Glossy jet black with stripes of gold and multiple pockets – I knew that it would be the one as soon as I saw it. For my twelfth birthday, my parents took me “raincoat shopping”. As absurd as that may sound, I had wanted one for a long time and had somehow passed the last year without one, using an umbrella instead. The one I had chosen was perfect. It even came with a matching pair of boots!
The rains had just commenced, recognizable by the South-West monsoon winds. I was quite excited to wear the raincoat, and didn’t fail to carry it every day to school; even when the sky was a clear blue. But right after I bought it, the rains miraculously stopped. “Pay attention in class Sam! Stop staring out the window” – was becoming quite common for me as I couldn’t stop checking the sky for clouds. Days turned to weeks. It was almost the end of July and not a single drop of water had fallen from the skies. My hopes were always high, but my anticipation only led to disappointment. I was frustrated, sad and losing hope, although at a slow rate.
Finally, the day came – when the sky was covered with clouds and not a single patch of blue could be found. It had to be the day, or at least that’s what I thought. It still didn’t rain the whole day. That’s when I quit. However, much to my surprise, the next week on a pretty normal day, it finally happened. I couldn’t have rejoiced more when I felt the drop land on my forehead! I splashed on puddles, made paper boats and did everything a kid could ever imagine to do on a rainy day while obviously wearing my raincoat. Now when I think back, that was the last time I’d ever had such unsupervised fun because soon afterwards, the pressures of growing up caught up with me.
However, that day the rain continued to pour and didn’t stop; even after my thirst had been satiated. I made more use of my raincoat, stomping about outdoors, enjoying every moment of childhood on a rainy day.
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