Jensen watches the rain from the safety of a diner. He sees a beautiful girl pass by who catches his attention. Though he wants to know more about her, he assumes he will never see her again. Parry offers Jensen a ride home in the rain. During the ride, Parry reflects on how the rain helps him feel renewed each morning and try to do better. Jensen thinks about how he wishes the rain could truly cleanse and renew things.

1. When It Rains
By Jeff Morley
Jensen returned the card and turned to see rain pouring outside. He hesitantly walked over
to the window, dislike and discomfort suppressing his steps. It had come. The steady drumming
of rain hitting the roof and window confusingly soothed Jensen. Droplets scattered the ground,
quickly covering the dusty road with a glistening film. Leaves bobbled up and down as liquid
cloud fell on the trees across the street from the diner. From the safety of the diner, Jensen gazed
up into the endless, grey clouds. Each passing second that Jensen looked up at the clouds brought
millions of droplets cascading down to earth. There was so much rain. It was as though the sky
held itself responsible to cleanse its terrestrial friend of years and years of blemish. Nature’s
shower was in effect, and Jensen watched in conflict.
Jensen watched the rain race down the window. Translucent veins pulsed as each droplet
rolled down the path the previous one left. The lines on the window looked like strands of thread
attempting to weave themselves together. Single droplets of rain hugged the window, eventually
becoming part of the minuscule rivers that ran down the window’s surface. Other droplets stood
alone—iridescent stipples that captured the light and color on the glass canvas.
As the rain continued, a girl passed by the window. She couldn’t have been any older than
Jensen. As she walked by, her bright, blue eyes met his. She was beautiful. Long, golden hair fell
out from the white hoodie she was wearing. Her peach colored skin was the only color in the
dull, dreary afternoon. Her soft, pink lips lifted into a smile, and then she passed from Jensen’s
view.
Jensen had never seen her before. He wondered if she was just a vacationer who would be
gone by morning. He wanted to know about this girl who walked in the downpour, but quickly
accounted it as a hopeless gesture. Still her image lingered in his mind. Even the droplets of rain

2. seemed to hold onto her presence. Like thousands of tiny cameras, each droplet contained a still
frame of the girl. She stayed in his mind the rest of the day.
The storm continued and the diner remained empty. The last few hours of the day felt like an
eternity for Jensen. He attempted to find things to do to keep busy, but he eventually just sat
down and waited until the diner closed. The others joined him at the table and passed the time
through conversation. Jensen would drift in and out of their conversation partly due to boredom,
but mostly because his thoughts would return to the girl walking passed the diner earlier.
Usually Jensen wasn’t like this with girls—especially with those he hadn’t met. And it
wasn’t necessarily some crazy infatuation over her. He was just curious of who she was; why she
happened to be the only one walking out in the downpour. Ultimately, she had caught him off
guard. One moment he was watching the rain fall. The next, this girl walked passed him,
interrupting his world, for only a second, with a smile. He kept dismissing the thought of her,
knowing fully well that he would never see her again.
He glanced back toward the window again. It was dark outside now. He knew that it was
still raining due to the lamppost across the street. The rain was only visible within the perimeter
of the lamp’s glow. It appeared as though silver streamers were falling from the sky and landing
on the lit pavement below. Besides that, only the sound of rain proved the presence of the storm
overhead.
Jensen’s wandering thoughts were interrupted by Parry. “Let me take you home, Jens,”
Parry said, “there’s no way I’m letting you bike home in the rain.” He nodded his head toward
the window. Jensen got up from his chair, and everyone walked out of the diner together.
They all lived about three miles away from the diner. Jensen usually rode his bike to town.
But in the rainy months, Parry always insisted on driving him home. Although Jensen enjoyed

3. his bike rides home, he couldn’t pass up on Parry’s kindness. Jensen didn’t enjoy biking in the
rain, and since he lived in the loft above Parry’s garage, he didn’t feel bad accepting a ride.
Jensen threw his bike in the back of Parry’s old ’73 Chevrolet 1/2 Ton truck and rocked the
heavy tail gate up and down until it shut. He hopped up into the truck and sat on the tan bench
seat, Parry already seated on the driver’s side. As Parry fiddled with the ignition, the truck
engine groaned in attempt to start. Within a second the engine turned over and the truck started
up with a bassy growl. As Parry backed out of the small diner parking lot, Jensen looked at the
diner window, reflecting on his encounter with the girl. Droplets on the window gleamed like
diamonds from the headlights of the truck. the window sparkled and then went dark as the truck
turned onto the road.
Jensen sat quietly and listened to the rapping of the rain on the truck. Like a snare drum,
droplets in various sixteenth and quarter notes splashed off the metal roof, and accents from
larger drops falling from trees created a chaotic, percussive melody. Parry and Jensen rocked
back and forth due to the uneven dirt road and poor suspension of the truck. Parry glanced over
at Jensen from the corner of his eye, “everything alright?” he asked to break the silence. Jensen
blinked out of his daze and nodded, “Yeah, I’m good. Just listening to the rain.”
“It’s pretty soothing, isn’t it? During these rainy months it often helps me get to sleep. I
never get sick of listening to it.”
“Yeah it is nice. You know me though; I just don’t like rain. It must the the Californian in
me. I need my sun.”
“Hah ha, yeah. I’ll never understand why you moved up to the rainiest state possible. When
my parents moved up here, they specifically wanted the rain. They said they loved the smell. It
was always such a clean presence, the rain was, they said. My Ma always used to say whenever

4. it rained at night, mistakes and all things bad would be washed away for a brand new, beautiful
morning. Now in my old, balding age, hah, I’m beginnin’ to have faith in that saying. Life brings
all sorts of trouble and mistakes. It’s a nice to think that I can wake up every day with a fresh
start. It keeps me from gettin’ down. It’s nice to know that I can try better each and every day.”
Jensen shifted his gaze from Parry to the road in front of him. As he pondered on what
Parry said he watched the rain continue to descend. “If only rain actually did cleanse
everything,” Jensen thought to himself, then shook the thought from his head.