Rain On The Window

• Shaan Patterson, Grade 10
• Short Story
• 2011

The sky was a deep grey; it blocked out the sun and sent torrents of water falling to earth. A town stood on its own in the vast see of rain; its residents quiet and patient, awaiting the time till the can go outside. But past the town some way a lone house stood on its own, in the midst of a field of dead grass and no animals. And this house lived a girl, everyday she wondered what she would do, how she would escape from the man she called her father and go to the town for the first time, to be outside for the first time. But yet this could not be true. For she was a prisoner in her own home and everyday she would sit by her bedroom window and look outside, yearning to be free. But just as any other day she stared out her window at the onslaught of rain that would soon turn this field green until the winter, the rain that made the animals scurry and hide away from the storm, she thought to herself about what a life it must be to be an animal, to have no one tell you what to do or keep you caged in the place in which you were born. Perhaps one day her dreams would come true and a man would sweep her off her feet and take her away from this terrible nightmare, but all she had were her dreams and imagination in the cage. The only way to escape was to wait for nightfall and try and run, but her father said that any attempt to escape would end badly. But what chance did she have to be truly happy; the only way was for her to escape. It may have been morning but the girl behind the window knew what she was going to do. When nightfall came, she would escape. The day dragged on, the sun slowly getting lower in the sky and the heavens above changing from a blue to an orange. The stars started to appear and finally the sun set behind the mountains and the moon rose to its rightful place in the sky. The time had come, she stepped away from here place next t the window and crept along the wooden floors towards her bedroom door. With every step there was a creek, and with every creak there was a chance someone would hear her, and with those chances it would become more impossible for her to escape the nightmare of her father. She was finally outside when her arms were grasped from behind, she had been caught. Her father was furious and beat her again and again to teach her a lesson. But his beatings were too much, he released the daughter of his and went inside the old house in which they lived. The rain still patted gently on the window, but the girl no longer looked out.