The Scarlet Hat

A story of the rain

"Surely enough, the rain came after he started to sing. She sang along from behind the old cherry tree, not realising that he could hear her. She knew the words to the song clearly, and she knew exact way he sings it. After all, she has been hearing him sing everytime their village wanted rain. He always came there when they needed rain and no one else seemed to notice the fact that it would rain everytime a young man with a scarlet hat went about singing on the streets a song which is hard not to listen to.

"As she was thinking about all these, she kept singing in the rain, her voice perfectly blending with the man's. She didn't even notice him walking towards her as she was admiring the rain. 'Can you hear me sing, my lovely lady in red?' his deep voice cut in her song. 'Umm...Sorry if I had disturbed you mister, Its just that....I...I really like the songs you sing...' she said, when he continued, 'I don't mind you singing along dear, your voice is so pleasing to hear. Not all can hear me sing you know, you are very special even if you can see me.' She was surprised.

 " 'Why does it rain everytime you sing? And hy are you gone right the next moment it starts to rain?' she asked innocently. He laughed a little laugh and placed his hand on the girl's head and said, 'I'm a Rain Spead dear, I spread rain wherever I go. And everywhere I go, I get to meet interesting people like you who are the descendents of the rain goddess who really love the rain. And yes, whenever I sing, it rains. But I need to spread rain all over the Earth so I can't stay for a long time at the same place' he said and smiled.

"Then they talked for hours in the rain and sang many songs. The rain didn't stop. It showered as endlessly as the song they sang. Soon, it was growing dark. The young man in the scarlet hat said that it was time for him to leave. 'Will you come back again?' she asked him. 'Sing to me when you need the rain, sing to me when you need me, and I'll always show up here, amidst the rain' he said, and walked away into the rain, and Kagome walked back home with a heart so full" my aunt said, probably for the fiftieth time. She loves to tell us that story, the story she made up on her own, the story that I'll never take as truth, ever.

"Did she see him again oba?" my little sister asked. I couldn't believe she believed in that stupid fairy tale.

"Yes she did, little one, everytime our village needed rain, somewhere, Kagome will be singing, and the man with the scarlet hat will sing along, for rains to come."

*******************************************************************************

It was almost midnight. I was lying awake in bed wondering when the rains would come. If the rains don't come in a few days, our fields would be ruined. Then it would be impossible to sow in the next season. What would we do without rice? It was what we depended on. It was what all the farmers in our village depended on. It was what the entire Japan depended on.

As I shut my eyes tight and tried to fall asleep, I heard a sound. Was that the sounds of clouds clashing into each other? Was that bright spark of light a lightning? And slowly came the sounds of rains hitting the dry earth, and as the sounds grew, my heart pounded in joy. I ran outside. It was rain! It really was rain! I laughed and danced about in the rain, not for a moment thinking of anything else. And I heard a deep voice, no, two deep voices, faintly in the rain. I hurried towards where the voices came from.

 And out there in the distance, I saw a man, about fourty or fourty five, and a woman of about thirty, dancing and singing in the rain. They seemed to have forgotten reality and were lost in their own world, all wet. And the reason that I would never forget that sight was because the woman I saw, was none but my aunt, and the man was wearing a scarlet hat.

Reviews

[thuaners]

a really awesome story! i love your writing style.. its so magical and has a nice rhythm to it! really interesting storyline too and i love how it ends :D

[Katie de Lavani]

A very interesting idea, perfect for the short story you wrote. Well done.

[Kwenxaku]

Totally cool! Very interesting! Good Job!