THE STORM
It went from good to bad to terrifying in a matter of minutes. One minute, he was swimming in the warm August waters, calling for her to join him, the next, it was like the heavens themselves had reversed polarity.
The skies were the inviting clear blue of summer sanctity. He tried to coax her into joining him for a swim and dove down beneath the surface to show her how much fun it was, turning two bubbly somersaults before exploding back to the surface for air.
He wiped the water from his eyes and smiled back towards the dock where she lay. She was no longer basking in the sun though. The skies had almost instantly transmogrified into a churning mass of gun metal grey and an ominous bank of charcoal black clouds was descending rapidly upon them.
He cruised into shallower waters with a few quick strokes and jogged in through the choppy waters.
She was already on her feet, staring upward with a baffled expression on her face.
"Go!" he shouted. "I'm right behind you."
He watched her hesitate a moment before turning and darting towards the nearby cottage.
As he entered the shallow water, he kicked his legs out to the sides, above the water's surface, and eventually fell into a comfortable run.
He met her in the dining room where he quickly toweled off and urged her away from the plate glass windows with a gentle embrace.
"What's going on?" she asked.
"Not sure, but it's going to be bad. Let's get away from the windows."
A sudden explosion of light filled the now dark afternoon, and a burst of thunder rattled the cottage. He had never seen anything like this before and when the fat drops of rain started falling, accompanied by huge clumps of hail close on their heels, he placed a protective arm around her.
"You okay?"
"A little scared, but yes, I'm fine."
Another simultaneous blast of lighting and thunder made it seem like the whole world was being torn asunder. The assault of rain and hail persisted making it hard to see more than two feet beyond the windows.
Twelve minutes later, it was all over.
They watched, amazed, as the clouds parted to slowly reveal the perfect summer day that had gone into temporary hiding. It was almost like the storm had never happened at all.
"Still feel like swimming?" she asked, peering at him.
"I think I'm good for now. How about some Crazy Eights?"
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone. Please excuse auto corrected errors!
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