I forgot to check the weather.

I cursed myself under my breath as I felt a single raindrop fall onto my cheek. My dog, Rigby, trotted along in front of me. I was over a mile away from my house, nearly twenty minutes of walking away from the safety of my roof.

The rain drizzled down on me, slow at first. 

Drip.

Drip. 

Drip.

The droplets fell faster. Faster, faster, the rain continued to pick up the speed. Harder, quicker the droplets came, surrounding me and forming puddles beneath my feet. I tucked my phone inside my sweater, a desperate attempt to keep it dry. 

The drizzle grew, shifting into a downpour. My hair was soaked in the water, my clothes sticking to my damp skin. Rigby bounded from puddle to puddle, tail wagging, lapping up the water on the ground. 

I marveled at his joy. I bent down and he ran back to me, licking the water off my face. I laughed as his tongue tickled my nose and cheeks, his breath hot in my face. In the midst of the excitement, I forgot about the rain, about my clothes, my hair, and my shoes. 

At that moment, I was a child again. 

When I was younger I would dance in the rain. I would see the dark clouds gathering in the sky above and run out into the storm, throwing myself into the cold embrace of the sheets of water. My toes wiggled in the water and my giggles echoed around the scene as I was consumed in pure, unhindered joy.

Remembering my younger self, I stood up, looked up to the sky, and took a deep breath. 

“Ready?” I asked my dog.

Then, we took off running. Rain poured down my face and my hair was plastered to my face but for the first time in a long time, I was free. My toes squished and splashed in the puddles inside my shoes, my steps fell into rhythm with my canine partner. 

A smile danced across my face as I felt my makeup dripping down. 

My feet slowed to a stop when I saw my house, the sanctuary I had longed for not twenty minutes ago was so close. There, just fifteen feet from my door, I sat down.

I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with the crisp, rainy air. 

Rigby laid his head in my lap, and there we stayed, listening to the pounding of droplets on the pavement. A symphony to my ears.