The rain swept across the city as it slept. Thunder roared and howled. Lightning flickered around the edges of her vision.
And the rain came down.
It was impossible to sleep through the storm. Well, it was impossible for her. Her mother and siblings would sleep through it, and would probably wake up the next morning asking her if she knew they had had a storm last night.
She was always awake for storms.
The rain came down.
She listened. Her family was breathing softly, a few mice scuttled across the floor, scraping the floor with their paws. She listened to the thunder, the rain, and the breathing.
And the rain came pouring down.
She watched emotionlessly as a figure, hunched against the rain and the night, came down the street.
She turned away from the door and watched her mother as her side rose and fell.
A rat came up to her, squeaked, and ran away.
She pulled her blanket closer around her and turned back to watch the rain.
The rain came pouring down before the watcher.
She sneezed, and pulled the blanket even closer. By morning it would have developed into a cold.
Her mother would fuss.
The rain came down.
It was a cold rain, and a wet rain.
It was the kind of rain that would soak you to the bone if you stood outside for a minute.
It was a hard rain; it was the kind that felt like pebbles were falling from the sky.
It wasn't a nice rain.
She watched it drowsily. She should have been asleep hours ago.
She yawned and rubbed her eyes.
A cat's golden eyes lit the night.
Lightning forked across the sky.
Thunder crashed.
The rain came pouring down.
She was tired, she should be asleep.
But she always stayed awake for storms. There was something about the thunder, and the way the lightning drew pictures with the sky…
She yawned, and shut her eyes.
The rain came down relentlessly.
She listened to her heart beating, to her mother's breathing, to the thunder crashing, and to the rain as it came pouring down.
The sun burst over the horizon, flooding the city with light.
It crept across the buildings, tall and short, and the people who were up before dawn.
It warmed the air, and illuminated the puddles and the water that dripped off of the buildings.
It burst onto a small house without warning, and lit up the small child wrapped in a blanket, sleeping in the doorway.
The rain had stopped pouring some time ago.
