Little Raindrop - 1. Story

Little Raindrop

By Ieshwar

Little Raindrop sat on the edge of the cloud and gazed ahead, lost in thought. Questions plagued her, harder than ever. Where was she going to fall? When was she going to fall? Was she even going to fall? Time trickled by yet no answers came.

All of her friends, younger and older alike, were gone. Some of the maiden raindrops, with whom she had started her journey last spring, had jumped one day during the sunrise. She watched as they fulfilled their dreams of being dews. Resting on green leaves with the sunrays softly kissing them, they were the most beautiful sight she had ever seen. She mourned their absence but it was their dream.

One day, she heard about Ocean. They said that she was the mother of all water beings. Mother she was and a great one too. Little Raindrop recalled gawking at Ocean, not being able to believe her eyes. How could a raindrop be so big?

“She’s not a raindrop, silly,” the other raindrops laughed. “She is water, just water. She’s the start and the end of every water kind.”

Yet, Little Raindrop couldn’t help but feel a bit scared of Ocean and her immensity. So, she stayed back and watched the rest fall to embrace their mother. Shortly afterward, she changed clouds and met other raindrops. It was not easy to mix with the drops from other places. They were pleasant yet she didn’t feel that she was one of them.

Then, on one particular big cloud, she met the Rowdy Drops. She had always thought that raindrops were supposed to be small, sweet and quiet. But they were the complete opposite- big, boisterous and awfully loud. They were still nice though and treated her like a fragile small sister. They told her about the storm they were preparing and even showed her how to call thunder and lightning. It was fun but too noisy for her. Then they jumped, or rather assaulted the space below. Silently, she watched the force they unleashed.

“So here you are,” Wise One said, breaking Little Raindrop out her reverie. She sat down next to her. Wise One was one of the oldest drops that remained. Some said that she had been the first drop to be formed. “Still worrying about your fall?”

“Yeah,” Little Raindrop said glumly. “Perhaps, I missed it. Do you think I should have been dew? Or I could have gone straight to Ocean, like the rest.”

“Did you feel as if that was what you were to do?”

“No…”

“Then, you’re right to not have jumped. I have seen the world, darling and believe me, listening to your heart is the best thing to do. Many jump because they are told. Or because they think they should. That’s a real pity because the fall is our ultimate life. I’ve never been through it but when you look at the ones jumping, you can see it on their face- boundless joy. It is the whole reason for our existence. You’ll have that moment. I’m sure of that. Just listen to your heart. Stay back when you feel like it; leave everything and jump when your heart tells you.”

“But I feel so frustrated.”

“It is completely normal.”

“Did you ever come close to jumping?”

Little Raindrop regretted asking the question the moment it came out of her mouth. Sadness marked the Wise One’s clear face. After a few moments of silence, she answered, “Yes, once. It was with my sister. We had promised to jump together. One day, we were moving above this house on fire. I knew she would jump. She was very brave. But I was scared by fire and she sensed that. She told me that I could stay back and that she still loved me. Then, she jumped. I almost did too but I didn’t.”

Both of them remained silent. Little Raindrop couldn’t imagine a scared Wise One. Only small young drops like her are scared. But then, once Wise One would have been like her- small, young and rather scared.

The cloud had become very small and light by now and it was the only one in the sky. It wasn’t surprising considering the high temperature and low humidity. Dunes of yellow sand covered the earth. It was the desert. Little Raindrop had heard about it, but not seen it before. It was also called the Land of Heat. Then, she saw a black mass below.

“What’s that?” she asked the Wise One, pointing ahead.

“Looks like a man. He probably fainted.”

“We need to help him,” Little Raindrop said urgently, getting on her tiny feet.

“You think so? I don’t think the others would join you. They’re all lost in their own world. And one small drop won’t be able to help him.”

Little Raindrop looked at the man. He was clearer now. His skin was pink from sunburns. His fingers trembled as he inched forward till he could no longer move. Her heart ached looking at someone in that condition.

“You’re going to jump, aren’t you?” Wise One said, looking at her. She nodded. “You aren’t forced to.”

“I know,” the small raindrop said. “But I can feel the pull, the one that everyone else talked about. This is where I jump.”

Both raindrops smiled at each other and then hugged.

“I’m so proud of you,” Wise One said. “You’re one fine raindrop. I’m glad to have met you.”

Grinning, Little Raindrop looked down. Her heartbeat increased. She could feel the excitement, the sensation of something great about to happen to her. She took one big breath and then… jumped.

She felt the hot wind rushing against her cheeks and whispering in her tiny ears. It was welcoming her to its world. She was no longer the small round drop; she had elongated with a tip at her end. She was a real raindrop now. The feeling was overwhelming- the rapid heartbeat, rush of water in her veins and realization of actually falling! She started laughing and doing small pirouettes. She would have sung if she knew how.

The land looked closer and she could see the man clearer. He was rather young with wisps of black hair escaping his yellow turban. His eyes were closed and his chest rose and fell slowly. He was rather handsome. She kissed him lightly on his cracked lower lip. It was so dry. As she gazed upward a final time, she saw Wise One and the rest of the drops falling down too.

“They agreed to fall,” Wise One yelled, with a huge grin on her face. “This feels so awesome!”

Little Raindrop smiled as she took her last breath. Yes, it was all about listening to your heart and jumping when you felt it was right.

Heartfelt thanks to Graeme and Sharon for their help.

© 2009 Ieshwar

Story Discussion