Pluviophile

"There is a man up in the clouds darling, he's the kindest man I've ever known and if you're ever alone, he'll watch over you...."

Rain.
He watches her from above. She, who runs through the torrent of water, orange skirt blazing in the dull gray-green of moss and damp earth, not once stopping or looking for shelter. Then she pauses, turning her face skyward, allowing the drops to meet her skin. Her features relax into a small smile, as she lowers her head and carries on, no longer running, but slowing walking though the trees as her skirt trails on the ground. He doesn't follow her, but the smile remains etched in his mind.
He catches himself watching her again, as she sits in the marketplace, a basket full of vegetables and fruits, washing themselves clean in the rain. The apples pale before the red of hr cloak and hood. He watches her, fascinated by her lack of rush, lack of desire to keep herself dry. She looks skyward again, hood slipping off her head as the rainwater trickles down her face in little rivulets. He wonders what makes her so happy amidst the sickly cobblestones and hurrying cart horses.
Suho sits on his dark cloud and watches. He's watched humanity grow since it's creation, knowing them to curse and draw everything in as soon as he starts pouring the water down to the earth. Sure, there are the farmers, who can't live without him, but since the moment he was awakened to the present day, he has never seen anyone enjoy rain for itself.
Rain.
He wonder if it's allowed, for the immortals to visit earth and mingle with humankind. Jongdae flicks his finger next to him, causing the sky to burst into blinding white, purple and blue streaks. Suho doesn't notice. Jongdae raises an eyebrow in wonder.
"You want to visit the earth...?"
"Yes."
"Why...? That's Kyungsoo's realm..."
"Is it allowed, though?"
"I don't know, I've never really wanted to know..."
"Why do you want to?" Yixing's quiet voice sounds behind them. Jongdae looks but Suho remains unmoving, staring down to the earth. "She's a beautiful mortal," says Yixing, following Suho's line of sight.
"I just want to know... Just once, just one question..."
Jongdae and Yixing exchange glances. When they turn back, Suho is gone.

Rain.

She sits under a tree, sobbing, coat spattered with mud. The sky darkens a little, lightening flashing, electricity charging across the sky. She rises, feet shaking, and follows the path up to the road, eyes blinded with a concoction of rain and tears. There is a sudden drum of hooves on pavement and she feels someone pull her out of the way.
"Are you okay!!" She blinks, shocked out of tears as she watches the horse carriage pass by.
"I'm..." It's only then that she realizes her savior is a man unlike any she's ever seen before. She stares wide eyed at the milky skin and blonde hair, too perfect to be real. "...fine."She straightens herself out of his firm hold and takes a step back. "Thank you." She smiles at him. "You're not from here, are you mister...? I've never seen you before."
"I..." Just once.
"You must have traveled for miles then.... How are your clothes not wet?"
"I..." Just one question.
"Anyway, thank you for saving me, would you like to have cake? My mother makes the best cake."
"What... what is cake?" She breaks out into a peal of laughter, wiping the corners of her eyes. He's a little awed by the sound
"You're a strange one mister." The rain stops. She turns to go. "Are you coming?"
He looks at the sky once, and follows her.

Rain.

"Oh it's you again." She moves aside allowing him to enter the warm interiors of the shed.
"Hello."
"Hello. Passing by?"
"Depends."
"On what?"
".... why is it staring at me." She bursts out into laughter, clutching her belly.
"Don't be afraid, it's just a cow."
"It's looking at me suspiciously...."
"It's a cow! It can't get suspicious!" She watches him waver, then choosing to go stand in the farthest corner. He looks so very unreal amongst the drab interiors. "Would you umm.... would you like to come inside?  Mother made some fresh jam, you could have some for your journey."
Suho looks at her while she stares nervously at her feet, and picks up the milk pail next to her. Maybe next time he'd ask....
"Sure, which way?"
'Next time' becomes the biggest lie since the dawn of time. Three times turns into four, which turns into a regular occurrence till she expects to see him leaning against a tree or standing outside her house every time it rains. She never asks who he is, or where he comes from but learns to expect him each time the skies open and pour out. Then one day he asks her.
"My father...." She says, casting her eyes towards forest floor, "he used to love the rain... said the rain-man went thankless for all the work he did... at least that's the story he used to tell me when I was a little girl." She smiles at him softly. He returns the smile.
"Your father is a clever man," he says, "the rain-man doesn't get his fair share of thanks."
"Was. Yes... he.... went for the war and never returned home with the others...." Her eyes mist over and she pauses, pretending to straighten her apron. Suho's smile drops as he watches her clench her jaws and brush her skirt of the few raindrops from the light drizzle around them. She raises her head and looks at him, and for a moment he sees the fierce look in her eyes that he had seen from the skies. "I don't know where he is now... but someone needs to thank the rain-man now." She laughs and gently lifts her skirt to stop it from grazing the ground.
He knows, he knows now, but yes he's back with the next rain, helping her with berry picking in the forest while she talks of how tired her mother is with all the work. Suho stays even after it stops raining.
"Don't." Jongdae grabs his shoulders as he's about to leave for the umpteenth time. "Don't do this to yourself."
"Do what?"
"You're falling in love! Don't you see, you rain clogged cloud. No... you're already in love. You have to stop."
"I'm just..."
"She's going to die, and you never will." Jongdae spins him around to look directly into his eyes. Under his fierce glare, Suho feels an electric current run down his spine. "She has to live out her life, and she will die someday. Do you understand me. You can't go." But Suho's eyes are already earthbound.
"Just once more...." And he's gone. Jongdae growls in anger, and the skies are cracked open by thousands of brightly charged streaks.
She looks up, flinching at the multiple flashes of lightening, fearing for her life ask she walks to her house. There's another stab of light, this time closer and she breaks into a run.
"Get in here!" Someone drags her inside the cowshed.
"Who—?! Oh.... hello again...." Thunder growls a warning from above. Suho shuts the door.
"Hello." It's only then that he notices the worry on her face. "Is everything okay....?"
"It's awful weather… I hope it won't last long...."
"I thought you liked the rain..." She fidgets and sits down on a pail. Suho puts away the lily he's brought for her.
"I do... I love it...it makes everything new and fresh and... I meet you each time it rains.... But..." She twists the cloth from her skirt into little knots. He raises an eyebrow expectantly. "I'm getting married tomorrow." She barely meets his eyes.
"Married....? That's— that's great!! Congratulations!"
"Thank you... He's really nice..." Her eyes were still on the floor. "Will you come? I was waiting for you.... it's been months..." She looks at him finally, eyes lighting with expectation and a certain feeling he can't place.
'She has to live out her life...'
"I— I can't, I have to be somewhere else, sorry..." She watches him move to the door.
"Is this goodbye?" He stops.
"What?"
"That look in your eyes, I've.. I've seen that before. This is goodbye, right?" She stands up looking at him questioningly. He leaves the door and walks back to her.
"Well..."
"It's okay." She smiles. "I don't even know your name, or where you come from, just that you come each time the rain does, you're always smelling of it.... and you're so mysteriously dry.... and you don't even look real..." She trails away,looking at his face. He smiles down at her softly.
"I'll make sure it doesn't rain tomorrow.... have a happy life."
"You're strange mister," she says, like the first time they met, smiling as brightly as she could. Suho remembers the lily he has been carrying from her, tucking behind her ear and leaning closer. She closes her eyes as he kisses her cheeks. When she opens them, he's gone, leaving behind a lingering scent of the rain and lilies.

Rain.

Several years later, she sits in the rain, worriedly looking at the forest.
"Mama!!" She turns her head towards the high-pitched voice. "Mama!!" A little girl of six bounds towards her in the rain.
"Oh thank god!" She wraps up the child in her arms, then kisses the top of her head. "Don't you ever do that again sweetheart! I thought you were lost!"
"I was mama, but then a nice man helped me, just like the man from your stories!" She smiles down at the little one.
"Just promise me you won't run into the forest like that again. Did you thank the nice man?"
"Yes mama," she nods vigorously, pigtails bouncing. "I did and he gave me this,"  she says, then holds out a flower in her hands. Her mother stops and stares at the flower. It's a snow white lily.... Just like the one on her windowsill that hasn't wilted in the last seven years. Her child keeps chattering while she looks up to skies and smiles brightly.
He smiles back.

Thank you rain-man.