Aquarius: Under A Crying Sky

Summer always was my favorite season.

The cool sting of a storm feels oh-so-very wonderful when I've been cooped up in my bedroom, listening to the wind howl in my fireplace, waiting for that first staggering summer heat wave to pass. Reading loses its fun when I've been doing it all day. Especially when I have other thoughts on my mind…

The first plinking of raindrops on my roof makes my head spin and my heart skip a beat. I feel a torturous prickling run over my body…through my legs…down my ankles…dragging over my feet… I need to be out there, twirling like a dancer under the angry black skies, defying all other desires except to feel free.

I look down at my clothes, seeing if the rain will ruin them. Jeans and a flimsy cyan t-shirt. I dub them sufficient; I'm too lazy to put on a swimsuit.

I slide on an old pair of blue plastic flip-flops, and make my way out of my room, slide down the banister, and race out the door, my sandals clacking all the way.

Sweet torrents of water literally poured from the sky. I put a careful hand out into storm. Euphoria erupts in my head and rockets through my body as the crystalline water slides over my palms and trickles through my fingers. I stifle a moan and run into the tempest, almost leaping off the brick steps of my front porch, losing both sandals in the process.

I stand on my toes as a crack of lightning flashed in the distance, causing me to jump three feet backwards and fall flat on my back into the weeds my mother calls a lawn. I sprawl out on the grassy ground as my clothes soak through… exposing the dark blue bra I was wearing. Forgot to change out of that too…But I don't care.

The misty darkness of the storm seems infinite as the treacherous skylights flood the area in a bluish-white gleam. The head-throbbing rumble of thunder sounds after, nearly shaking the ground with its force. The water cascades upon me nearly to the point of pain. I feel myself arch towards the sky and moan as I embraced the cool, wet air like a lover.

I let the water swirl on my skin, slide softly over my sides into the muddy ground below. I stand and twirl, arms outstretched to maintain my balance. I do NOT want to fall again. Remembering my parents wouldn't be home until at least 9:30, I make my way over to the gate. The pool HAS to be wonderful right about now… So I make a break for the blue-lined pool, making sure I don't trip on all the weeds on my way. I slam shut the gate as loud as the next roll of thunder that sounds somewhere in the west.

As I thought, the pool is overflowing: perfect for jumping into. I dab my toes in the water, but lose my footing… and into the water I fall, screaming as it closes over my head; it is hotter than the rain and stings like pins and needles on my numb body. I float up into a mass of pearly, off-white bubbles.

I screech in outrage after spluttering mass amounts of chlorinated water and a leaf from my mouth, treading to stay afloat in the deeper end of the pool. However, my anger subsides as the heat of the water relaxes my limbs. I feel myself go slack and slide under the surface.

Upon opening my eyes, my vision explodes into a world of bright blue and teal lit by the lightning that flashes purple-blue in the steely gray clouds above. I hum to myself as I swirl beneath the surface, loving the water gliding and waving above and around me. I sway my hands and spin like a dolphin, chuckling to myself as I whirl. Then my vision blurs as I run out of air and surface, gasping for breath.

The rain has lightened to a drizzle, barely making a ripple in the water that surrounds me. I lean back and float, letting it mist my face. A sigh escapes my lips as I drift about. Though it turns into a shiver, as the rain grows colder. I flow under the water again to warm myself, losing myself to the throbbing silence beneath the surface.

I feel my hair billowing about my face in a sort-of mushroom shape. I giggle slightly, blowing tiny bubbles toward the surface as I spin around. Peeling off my shirt, I surface again to toss it onto my broken swing and dive back under, gliding softly, slowly. I feel quite like the nymph others claim I am. As I swim, the rain subsides…

Outside the water, the sun began to set through the clearing clouds, beams of golden light streaming through towers of stormy gray and plum purple. The sky slowly turned into a breathtaking lightshow of oranges, pinks, reds, and the sun a shimmering golden-yellow as it gradually sinks over the summer horizon. The moon is out as well, a smiling, waxing crescent in the west, gleaming like quicksilver as it rises.

The images of all this I watch through the slightly distorted looking glass of the water's trembling, ethereal surface. Lightning still lights up the clouds with a blue flash, but not enough to lessen the glorious summer sunset.

Once again I run out of oxygen and break the flimsy surface, panting and choking, spluttering water onto the pale gray concrete of the pool's walkway. I hoist myself out of the water and grab my shirt, leaving a trail of puddles on the drying path behind me as I walk toward the gate once more. The water streams off of my body in tiny rivulets, sweetly soft like a caress. I give a careless sigh and smile as I look out onto the horizon, watching the sky fade from warm, bright colors into the dark velvet of the night.

The moon is at its peak, grinning down at me as though we share a secret. It glows brilliant silver in the shadowy backdrop of night like a goddess's glittering diadem. Stars begin to blink into existence as the sun fully sets, gleaming like diamonds scattered by said goddess into her black velvet jewelry box, forming a careless pattern of constellations and planets.

I make my way inside, dripping water all the way into my bathroom, not bothering to turn the lights on as I walk. I push the shower curtains out of the way and blast the stereo to my current favorite song:

I need you Aquarius

Enchanted, I will have to stay

I fear you Aquarius

`Cause you, the sea, set me free

You call to me Aquarius

[Call to me, set me free…]

There is just enough light in the room for me to see the steam wafting off the water. Perfect. I peel my damp clothes off, though I have difficulty with them as they stick to me like a second skin. Each item hits the floor with a loud, wet smack. I step into the stream of hot water, hissing slightly as the scalding heat sets into my freezing body, making my skin break out in goose bumps. Each rivulet of warmth seeps over my head, causing a sort of reverse brain freeze in my skull.

I shiver, head lolling slightly on my neck as my mind wanders to… other things. Like my lover. It was here under the heat that I imagine so many odd things, but recently, all my creative energies have stopped their visits in lieu of perverted fantasies. “Thanks a lot, love,” I think aloud as a rather vivid image flashes in the theatre behind my eyes.

After my shower, [and momentary lack of brain control,] I make my way up the stairs and into my room, not bothering to dry off before lying down and falling asleep, waiting for dreams to come…

-End