The weather sprite was right. He always was. It did rain.
The next morning was a hard one for Celia and Nicko. They didn't tell Mark about the six day rain. They didn't want him worried.
But Mark knew something was wrong. His father went out straight away and his mother ordered tons of food from her cousin Karen's shop. He didn't ask though. His mother looked worried enough. So instead he stayed inside all day and played with the family's dog Mei.
But when Celia gave him a simple toast for dinner with milk he knew something was very wrong. Celia made sure her son was on a healthy diet.
She insisted on one fruit, vegetable, dairy, carb and meat serving a day. So eating toast and milk for dinner was a surprise. Mark wanted a peach but he said nothing.
Celia was watching the TV a lot. This also confused him. Celia thought watching too much TV was unhealthy. Yet here she was watching it ever ten minutes.
Nicko's behavior confused Mark as well. He didn't get home till ten o'clock that night when Celia was forcing Mark in the bed. He didn't even give Mark a flower and didn't want to play or read a story to him either.
On the fourth day that it rained, Mark was grumpy, bored and acting up.
" Mommy! I want to go outside!" He complained. Celia ignored him.
" Mommy! I want cookies." No response.
Mark got up on the chair to catch his mother's attention. " MOMMY!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. Celia wheeled around. "Mark! Get down now." She demanded.
Mark was stunned. Celia never yelled at him or ignored him before. He began to sob.
Celia sighed and picked him up cuddling him close to her. Up close Mark could see the bags under her eyes. She coughed. " I'm sorry Mark. Things have just been a little stressful." She said. " I didn't mean to yell at you." She said.
Mark saw the tears in her eyes. He hugged her. "Don't cry mommy." He said.
Celia smiled. But it wasn't a real one. " Come Mark. Lets have some dinner."
Mark smiled. " Okay Mommy!" He said kissing her on the cheek.
Around ten o'clock his father came home. Mark stayed up and listened to his mother's and father's conversation. He hardly understood any of it.
Nicko- " Celia! What are you doing up so late?! You should be in bed."
Celia- " I was waiting for you to come home." She coughed loudly.
Nicko tone of shock turned to gentleness. " Celia! Are you okay? How long have you been like this?"
Celia voice was quiet. " All day yesterday and today. I tried to hide it so you wouldn't notice." She said.
Nicko sighed. " Celia you're getting sick. This is bad. I'll call Dr. Hardy in the morning. For now get some rest."
Mark gasped. If daddy needed to get Dr. Hardy mommy must be very sick.
Celia made a sound, though Mark wasn't sure what it was. " Honey what about the crops and the animals?"
Mark heard his father pause.
" Tell me! You must tell me!" Celia demanded.
" Alright. They are getting sick. I should have upgraded the barn's to stone earlier. Wood is not good enough. Water leaks through the roof as well. Plus Gotz wont come out in this weather to make new ones. Not that I blame him." He added.
Celia voice broke. " What shall we do?" She asked.
Nicko sighed. " I'm not sure. All I know is that their is more rain coming. Mineral Town has turned into a swamp. Kai and Ann have moved to Ruby's Inn to avoid the bad weather. You should tell Karen to move to higher grounds."
Celia sighed. " I try. She is very stubborn though."
Nicko- " Yes she is. But one thing is for certain. If the rain gets any worse I'm moving you and Mark to higher ground."
Celia- " Where exactly were you thinking?"
Nicko- " Romana's villa. It at the edge of town and high up. That's the best hope. I would take us to the island but it's on the ocean."
Celia- " I understand. Do you think she is causing this?" she asked coughing.
Nicko shrugged. " I think so. I hope not. But I think so."
Mark was confused. Why didn't daddy like the ocean? And who was this "she"
Mark shivered. He hoped the rain would stop. Hugging Mei, closer he drifted off to sleep.