Thunder - May 30, 2012

[note: this was written during a writing exercise: we had 20 minutes to write something inspired by the word "thunder". This is the result, unedited, exactly as it appeared when time ran out. You can read all of them in the waves category]]

Thunder - Squiddy Geiger - May 30, 2012

Jerry sighed as the thunder reverberated. It had been very close. He heard a whine from nearby. He got up to go rescue poor Sam from where he was cowering in the next room. He knew he was in the next room because of the agitated scratching as the poor thing tried to go to ground, clawing anxiously at the tiled floor.

He went into the other room and snapped his fingers. At the sound, Sam froze, then looked at Jerry as if to say "I'm sorry, I can't help it." Jerry looked at the five year old Golden Retriever for a moment, then pointed to the door. The dog lowered his head and walked through to the living room, and lay on his bed. Jerry watched until he'd settled and calmed down, then petted him affectionately.

As he listened to the thunder, Jerry wished, as he often did, that the storms could be like they'd been when he was a boy, in West Africa. This storm might be upsetting the dog, but it was nothing compared to those. He remembered the nights when they'd been woken by thunderstorms that were so violent, the cracks and rumbles were constant. By a window, you could read from the constant flashes of lightning.

Still, this was enjoyable. Some people hated thunder, but he relished it. It was alive, and encompassing, as the rolling thunder washed over you, and through you. He loved how, under the right conditions, the hairs would stand up on his arms and neck, as another bolt built. When that happened, he knew it would be very very close, and he'd unplug his appliances and electronics. Just in case.

There, he thought, it's moving on. Sam was starting to relax as the rumbling became more distant. You could hear it, but it didn't rattle your bones anymore. The rain, however, was steady, a lovely source of white noise that soothed him. It had been a long day. He smiled, got up and signalled to the dog, who followed him as he went upstairs to bed, where the rain would lull him to sleep.

Posted by Squiddy at May 30, 2012 02:45 AM | TrackBack