The sky, gray since morning, slowly began to release its rain. Droplets fell, soaking the earth with a rhythmic sound, washing the dust from the ground but unable to wash away the deep sorrow that still weighed on Laras’s heart. The rain came down without stopping, as though the sky itself were mourning the fate of the child now sitting alone on the windowsill, hugging her knees tightly as she watched the drops slide down the glass, forming clear streaks that slowly widened before disappearing as if they had never been there. The sight was exactly like the tears that had continued to flow down her cheeks these past few days—coming again and again, falling, then drying on their own because no one was there to wipe them away gently as they once had.
The sound of rain, which had once always felt soothing, had now become heartbreaking. In the past, whenever rain fell, her home would feel warmer and more comfortable. Inside the room, sheltered from the chill in the air, Mom would brew hot tea, its fragrant steam rising as she looked at Laras with a gentle smile. Dad would sit in his favorite chair, occasionally turning toward her and joking around, making the coolness outside disappear beneath the warmth of their love. Now, amid the very same patter of rain as before, there was no longer any scent of hot tea greeting her nose. No laughter filled the room anymore. All that remained was a cold that slowly crept from the floor into her bones, and a loneliness that seemed to grow alongside the rain as it fell without end.
Laras stared at the street outside, where water was beginning to pool. Her vision blurred as tears gathered in her eyes once more. In her mind, the memory came rushing back as though it had happened only yesterday. Exactly one year ago, on a day when the rain had fallen just as heavily, she had still been a teenager, full of joy. Back then, she had run out of the house to play in the rain without caring that her clothes were soaked through, laughing happily as she let the rain drench her entire body. It had not been long ago that she had still felt free and happy, without a single burden on her shoulders. But now, as she looked out the window, she realized that freedom and happiness had vanished along with their departure. She no longer had the safest shelter in the world—a place where she could be herself without fear of judgment, where love flowed without conditions or limits.
Suddenly, the past returned with startling clarity. Her thoughts drifted to Dad approaching with a large umbrella in his hand. Without saying a word, he had carried her into the house because her small body was so cold that it had begun to tremble. The memory remained vividly etched in her mind—how Dad had walked steadily, shielding her from the fierce wind and rain, carrying her soaked body into the warm embrace that could never be replaced. Once they entered the house, Mom had already been waiting with a soft towel and warm, dry clothes. With such tenderness, Mom’s gentle hands had stroked her drenched hair, drying it slowly while scolding her in a soft but concerned voice.
“Don’t be naughty anymore, sweetheart. If you get sick, who will Mom spoil?”
The words echoed in her ears again, so clear and real that it felt as though Mom were standing right beside her, saying them once more with the exact same smile as before. Laras covered her face with both hands, her shoulders shaking violently as she struggled to hold back the sobs that erupted again. Who would stroke her hair when it was wet? Who would gently scold her? Who in this world would love her like that again? The questions stabbed into her chest again and again, deepening the tightness that refused to fade and making her feel as though she were the loneliest, most unfortunate child in the world.
The rain outside grew heavier, as though the sky were crying with all its might. The cold air slipping through the slightly open window touched her skin, but her heart felt far colder than anything outside. Laras pulled the thin blanket closer around herself, trying to find the warmth that had once always appeared without her having to seek it. But nothing could replace the warmth of Dad’s embrace and the gentle touch of Mom’s hand. In this vast world, there was truly nothing capable of replacing their presence.
As her crying began to subside a little, she slowly but surely remembered the words in Mom’s diary, which she had only just found. Those sentences now seemed to shine amid the darkness in her heart, offering a glimmer of hope that was beginning to grow, slowly but surely. “Be strong, kind, and brave enough to face the world,” Mom had written. Laras repeated the sentence over and over in her heart, trying to absorb it little by little even though it felt so difficult to understand and live by.
She lifted her tear-streaked face and looked out the window again, where the rain was still falling tirelessly. Behind those thick gray clouds, she knew the sun had not simply vanished—it was only temporarily hidden by the clouds, and one day it would shine brightly again, just as it had before. Her life was the same. The light Dad and Mom had given her seemed to have disappeared from sight, but it had never truly left. That light had simply moved into her own heart, shining there and guiding her path whenever the world seemed dark and full of storms.
“Dad… Mom…” she whispered, her voice weak but beginning to hold a strength she had never felt before. “It’s raining again today. And I’m thinking of you… Every time the rain falls and soaks the earth, I feel as though my longing is pouring down just as heavily. I’m not completely strong yet—I admit that. My tears still fall far too often, without me being able to hold them back. But… I promise you this today. I’ll try to make it through every storm on my own. I’ll learn to stand tall even when the wind blows hard and the rain soaks me through. Because I know… your prayers and love will always protect me, like an invisible umbrella.”
The night wind carrying the rain suddenly blew a little harder, then brushed her face gently, like a loving hand stroking her cheek. The chill it brought slowly changed into warmth that spread throughout her body. Laras smiled faintly amid the tears still trickling down her cheeks. For the first time since they had left, amid the heavy rain and the deep silence of the night, she no longer felt afraid to be alone. She had realized something precious—that as long as she kept their love in her heart and continued trying to live her life well, Dad and Mom would always live there, accompanying every step she took wherever she went, protecting her from every chill and filling her with happiness, until the rain stopped and the sky cleared once more beneath a light that would never fade again.