Lightning could strike

Rain was falling soundly in front of her, missing her by barely a few inches from the meagre protection of the porch in front of the shut store.

She was waiting. Her mother had told her to wait until she could finish her courses, and Arashi was nothing if not a good girl who did what her mother told her.

Still, it was cold, and dark, and far away thunder kept growling; and Arashi was thinking about the way her mother was coughing lately. She didn't like it one bit.

Water splashed in front of her, a small little tsunami that reached up her shoes. In the yellow light of the neon, she saw the face of the small boy who had just jumped in a puddle, wet and waterproof in his yellow kindergarten uniform, and he smiled like an idiot.

"Heyyyyyyy !" He shouted, apparently persuaded that she was deaf. "Wanna play ?"

Arashi blinked, unused to the boy's accent.

"I'm Sora-chan ! You're pretty ! I like your hair, Nee-chan !", He added in a sudden flood, and joining gesture to words, grasped a big lock of her hair.

Arashi resolutely decided that she would have none of it. "Let it go ! Letitgoletitgoletitgo ! LETITGO !" she shouted high pitched, starting to rain blows and scratches on him. Soon enough, they were rolling in the mud, rainwater messing up all of Arashi's clothes. Then as suddenly as it had started, it was over, and Sora-chan was near her, having finally let go of her hair, and merrily laughing. "Waoh, Nee-chan ! You can fight ! That's so cool !"

Dumbfounded, Arashi sat too, finding no reasons anymore to scream or fight. In the distance, lightning stroke, flaring briefly at them. Arashi flinched in anticipation of the quaking blow of thunder, while Sora-chan stood up in anticipation and shouted "BA-DA-BOOM-BAM !" in perfect synchronization with the blast.

"Are you afraid of the storm; Nee-chan ?" The hyperactive boy asked, turning toward her his wild grin. "You shouldn't ! It's like... God is playing drums, you know ? BAM-BA-DA-BAM-DOOM !" He said, mimicking the gesture of someone beating a drum.

Arashi looked at him suspiciously. Was the boy making fun of her ? "I'm not afraid !", she said haughtily. "I just prefer it when it's quiet."

"But quiet is booooo-ring !" Sora-chan protested, "And when there's no storm, I can't do that." He raised his hands and small blue sparkling lines started hopping between his fingers, like miniature lightning.

Arashi's eyes widened. "It's pretty." She admitted. He smiled at her more softly and under the rain they watched the light dance in rhythm with the wind howling for a while.

"SORA-CHAN !" A woman's voice called out. The boy startled and the glow stopped. The woman strode to them, all the way yelling "How can you have done this Sora-chan ? I TOLD you you had to stay with your comrades and NEVER leave the group while we where visiting Tokyo ! You are a bad, bad boy !" She took him under her arms and carried him away, continuing to scold him all the way.

Arashi watched them walking away wonderingly, twisting a lock of her hair. Sora-chan waved at her until he was out of view.

The soft music of rain went on, only interrupted by the staccato of thunder. And lightning stroke, like sudden spotlight illuminating the stage.