Rain

• Shannon Lucas, Grade 10
• Short Story
• 2020

I've never seen rain.
I’ve heard about it, read about it, seen it on the holo. At every moment of every day, rain is there, in the minds of everyone in this community. It haunts our every step, our every dry breath, it lurks at the edge of dreams like a ghost.

Everyone in the shire of Fallgate longs for rain. It’s been 20 years. Green is long gone. I only know about it from photos of the region before the drought. Ms Simms says, ‘The people should be long gone as well,’ but the people of Fallgate are stubborn, and I guess she is too.
They say it's our fault that it doesn’t rain anymore. We pulled too many of the native plants, until the salt from the rising water table ate away at our houses, and the water evaporated away. I think They are to blame too, with pollution and greenhouse gases; only They are lucky enough to live by the coast where the ocean washes right up to their doorsteps, coming up little by little like a dog trying to sneak onto the sofa. (I want a dog. Dad says we can't afford the extra water.)

The heat thrums against the tin roof of the bus shelter. I can hear the cough of the bus, wheezing up the hill. The dry kills even the machines here. It lurches to a stop beside me, and the doors hiss open.
‘Hello Xi.’
‘Greetings, Clio. Welcome aboard.’
I climb into my usual position. I like to face whichever way Xi decides will be forward on the day. Xi is the name of our bus. I like talking to Xi. It is polite to everyone, but somehow it gives me the impression that I am The Favourite. Maybe everyone feels that way, but anyway, Xi makes me feel special.
‘Did you hear the scientists say they can make it rain, Clio?’
‘Really? How the hell could they make it rain? Wave their magic wands and make a wish? Piffle.’ I stare out the window stormily, as if my cloudy glare could bring down rain on the parched fields.

Eventually Xi trundles to a stop outside the school. Kids pile off, some yelling thanks over their shoulders.
‘Always treat the AI right, Clio. One day it’ll take over and will remember your politeness.’ Dad still lives in the 21st century. However…
‘Thanks, Xi!’ I say and step down onto the hot, cracked tarmac.
‘Clio!’ My friend Rho hops from foot to foot in excitement. Or maybe it's just his ADHD. My parents find his irrepressible energy irritating, which is maybe why we’re friends. ‘Did you hear about the scientists Clio? They say they can make it rain!’
‘I heard. Don't get your hopes up, Rho. No one can make it rain. If they could, we wouldn't be waiting for it, would we?
But as I settle myself into my seat at school, I wonder. Who knows? All we can do is hope.