It rained today. 

  Relentlessly. Violently. 

  The once clear blue sky transformed into a mix of angry greens and greys– the world looked completely different in a matter of seconds. The dark clouds covered any trace of blue; the ominous sky opened up and the rain poured. The rain poured for what seemed like a lifetime, an eternity. 

  I watched as the trees danced to the boisterous wind’s song and the blooming buds of spring relocated to the grass. I watched as the furious wind yanked the leaves off of the trees that framed the pond outside my window. I watched as the rain droplets fell to the pond, making a splash before blending seamlessly into the body of water. 

  I sat in silent solitude, watching the savage events unfold right outside my window. It struck me, the juxtaposition of it all: the fine line between the tranquility and stillness inside the house, and the vicious turbulence that loomed just outside. I watched as the world fell apart right before my eyes, but felt no sense of urgency or gravity about the situation before me.

  I had always been afraid of storms, since I was a child, for no real reason if I’m being honest. I think the uncertainty of the storm was the real fear; the loud crashes of thunder and the bright flashes of lightning were just the masquerades.

  But at that moment, there I sat, face to face with the thing that had always stuck me with fear. But this time there was no fear. There was no concern. I didn’t mind the loud crashes of thunder or the bright flashes of lightning. 

  I simply observed from the safety of my window, seeing that when I met the storm head-on, not pulling the covers over my eyes, the thing that once scared me, lost all power. I was met with reality.

  The wind was just wind. The trees were just trees. The sky was the same sky that had once been a beautiful shade of blue. And I basked in the understanding that it would return to that blue again.

  And it did. And then came the rainbow.