Chapter 1
The gravel scraped on my shoes as I climbed the steps up to
the lookout at the top of Mt Bonnell. It was close to sunset and on any other
day the small park would have been crowded with picture takers, couples, and
outdoors enthusiasts. But as it was about to start raining, the park had pretty
much cleared out. When I reached the top I took the trail to the left that
would lead me to where I could look out over the lake and not be hemmed in by
short stone walls and a wooden pavillon.
As I sat there, I stared out over the corridor of the
Colorado river we natives like to call Lake Austin and watched the storm roll
in. In the thin sunset light, the sky seemed to turn an odd orange green color
that I have only ever seen watching Texas thunderstorms. The air had a static-y
ozone feel to it and I could almost taste the rain. Purple clouds roiled in,
casting night-like shadows over everything in their path. Lightening shot in
all directions within the clouds like it couldn’t figure out which way the
earth lay. Occassionally one would get it right and shoot out towards the
ground, thunder following immediately as if cheering at its success.
Eventually the clouds swelled and seemed to hover at the
tipping point until all at once they exploded with a torrent of water. The
fierce rain blinded me to the city beyond and to the lake in front of me. I let
it pelt my skin and soak through my clothes. The power, the sheer magnitude of
what was barraging me, overtook my senses. Compared to this natural phenomenon
I was tiny, a mere fly in relation to the cosmos. The chaoses and pains of my
life were overpowered and lost their sharp edges.
The storm lasted only a few minutes. That’s how it is here.
Fierce, intense power but over and gone before you can snap your fingers. As
the rain eased off and the full dark of night fell, all the things I had been
holding back rushed into me and I doubled over in pain.
Finally, I took out my phone and did what I had been trying
to build up the courage for all evening. I dialed his number.
****
