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Her fingers danced on the keyboard as she typed something and then hit backspace multiple times. Her kohl lined eyes stared at the screen but she had no clue what she was looking at. In her mind's eyes she was in a different place, at a different time. Someone called out her name and that brought her back to reality. She looked at the screen, this time trying to paying more attention to it. The task at hand was supposed to be easy. She could have finished it in minutes but then her mind kept wandering, traveling to where she craved to be at that very moment.
As she looked at screen, the number of unread mails in her inbox kept increasing. She didn't want to open them for it meant more work. Work! It wasn't that she hated it. But doing the same thing over and over again was what she did not like. It was the same routine everyday. It wasn't just the work that was worrying her, but every moment in that air conditioned office suffocated her. She felt entrapped in the huge building, the white walls, the false ceilings, those artificial lights made her sick. She was like a bird which was meant to fly but was caged. Her only solace, the transparent windows which could not be opened. They were her only connection with the outside world.
There was no time for day dreaming. She had work to be done. She came out of the world that she longed to be in and settled to deal with the pending tasks. As she meticulously filed and sorted out everything required for the new project, somewhere in the distance the thunder roared. And somewhere in the corner of her mind memories rumbled. Through the transparent glass she could see the dark clouds gathering in the sky. "It definitely is going to rain", she said to no one in particular. She went closer to the transparent glass longing to smell the petrichor, waiting for those first few drops of rain to fall and to cool the air. She longed to go out and feel the wind blow and catch those first few drops of rain. But that was just wishful thinking.
She continued doing her work and then when she had most of the work assigned to her, she walked to the pantry to grab a cup of hot tea. She sat there looking outside as she travelled back in time. Nothing could remotely bring her more happiness than those days. She loved the rains. As a kid, she always loved to dance in the rain. When the dark clouds gathered in the sky, they would automatically bring a smile on her face. She remembered those times when she used to play in the rain and then when she came home all drenched how her mother used to scold her out of fear that she would fall sick. Her mother! How she missed her! How she missed being scolded after playing in the rain, the way her mother wiped her long hair with a towel as soon she entered the house and how one sneeze of hers would make her mom open the medicine cabinet and look for all possible medicines to ensure that she didn't fall sick. But instead of making her sick, the rains rejuvenated her. Just as the earth that was parched and dry after the hot summers, sprang to life with different hues of green all around when the rains arrived, she would be refreshed when it rained.
But that was so long ago. All that she could look around her now was the grey, concrete building, looked lifeless and made people in it look lifeless too. She went back to her place and continued with her work. And then it began to pour. She was happy and then it reduced to a light drizzle. She was disappointed! But then from the corner of her eye, she saw the sun shining bright. It brightened her spirits too! "There might be a rainbow", she cried out with joy and ran towards the glass to check if it was true! And there indeed was a rainbow. "Rainbow, rainbow!", she cried out as if she was a kid and got others to get up from their seats and look at the beauty that nature was now showing. She pulled a couple of her friends and ran towards the pantry, and the rainbow that she had seen earlier was now very faint. Just when she was about to go back to her place, she saw another one. This one just ending right in front of her and going over the adjacent building! What a sight that was! There was no pot of gold there, but the joy she felt was immense. It was these wonders of nature that she treasured. She stood there transfixed admiring the creator's art.
Happy about her experience with the rainbow and happy that her work for the day was done, she was on her way back. It had stopped raining but the wind kept blowing and there was a nip in the air. She walked back as she always did. The weather was beautiful indeed. Just when she had walked a few steps, it began to drizzle. She didn't mind it and kept walking. The rain drops kept getting bigger and then she thought for a while. The perfectionist that she was, she always carried the things that needed, she might need and that she might need in some sort of emergency. An umbrella was always one of the things that was there in her big bag. Was it time now to take the umbrella out and walk under the cover it provided from the rain? She thought and the decision was a quick one. With the umbrella still safely kept inside her bag, she walked. She walked in the rain.
With each drop of rain that fell on her, she felt alive. The day's hardwork had left her tired, but not anymore. The rain washed away the weariness of the day and there she was rejuvenated. People were running for cover from the rain, but she walked purposely putting her feet in the puddles just to watch the water splash! She was a pluviophile after all. Once she reached her room, she called her mom to tell that she had reached. "Hello Ma! Aiiiichchchooooooooooo!", she sneezed and there began a series of scoldings which she didn't mind. For in the past few days, never had she felt so alive!
P.S.: If you are wondering if this is a true incident or a piece of fiction, you know what it is ;)