Mishappiness in Rainy Days
No. It’s not the sudden inappropriateness of your chic outfit for a sunny day, not the rain-drenched clothes hanging in your clothesline, not the terrifying thunder nor the striking lightning, not the pesky quagmire you accidentally stepped on in front of your crush and not even the passing Vios that showered you with mud, destroying your newly pressed uniform. No. It’s not your odorous leather shoes drained in the dank mixture of flood, saliva, garbage and rat urine in the BulSU rain pool, it’s not the time when you had no choice but to shower in the hot rain for you had no umbrella, not the time when you had to wait for hours for it to stop before you can traverse safely home. It’s not the time when the rain ruined your nice joy walk with your barkada, not the time when you got even later because the rain slowed you down and your favorite professor called you a moonwalker, not the time when you were suddenly reminded of your loneliness because there are no bystanders on your village streets, not the time when you got humiliated in the crowd when your umbrella opened the other way around (making it look 50-peso cheap), not the time when you had to spend six bucks to ride a jeepney when you normally walk your way to your destination, not the time when you realize that the umbrella was intentionally made a bit bigger to be shared by two. Rainy days let us down. As such, they make us feel cornered, limited, imprisoned. They make us feel heaven’s disappointment toward mankind. They make us remember a whole lot of memories—the kind that you are thinking of right now. The rain wouldn’t allow us to play and feel the hope of the warm sunshine. Rain showers us with various kinds of emotions; Mondays give us the blues. Together, they make us feel that relaxation time is over and we have to work ourselves off so we could kiss the weekend again. Rain is a lonely word for many. What we do not know, one rainy day is just like any other day. The only difference is: rain is literal, loneliness is symbolic. The cliché our attitude determines the outcome of our day might be true, but we are still human beings. We are not capable of controlling our waking-up, the passengers we’ll ride with, the salespeople we trade with, the guards we deal with, the teachers we learn from. We are only in control of how we are going to deal with what we are going to feel, of how we are going to feel between the thousands of droplets of rain that fall upon us. You simply have to make sure your umbrella is firm enough to protect you. Otherwise, you only have the last option to protect you—yourself. Happiness, people would say, is difficult to achieve. For some, it is what lies between every lonely situation; between every droplet of rain. It is the funny reflection of yourself in the flood, the wet-bloomed petals that greet you in the morning after a rainy night, the nice tap of a stranger offering to share a hospitable-looking umbrella, the songs you sing with your friend as you walk under your little roof, the shouted conversations of your barkada while you walk by pairs, the proud posture you do while opening your brand new transparent umbrella, it is the farmers’ delight in the promise of lesser work and greater harvest, the exchange of giggles of street kids as they dip their bare-naked bodies in the watery mud, it is the feeling of importance drivers feel as they fetch and drop their passengers safely. Rain is the air conditioner of the destitute, the saved electricity from not tiring the fan and air con, it is the coming home early of a mother’s husband and children, the quality time spent with your family, the chance to look prettier in your nice jacket, it is the warm embrace of a loved one in the unbearable coldness of a rainy night, the government’s genuine concern for the safety of the students, it is a good proof that your date is really interested in you, it is your pet’s sincere cry for comfort in fear of the horrifying thunder and lightning. It is you, forgetting the chaos and busyness of your world. You, proving to yourself that you are capable of being strong—alone with your great Umbrella. You, pondering happily despite the mishaps that came unexpectedly in your way. (Elaiza R. Banasig) Possibly Related Posts:
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