Chapter 31
The people waited in the darkness, soaked in the waters of fear and despair. The women watched their men from the hovel where they slept; their cars had flooded and their tarps were ruined. They watched in the silence the anguish and desperation on their husbands' faces. The wisest ones glanced away from the angry men and above into the night sky. Even though the stars of luck had faded, they patiently waited for the flickerings of dawn.
"Good things leave so that betta things can come," they explained to their children. The children, like their fathers, were anxious and hungry for something bigger than themselves.
"But when, Mama?" The mothers reassuringly patted their heads.
"In its own time." And so the muddy children snuggled into their mothers' sides to wait for the dawn. Soon, the husbands felt a lack of attention upon them and turned towards their wives.
"Whatcha doing, Gladice?"
"I'mma waitin' for the sunrise." And a few of the men chuckled darkly.
"There ain't gunna be no sunrise, Mis' Joad. We's astuck in this." You see, they had lived so long in their despair that they had forgotten what hope felt like. Every day, men hunched their shoulders and looked down, never raising their faces to the sky, because they worried they would only be greeted with disappointment like a slap in the face.
"Well, just you watch." And they turned back to look into the dark and drizzling eastern sky. A few husbands joined their women.
"Whatcha doing, Billy? 'Ur wife's crazy!"
"She ain't crazy, and I ain't neit'er. She knows it'll happen." Begrudgingly, the rest of the men sat with their families to watch the sky. Sure enough, tiny flickers of light began to dance on the horizon, like a dying candle flame. To their amazement, the intensity of the lights grew, and the sky was awash in a rainbow of pastels.
In their hearts, they felt something new that had evaded them for the longest time: hope. It began slowly, like an early morning tide creeping onto the dewy shores and sneaking back, leaving more and more foam and water each time. But soon the waves grew larger and wilder and stronger as the sky erupted in a kaleidoscope of colors when the sun fully rose over the horizon line.
The rain stopped and so did their anger. In this new light, parents began to notice how their children had grown into strong young adults. Wives proudly noted how their husbands had not been broken by their sorrows or beaten by anger. And the husbands smiled, for their wives had once again been correct. Arms wrapped around shoulders, heads rested on each other, and the people began to smile in the yellow and pink gleam of the sun. The fear was gone, eradicated from their hearts. And the young people shared a knowing glance with their parents. The suffering had ended, but their story had just begun.