The rain drummed down in a relentless cascade of noise, showering the pavements with a shining layer of water. Bustling pedestrians strode past Kitty, collars turned up and umbrellas raised. Kitty's own black coat was uselessly draped across an arm.
"Put your coat on. You're getting soaked."
Kitty turned sharply, half-excepting a grinning Nathaniel to be standing across from her...Instead, what she saw was a youth, speaking to another girl. Kitty sighed.
Like you care.
Slowly, she grasped her coat from her arm and pulled it on, one arm at a time, then continued to walk at a leisurely pace. Her every step caused miniature splashes to spring onto her boots. She turned her face to the sky- the gray, overcast sky that reflected her own feelings and cried her tears for her, savoring the sensation of each tiny raindrop falling on her face. After a moment, Kitty finally found herself standing before her destination- the statue of Nathaniel that guarded the newly built Glass Palace in park. Clutched causally in his hand was a bronze version of Gladstone's staff; He still wore that rather cocky grin on his face- a smile immortalized in metal. Kitty simply gazed sadly at it and the single bronze plaque underneath on the pedestal. The plaque was engraved with one, simple name.
Nathaniel.
Minutes passed. Kitty did not move. Out of the corner of her eye, a splash of color among the gray landscape; Paint-brushes and various art materials hung from an old, tattered art bag. The owner of the bag was a middle-aged woman, who trudged toward Nathaniel's monument. Kitty paid her no heed.
"Who was he?" A child's voice, quiet and timid, pulled Kitty out of her thoughts.
Kitty looked down to see a young boy staring up at her, a boy who, to her, seemed to have the same eyes as Nathaniel- eyes that were compassionate, eyes that hungered for knowledge...
The child tilted his head. "Well...?"
The rain thundered down.
"He was Nathaniel...a hero...a friend..." Kitty's voice was no more than a hushed whisper. She dropped her gaze as her voice trailed off.
The boy smiled, his eyes sparkling like twin emeralds. "I want to be just like him when I grow up!" With that, he turned and skipped off into the rain. When Kitty looked again, he was no longer there.
What she also did not see was the djinn standing on the other side of the statue, watching her as the silver
rain cloaked him. The form that he wore was Nathaniel's.
Kitty suddenly felt the weariness in her limbs drain away. Warmth spread through her cold, stiff limbs as the rainfall ceased. Turning, Kitty beheld a ray of golden light shining through the layers of darkness that had previously engulfed it. The light spread, wrapping the world in its warm embrace and draining away the darkness, making way for a new day...Then it hit Nathaniel's statue like a beam of fire, making it glitter as though it was coated with brilliant golden frost... and allowed the staff in his hand to shine once again.