The rain comes down.

The refrigerator is empty.

Nothing in the cupboard but crackers.

Standing at the window, the grey sky barely moves.

Silence in this box on a hill.

Yet in my head, the thunder of disquiet rolls and rolls and rolls.

I could go out?

But I'd get wet.

The umbrella is broken from the last time I used it.

The last time I tried to resist, I resisted the elements.

I recheck the sky for any change in the weather, but no, it's still the same outside.

Maybe things will change in a little while.

I'll read to pass the time.

Celebrity news, no…

Sports, the World Series, is a no-brainer.

Children are being killed.

Parents in terror.

Legislators seeking the truth and its potential implications.

Legislators are playing games with the Constitution.

Tyrants and their disciples thumb their noses at justice.

Fall and spring, I may never see it come back in my lifetime…

Is it still raining outside?

Yes, it's still coming down; it looks like there is no slowing down.

I'm hungry.

Maybe there's something I missed in the cupboard?

Maybe way in the back?

Nothing.

I drink a glass of water.

I check back at the window.

The rain falls…

Damn it, I'm going to have to do something.

I go to the bathroom.

I brush my teeth.

Thunder shakes the room.

It's gotten worse outside.

I turn back to the sink and look in the mirror.

I look at my reflection and ask What are you going to do now?

What are you going to do?

The thing I want, the thing I need, is not outside.

It's in me.

It's within my power to change the weather.

To better my life and my community.

What's kept me inside?

Fear.

Fear of the unknown.

Fear of failure.

Fear of being uncomfortable with the truth.

Fear of the revelation that all that I thought was true is not.

Fear of beginning again.

I put on my coat and hat and rushed to the door.

I pull it open without hesitation.

The rain falls, and falls, and falls…

I put my hand out and feel the rain soak my hand.

Looking up into the sky, the rain washes over my face, over my eyes, and into my heart.

A sound...

I look over at my neighbors, and they, too, have stepped out to resist the climate.

We take each other's hands and are soon joined by more than we can count.

Drop hate.

Lift hope.

Peace

Daniel J Frey aka Toby