Cooling Down

Finally, it’s a rainy day.

Since last night, I had been looking forward to today’s rain, especially after a restless week.

At last, the heavy heat and unstable air trapped inside the apartment drifted away.
Over the past week, the number of times I drank water doubled.
I had no appetite — except for oranges, black coffee, water… and tomatoes.

Today, when I opened the balcony door connected to my room,
a cool breeze brushed across my face.

My unstable thoughts were cooled down,
the excess energy inside me finally lowered in temperature.
There was a kind of “cold calmness” that quieted me.

After wandering around the balcony for a while,
my two dogs noticed my coffee was ready.
Their brunch was ready too.

Rain was never my preference.
But this feeling of being cooled down came just on time.

I watched the raindrops tapping rhythms across the balcony,
and suddenly, I wanted to walk into the rain.

So I finished my Americano in one long sip
and stepped out onto the balcony.

I could smell the unique scent that only rainy days carry —
grass, soil, cooling air, the atmosphere of a Sunday.

A lonely 15-degree daylight.

My skin tingled from the cold,
yet everything felt fresh.

Anxiety and calmness intersected.
Uneasiness and emptiness stood still.
Plans and changes paused for a moment.

I listened to the birds in the trees gossiping about things I would never know.
I don’t understand how they always have so much to talk about.

But as an outsider in this city,
their voices made my weekend feel a little less lonely.

Rain repainted the scenery before my eyes.
Like windshield wipers across a car window,
every second revealed a different frame —
each one unique.

The melancholy of rainy days
has nothing to do with me today.

But thoughts of someone
appeared in my mind.

I hope that today, this Sunday —
no matter if the sky is sunny, cloudy, or rainy —
you are within the same single frame of time with me.

Black coffee,
a simple song —

I think for today,
that is already happiness to me.