One day, Mikoto left her house to find that drops of water were falling from the sky. She quickly ran back inside, shocked. She'd never seen anything like it before! Were things like this normal for Gaia? She had no idea.

She ran back to the bedroom. She shared this cottage with one Black Mage and two other Genomes. Right now, both Genomes were still asleep. Sunny and Emily were the names that the Black Mages had given them, but Mikoto still tended to identify them by their faces. After all, she'd been the only one with a name before the Black Mages had insisted that they all had to be called something.

Speaking of which, where was Mr. 37? He usually slept later than his roommates. Why would he be awake now?

Mikoto looked out the window, not sure if it was safe to go out. But then she noticed something. Two Black Mages were chasing each other around outside. She watched as they ran around trees, over rocks, though puddles of water that had appeared on the ground. They looked like they were having fun.

Figuring that she had nothing to worry about, Mikoto walked outside. Upon doing so, she noticed several other Black Mages. She waited for one to approach her, and then got his attention. "Excuse me!" she shouted. "What is this called?"

She pointed to the sky. The Black Mage seemed confused. "What?"

"The water from the sky. I've never seen it before."

The Black Mage nodded. "Oh. It's rain. It never rained where you come from?"

"Never."

She hesitated, and then took a step into the "rain." It was cold, but it seemed to be ordinary water. "What are all of you doing?" she asked.

"Well, it doesn't rain very much, so we're enjoying it!" said the Black Mage. "There are puddles everywhere. You can jump in them, or just listen to the rain. It makes nice sounds, don't you think?"

Before Mikoto could say anything, he grabbed her hand. "I'll show you!" he said, cheerfully. "You've got to see the creek. It gets huge when it rains!"

So Mikoto went and played with the Black Mages for a while. She wasn't sure how long she was outside, but she was completely soaked by the time she was done. And yet, somehow, she'd had a great time. It didn't make much sense to her. This irregularity had left her cold, wet, and tired. But she'd really enjoyed herself. Was it normal to find joy in such silly things?

Then again, did it matter? The water would dry eventually. It wasn't as if she'd be wet forever. And if she was unharmed, then it wasn't a problem. Besides, it was fun.

She walked outside again and noticed Sunny and Emily standing under a large tree. They just stood there, staring ahead. Mikoto walked over to them, and Sunny looked at her. "Why is there water falling from the sky?" she asked. "This did not happen in Bran Baal."

Mikoto shook her head. "No," she said. "But this is Gaia, and Gaia is different."

Emily spoke up. "Perhaps we should go back inside. I find it unpleasant to be covered in water like this."

"If you like," said Mikoto. "But when it stops raining, please come back outside. Mr. 61 says that sometimes you can see ribbons of color in the sky after it rains. I want to see it. Maybe you should see it too."

Honestly, I don't like the rain much myself. I don't mind if it's just a little bit, but if it's pouring then I never go outside if I can help it. Still, I think someone who'd never seen rain before would probably be more fascinated than anything else.