. Orange flames flicked up into the air and laughter filled Alana's ears. A group of dark horses and their masters took flight into the distant dunes of her beloved desert. Her small tribe flooded in flames, some of the houses beginning to burn out some still roaring. Amani raced on through the lightening sand and came to a halt at the base of dancing flames consuming the final home Alana's family lived in. She saw their small hands pounding on the window she couldn't break as they were being burned alive. Her hands throbbed as she banged on the window. She listened to their tiny voices cry out to her for help. Then the hands stopped pounding and slipped down the glass in their last movements. Alana raised her head to the dark starry sky and screamed in anguish.

The scream jolted Alana from her nightmare. She was sweating and tears flooded from her eyes and down her face. Her entire body shook with anger and fright. Alana pulled the blankets closer to her face covering her entire body and brought her knees to her chest. The faces she saw in her nightmare had been so distorted in pain, she hadn't seen them since that night. Alana had forgotten the small hands and their screeching.

"My past is haunting me everywhere I go! Am I not allowed to be happy? Is that it?" Her brain screamed at whatever force controlled the universe.

Some hours later she fell out of bed. In the dead of night she climbed the remaining flights of stairs that seperated her from the roof. She let the still wet air seep into her skin.

"Rain is on it's way."

She turned smiling a full giggling smile into her room, the time with Jason had reduced her to an excited teenager who had just receied her first kiss. As she half-ran half-skipped into her room, she laughed out loud for the first time in almost three weeks. She threw open her drawer and grabbed her journal. Alana heard a loud engine rev and looked out her window. There he sat on his motorcycle looking like a modern day prince in shining armor. She curled up in her favorite chair and wrote in her journal feverishly for nearly an hour. Her elegant scrawl flowed across the page unveiling every though that screamed into her conscious. Alana closed the journal with a half smile and waltzed into her kitchen to fix herself some lunch. She made a simple roast beef and cheese sandwich with a small vinegerette salad. She threw her jacket on and went outside, the sky seemed more ocean like than it ever head, the grass was greener, and the town looked better. She had a sudden inclination to clean the town and make it look beautiful like the old man, she thought his name was Barnaby or something, in the house next door used say it was. He had apparently owned some huge thing in the town and it was suppossedly a stunning and highly-desired place, but it had turned into a decrepit dusty cheap place. She walked down the sidewalk and all around the town, noticing the new Roots shop and the Rare Bookstore, neither of which she had ever been in. Alana opened the door to the Rare Bookstore and peeked in. The dust-covered book lined the walls and sat in piles on the floor. she tip-toed around the piles occasionally seeing things that sparked her interest. Alana spent her afternoon gazing at different books and basking in the sun. She curled up in the sun on the floor of the boostore and read the dairy of a young girl from the late 1800's. Her tale of never finding love saddened Alana, but did not erase her smile. As Alana returned to her apartment she looked up and saw the silouette framed by the sinking sun; it looked like an angel. She took it as a sign that what she was feeling was right. Allah was with her after all.