RAIN RAIN!!!

• Tobi Ray, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2014

As I look up in the sky, I start to scream and laugh in delight. You may think this is weird and yes, it would be anywhere else but it was raining, raining I tell you, raining!!! So of course, I ran inside and start to scream excitedly, my family runs and is not sure what I was screaming about, but they came anyway. My mum, dad, older brother, older sister and younger sister Chloe, they all ask what was happening, Chloe talking in her usual nonsense. I replied rain, rain, it's really raining! I couldn't help getting louder and louder which made Chloe cry like a baby. Mum quiets her down and takes the family outside. She starts to yell a happy yell and luckily Chloe was inside looking at the window not listening so she didn't cry. We all laugh and sigh, a sigh of relief.

Let me explain why our family is so excited about rain. It started two years ago, the year of the flood. The year of the flood came quickly and left quickly too. The rain just kept running down to earth, we didn't know when it would stop or what to do. Luckily, it wasn't too bad because we have two rain tanks to collect the water when it comes. But as I explained the flood had gone quickly with the ruins of what was our house back then. It did affect us but it was an excuse to upsize and we needed to. We knew that we would not need much rain for a while because we had collected so much. But we were wrong.

The next year we had used one and a half tanks. We knew we needed more rain soon but it didn't come. We were starting to pay for water so we could clean, drink and water our crops. Soon we were running out of money. Our crops were soon wilting flowers because we couldn't afford to water them. So we were losing food and still paying for water.

That was a year ago and because we were losing money, we lost time with our parents and older brother too. He was old enough to have a job, to help get us money to get water. But now we will get water from the rain and will soon have time with our parents and older brother again.

We were over the moon today when we saw that rain. It means that we can again plant our crops. As the sun goes down, we dance and sing in the rain like it was a birthday, and we know it won't rain as much as it did for the flood so we celebrate. Until we feel like we're dead.