Shower of Joy

Thick grey clouds have gathered in the sky and it’s about to rain any moment. A boy in his pre-teens comes out of his hut with a bucket full of water and a mug in another hand prepared to take a bath. He stands on a flat rock where he and his father normally bathe every day, and he looks up to the sky expecting the rain to fall on him and his bare body. But it’s too soon before the rain would start pouring. Unable to wait any longer, he starts his play with a fun bath he instantly creates in his own mind. He dips one mug full of water from the bucket and splashes it into the sky and jumps around to catch the water on his head just like the rain would fall on him. He enjoys this game and starts having a lot of fun by finding this novel way of imitating the rain. Although most of this invented rain falls on the ground and not on him, with every splash he hops around, smiling and laughing aloud in utter joy. This continues for a little while and there’s no end to his new found happiness inventing this fun-bath for himself.

Suddenly his father appears from nowhere and stands beside him. Looking at him, the boy freezes in fear like a cold statue completely wet, water droplets dripping from his hair, chin and gamcha. Invariably he gets a good scolding from his father shouting at the top of his voice ordering him to hurry up as he himself had not yet taken his bath for the day and it was about to rain any moment. The boy following his father’s strict orders hurries up finishing his bath properly, then dries himself and runs inside.

His father takes the next turn prepared for his bath. He comes and stands on the same rock with another bucket full of water. He starts by pouring two mugs on his head in a normal fashion like every day and stops for a moment to look up at the sky. God knows what struck his mind as the corner of his lips catch a glimpse of a brief smile. With half his head and half his body wet, he picks up a mug full of water and splashes it into the sky. Just like his little boy he hops around to catch the water on his head just like the rain would fall on him, smiling and laughing aloud in utter joy. He picks up another mug and splashes it up in the same way. And surprisingly this new found game knew no end to his juvenile happiness. This continues for a few times till suddenly he sees his wife standing beside him with crooked eyes and hands on her waist, figuring out what to tell this father of her son behaving like a child again. Both of them exchange cold yet childlike glances at each other as a mild thunder strikes and the clouds burst, starting to rain heavily.

Their son watching his father and mother’s drama in hiding from inside the hut smiles and looks up in the sky listening to the sound of rain like music to his ears.

 

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