The Day The Rain Partied

It's one of those days you wake up to the sun and an immediate sense of confidence that all will be well. You know how it goes on sunny days. You take things easy for awhile until all of a sudden, just when you were supposed to get started on awaiting daily routines, rain falls. unashamed. Heavy. So heavy you find it offending, in some way.

You think, no big deal, i'm all good and the day will still be well, while all the same hoping the rain would ease for a few short minutes as you make your way out to the nearest bus stop. One with a proper shelter, of course.

And just as if your thoughts have been read, rain started falling in a fashion more gentle and almost pleasant. Having been proven right, you smirk and profess a monologue, Ha! is all not well? Indeed all was. Raincoat on. You get on an ojek and started away to that bus stop with a proper shelter.

But before you were even half way there, rain fell. When you got to the bus stop, you start questioning your memory, whether or not it kept any information on hair-washing in the shower a few minutes earlier. Apparently not, and your memory was alright. Your hair was drenched. You were pissed.

You got to school. You attended class. Politics. It rained more on your way to school. It rained more during and in between classes. It just rained and rained and rained. You wished Politics would be more interesting, but the rain beats all.

It was five and you were headed home, as was 85% (a mere guess) of the people around you. It was not the best time to be heading home, but you did anyway. And so did everyone else. You had thought about waiting somewhere at the nearest mall. Some friends were going, anyway, and they would probably keep you good company. But you were hesitant for inexplicable reasons.

It still rained.

You haven't eaten all day. The rain was way too distracting. You hungered for something to chew and at the same time wished for the Transjakarta to come a bit faster, before the line gets too long over at the transit station. A grey Transjakarta came, out of nowhere. It was, apparently, a direct bus heading to your home's direction. You happily bid the hellish transit station goodbye. You, then, think The rain isn't bad at all!

You refresh Twitter on your new Blackberry smartphone. Network reception was pretty sweet. All kinds of news flooded in. Traffic reports, mostly. In form of complaints and major whines, mostly. Your city was a traffic hell. That very second. That very moment you were reading the news. You were standing right in the center of it all. Amidst a traffic hell.

Just as you were reading through your depressing timeline, you heard something bark. There couldn't possibly be a dog in the bus, you thought. Of course it wasn't a dog. It was your tummy, you later on realised. You laughed at yourself, for being such a slow moron.

So hunger was beginning to take over. All of a sudden, a sweet sweet smell of bread and coffee meets your nose. This lady stood beside you with 6 packs of Rotiboy in her hand. You wished stealing was legal.

Trying to forget the hunger and traffic, you avert your eyes from your phone, from the lady, from the streets, to the people in the bus. It was packed. You witnessed a young man taking an empty seat, instead of giving it to the lady beside him who was obviously struggling with her grip. What a douche, you thought. You witnessed a girl who looked like she wanted to dance to the music in her earphones, if only she had the space. You wished you had charged that iPod you had borrowed from your kind man.

The bus was depressing all the same.

One and a half hour later, the bus came to your stop. You got out and hurried to the ojek stand. It was still raining. Ojek charged 3x the usual price, with the rain and several flooded areas ahead. Pretty normal, you guess. You just didn't have enough money. You could pay at home, again you guessed. You just felt like showing the ojek dude you did not need him. You were pissed and bitchy. What with all the rain, you justified.

You called someone from home to come and get you. Someone from home came. It was a short drive home.

You got home and switched on the lights and air conditioning. Why do I need air-conditioning in the rain, you wonder yourself, but shrugged off the thought. You jumped into bed. Pulled the covers over your head. Reached for your phone. And reviewed the day's mishaps. Or, mishap. Singular. The rain, and nothing else.

You then extended your thoughts to other things. The novel you were reading, the songs on your iTunes, the descent speakers to support it with, the WiFi connection, the grandparents in the other room, and of course, your new Blackberry smartphone.

"want some pempek?" someone knocked outside your door.

It was warm under your covers.

You could be anywhere else, but nowhere as comforting as home.