Raincoat

Making new friends is instinct to Phoebe. But when she encounters a strange individual, she soon finds out that her new friend is very different but full of love and loyalty. Enjoy!

Raincoat

People are a strange concept of nature. Sometimes, if not most of the time, we barely understand them. Today we silently judge the ones that stand out. Little Phoebe is a just like all the other little girls in the neighborhood. She likes to sing and dance and dress up, she even had one or two boyfriends for a day. Phoebe was goofy, she was very kind and had a lot of friends. A lot of people liked her and she liked a lot of people too, there wasn’t a living soul who wished her dead. But little Phoebe had a secret: she loved to play in the rain. She adored the pitter-patter’s of light or heavy droplets of water falling from the sky. She loved the sound of how the sky sounded, and how the water falls on the ground to make puddles. The puddles and mud was awesome to her! She liked how it was brown and squishy, in her bright green eyes the wet soil was beautiful and fascinating. But Phoebe’s parents were very protective of her and doesn’t like her going outside much, especially in the rain. Whenever she walks to school in the morning all by herself her mommy and daddy look out their windows and front doors to make sure she makes it to school. Phoebe didn’t understand the dangers of being outside, it was so nice and peaceful to her.

One day, when Phoebe came home from school, her parents were so nervous about something. They walked around the house and looked out of the windows. her mommy went down to her and ask her if she saw someone following her home.

“No, Mommy. Why?”

“The Mayor said there was an animal nearby the town and I was worried about you. Are you sure you didn’t see anyone?”

“Yes, Mommy, I’m sure. So can I play outside now, please?”

“No,” said Phoebe’s daddy. “It's too dangerous right now, sweetie. I don’t wanna risk that thing taking you.”

“Ok…” Phoebe sighed with disappointment, it was supposed to rain today. Darn. “If it goes away, then can I?”

“When I see that thing dead I’ll consider it.” Her dad stared out at the window and didn’t say anything else that night.

It was time for bed but Phoebe wasn’t tira few days when the animal was caught. Of course, Phoebe was too stubborn and angry to listen, so her mom stopped trying and shut her door. *Click.* Phoebe didn’t want to sleep yet,ed, she wanted to go outside. Her mommy said it was too dark to play so she would have to wait  so she got up and decided to read some of her books. She read If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, The Giving Tree, and Guess How Much I Love You. The bunny book was her favorite book, she loves rabbits and bunnies and anything fluffy! When she got bored of reading, she decided to get out her crayons and some paper. Phoebe liked to draw when she was stuck inside her house, she could try and draw the trees like the ones outside. Most of them now are really tall and the leaves are bright green, so is the grass. But there are still some of the old and broken trees that are rotting around some of the houses in the neighborhood. Some still have pieces of metal sticking in them, and some of the big cars and machines are still there. They were too heavy and big to move so they just left them there. Phoebe kind of wondered why it was all there in the first place. She’s wanted to ask her parents about it but she didn’t want to make them worry or get angry, so she just kept quiet about it. Phoebe continued to draw and color trees, bunnies, houses, and the rain and clouds! Phoebe drew for a really long time and was starting to get sleepy, but she didn’t want to close her eyes. Her sleepiness got the best of her and she laid her head on her doodles with a blue crayon still in her hand. The floor was uncomfortable and really hard to lay on, but Phoebe was fast asleep! She would be much more comfier in her soft and warm bed, so she was gently picked up by wet and cold hands, and Phoebe’s limp and small body was slowly placed in her butterfly covered bed.

It was Saturday when little Phoebe woke up, and her parents weren’t home because they had to work. They didn’t like leaving her home all by herself, but they had no choice. Phoebe got up and slipped on the floor!

“Ow!!!” she screamed! She sat up and noticed that the floor was wet. Some of it was kind of hard to see because it already seeped into the floor at the door, but it was still wet next to the bed. Phoebe did thought it was weird but weirder stuff has happened and tried to forget about it. She got went downstairs to get some breakfast, but she saw that the stairs and handle was wet too! Why is everything so watery? Phoebe thought. She would get a towel to dry everything off after breakfast. Since Phoebe was too short to do make cereal or cook eggs, she decided to just have a peanut butter sandwich until someone comes home and can cook for her. She went to go get a butter knife but a noise caught her off guard. *Boooom.* “Thunder!” She exclaimed. “It’s raining too!” Against what her parents has said, Phoebe ran to the coat hanger and get her yellow raincoat and hat and boots. She didn’t remember her parents telling her should go outside, for she had the worst memory!

Phoebe swung the back door open and ran into the bestest rain she has ever felt. She looked up into the grey and cloudy sky and allowed the raindrops dance on her face. She loved the taste of waterfall, and the booming of the sky just excited her to the limit. But then she heard something she doesn’t normally hear when it rains.

Boo hoo…

Phoebe quickly turned around and was shocked by what she saw! It was a person. She was tucked in between her knees and was shaking and wet. Phoebe walked up to this crying figure and ask, “Miss, are you ok?” The young lady twitched and looked up at Phoebe with large, terrified eyes. She looked strange, she looked so wet than normal and soft to the touch. The lady looked down again and continued her crying. Phoebe had an idea, she went to go inside to get her umbrella. When she came back out she held the pink umbrella over the wet creature with a cheery smile. The lady looked up again but looked shy by Phoebe’s kindness. “Would you like to come inside, Miss?” She nodded. Phoebe took her hand and led her inside the house. Phoebe shook her umbrella to get the water off, but the lady stood there shaking and dripping. “I’ll go get you a towel, ok? Don’t go anywhere.” She kicked her boots off and put her coat on the ground, she was worried about the sacred creature in her house. She retrieved a fluffy white towel and wrapped it around her friend. “There we go, do you feel better?” She nodded again. “You must be very cold, you can take your shoes off if you want. I’m gonna go make you some soup to warm you up!” Phoebe ran to the kitchen while her friend stood still and watched her. The soup wouldn’t be done for a while.

The lady and Phoebe sat at the dinner table with empty bowls and full tummies. “Goodness, that tomato soup was yummy!” Phoebe exclaimed.

“Thank. You…” a small voice spoke. “for the soup I mean. I feel much better now.”

“Oh you’re welcome, Miss…?”

“Oh um, don’t worry about my name, it's fine…” This lady was strange, thought Phoebe. Her didn’t really have any hair but she looked soft, her ears went down to her slender wrists, and she had the weirdest feet ever!

“Um, where are you from?” asked Phoebe.

“I woke up in the forest a couple months ago, I just kinda stayed there for a while.”

“Really? How come you didn’t leave to go find help? It must've been really scary there.”

“It was a little scary, but I didn’t want to, I was too scared to see what I would find.”

“Well why were you outside in the yard?”

“I, um…” the floppy lady looked down and twiddled with her furry fingers. “I got scared… by the thunder…” she said quietly.

“The thunder!?” Phoebe practically yelled. “You were scared of that?! Thunder is the most beautiful thing ever! I love it when it cracks in the sky!”

“Oh wow,” she spoke. “you’re so brave. I wish I was brave, I’m so scared of everything.”

“I’m sorry, it can be really nice and pretty if you give it a chance… Anyway, my name is Phoebe! What's yours?” The cute creature stared at Phoebe with big, beautiful eyes.

“Drizzle…” Phoebe smiled from ear to ear with joy.

“That’s a beautiful name! You’re so cool! Hey, do you wanna play with me for a while?”

“What? Oh, well, I mean, I guess, as long as-”

“Yay! Let's go!” They spent the whole day together. First, Phoebe got her some clothes to wear and that led to playing dress up. Then they played pillow fight and had time to build a fort with bunny blankets and dragonfly pillows. They then colored and painted, they drew trees and bugs and rabbits. Drizzle was very good at drawing willow trees, they were her favorite. They both got hungry again and they ate sandwiches, but Drizzle ate some carrots and lettuce. The two playmates got tired and Phoebe showed her what a television was. They watched cartoons and nature documentaries for an hour straight. When Phoebe realized what time it was, the fun had to end. Her parents would be home soon so Drizzle had to leave. “Will you come back tomorrow?” Phoebe asked with sad eyes.

“I think I can try. I had a wonderful day, Phoebe, thank you for playing with me.” Drizzle said with a smile.

“You’re welcome, you can keep that coat if you'd like, my mom doesn’t wear it anyway. I don’t want you getting cold again!”

“You’re too sweet, I’ll see you tomorrow.” And with that Phoebe let loose of Drizzle’s furry finger and her hoppity friend ran to the forest with grace and swiftness. After that fateful the two funny bunnies played with each other for an hour before Phoebe’s parents came home. They laughed and sang and danced, Phoebe couldn’t think of anyone else she loved more than he lovely friend Drizzle! She was all she thought about, day and night, she wouldn’t know what to do if her friend was hurt. Phoebe promised herself to protect her animal buddy no matter what.

Phoebe was awakened one morning to the sound of people yelling and laughing downstairs. It scared her terribly, she thought her mommy and daddy were fighting. But when she went downstairs with her stuffed animal bunny close to her chest, she saw a few men from town dancing and cheering in the kitchen with her mom and dad too. They yelled “We finally got it!” and “It won’t bother us no more!” What were they talking about? Phoebe thought.

“Mommy? Daddy?” she said worriedly. “What’s going on?” Her tummy was full of butterflies, she thought something bad had happened.

“Phoebe!” her father yelled with happiness. “Guess what, baby? We finally caught it! The creature! The freak that was seen two weeks ago! It won’t bother us anymore!” The men cheered again, louder this time.

“What do you mean?” Phoebe asked. “What did it look like? Where did you find it?”

“We were huntn’ for it,” spoke a tall and rugged man. “We saw it goin’ toward yer’ property and we shot it fore’ it got in the backyard.” Phoebe’s heart dropped. Was Drizzle trying to see Phoebe? Was she in danger? Did they… kill her?

“Wh-where, is it now?” she asked shakily. “Is it dead?”

“No not yet, it’s in a sturdy cage in the middle of town so everyone can see it and how dangerous these things can be.”

“Can I go see it, please?”

“Sure I guess, but I wouldn’t get too-” Without finishing his sentence, Phoebe quickly ran up the stairs and got dressed. Her heart was racing a million light years a second, she had know if she was hurt or hungry. Poor thing, she must be so frightened! Thunder boomed outside, loud and crackling.

“Oh no,” she said to herself. “Drizzle hates thunder, she’s cold and terrified out of her mind!” Phoebe got her backpack and shoved a blanket and towel in it. She ran downstairs again and put some carrots in there for her to eat, then she went and got her coat and ran outside in the pouring rain to town.

When she got to the square, she saw a crowd of people surrounding a large, metal cage. “Look at it, Mom!” a child said. “What is it? It’s funny looking.”

“Man, what a strange lookin’ creature.”

“It looks dangerous…”

“It’s a beast from Hell! We should kill it!” Phoebe pushed through the judgeful people until she saw the kind and terrified face of Drizzle. When she got to the front of the crowd, Phoebe almost went straight to tears. It was her bunny friend alright, but she looked mangled and beaten and dripping wet, her coat was torn and had specks of blood on it. She was huddled in her knees to face position, shaking uncontrollably.

“Drizzle!” Phoebe yelled with worry in her tiny voice. “Oh you poor thing, you’re freezing! Here,” She took out her towel and blanket for the freezing body of fur and pushed it through the bars of the cage. “I also brought some carrots for you, are you ok? Please tell me you’re ok.” Drizzle put her long, floppy ears in front of her face.

“I could be better,” Drizzle spoke quietly. “I’m so sorry, Phoebe…”

“No, no, don’t be sorry!” Phoebe began to cry. “*Sniff* I should've been there for you, this wasn’t supposed to happen!” Drizzle put her bruised and cut arms through the bars and hugged Phoebe, hugs always make everything better. The people behind them gasped, they couldn’t believe what they were seeing!

“What are you doing, child?!” someone yelled.

“It's gonna attack her!” another screamed.

“Its spreading its germs!” they shouted. But Phoebe didn’t care what they said, she loved Drizzle and couldn’t stand seeing her like this. She had to see her happy again. Phoebe let loose of Drizzle and wiped her tears away.

“Is there a door on this thing?” she asked.

“Yes but it's locked, I think you need a key.”

“You’re too close, kid!” someone announced. A large and strong hand grabbed Phoebe’s arm and led her away from her dear friend.

“Hey! Stop it!” Phoebe yelled at him. She tried pulling away and scratching at his hand but it didn’t work.

“Phoebe!” Drizzled screamed. “Please! Let go of her! Don’t take her away!” Drizzle began shaking the cage, she needed to get out!

“Let me go you jerk!”

“You are getting too attached, girl! Stay away from this creature!” Drizzle became so enraged with fiery anger she wanted to break this blasted prison and rip that guy to pieces!

“I said,” Drizzle spoke through her teeth. “Let. Her. GO!” With unearthly strength that Drizzle never knew she possessed in her tiny and fragile body, she kicked as hard as she could and busted the metal door open that flew across the field of people. She got out and ran toward Phoebe and the mean man. She scratched the man on the wrist with her hidden claws, he flung back and lost his grip on Phoebe. Drizzle quickly picked up Phoebe and ran toward the forest as fast as she could. She dogged the crowd, jumped the fence, and landed perfectly on her feet with grace. The two could hear people in the town screaming and yelling, thinking that Phoebe was captured by a hideous monster, but she wasn’t. Drizzle was just scared that Phoebe was going to get hurt, and she didn’t want to be separated from her little friend.

They stopped at a large meadow under a tree where Drizzle could catch her breath and be shaded from the rain. What were they going to do?

“Are you ok, Drizzle?” asked Phoebe. Drizzle looked up at Phoebe with cloudy eyes.

“Yes, I think so, I’m just tired and hurting. Are you?”

“I’m fine.” Boom! the sky spoke. Drizzle squeaked and covered her large ears. “It's just thunder, Drizzle. It can’t hurt you, it just makes noise.”

“But it sounds like its gonna hurt me!” Drizzle began to shake with fear and anxiety. Phoebe curled up to Drizzle and wrapped her arms around her furry body.

“I won’t let it hurt you.” she said with pride. The two closed their eyes and rested under the tree, despite what was happening around town. The two felt safe in each other's arms, they didn’t want to leave their presence or make the other feel alone and scared. They could’ve spent an eternity like this, sleeping under that large tree in sprinkling rain.

Phoebe awoke by the sound of men again. They were yelling with happiness and curses. Oh no, Drizzle! She quickly got up and ran to the crowd of men, they were holding guns and fire. She pushed through until she saw Drizzle laying on the ground, covered with blood. “Drizzle!” Phoebe gasped. She ran to Drizzle and covered her with her body, fearing that the men were going to shoot her. “Drizzle! Drizzle please speak to me! Are you ok??” Drizzle let out a cough and looked up at Phoebe.

“I’m- *cough!* ok…” Phoebe couldn’t hold back her tears anymore, she let it all out with loud sobs, completely overwhelmed by the horrible truth that Drizzle was severely injured and may never see her again.

“How could you!” Phoebe screamed at the men. “Why would you do this?! What did she ever do to you?!” A man stepped forward and tried to take Phoebe’s hand. “NO! I’m not leaving! I’m not leaving Drizzle like this!” Her face was red hot with embarrassment and anger. The men suddenly took a step back, then Phoebe felt cold and shaky arms around her. It was Drizzle, barely standing up.

“Phoe...be…” she tried to say. “Thank… you… Love you…” Drizzle fell to the ground.

“No! No no no no! Drizzle!” Phoebe shook Drizzle’s limp body, the rain began to pour. “Drizzle please!” she cried. “I need you! I can’t live without you!” With no response from the bunny, Phoebe buried her face into Drizzle and hugged her as tight as she could, hoping it would bring her back. Nothing else could be heard but the downpour of rain and thunder, and the helpless cries of Phoebe over the death of her beloved friend.

All of a sudden, a bright light appeared. It absorbed Phoebe and Drizzle into this strange, forming bright mass. The rain was being absorbed too, the men couldn’t believe their eyes! Was this a sign of God? The white mass began to form a familiar shape. It grew long, elegant arms, a thin body, long and beautiful legs, and ears much longer than Drizzle’s. Then what looked like a long dress began to form as well, the outline looked so pretty and graceful! Then the bright light disappeared, but the figure that was being created stayed, and its color and figure was in full view. It was a large rabbit in human form! The dress was a large, yellow raincoat. Her body looked so soft and shiny, her fur looked so clean, was it from the rain? The men could not believe what they were seeing, this wasn’t possible. The figured looked dazed, but happy. She looked up at the sky and smiled as the rain poured on her beautiful face. Her mouth opened to drink the pure water, but then she heard the men talking.

“Hey!” a man yelled. “Where are they?! What did you do with them?!” The large figure slowly looked down at the crowed, they stepped back. She tried to stand up, wobbling and losing balance as if she was a baby trying to take her first steps.

“I think…” she spoke with a calming voice. “...they’re here.” Her thin hand hovered over her chest, staring intently at the men. “Can’t quite explain it… but it feels wonderful!” The bunny began to move her body as if she was dancing, touching her thighs and hips face with a large and happy grin.

“Cut it out!” another person yelled. “Tell us where they are or we’ll shoot you down!” She looked at them again, smiling.

“I told you,” she said, giggling. “they’re here, together, as one!” A round of fire broke out, and the bunny swiftly took off, much faster than Drizzle had ran, it was twice the speed! But as she ran away, into the forest that is now her home, she cheered and laughed that she wasn’t afraid anymore, that she will never be alone again, that she was the happiest being that ever lived.

The rally of men tried chasing after the large rabbit with the yellow raincoat, but they were unsuccessful in their search for Phoebe and Drizzle. When they came back, Phoebe’s parents were really sad, they wouldn’t see their daughter anymore. Knowing that they were both still alive, the town was happy but terrified as well. Most people thought Drizzle was torturing Phoebe or was going to eat her! Someone said that they loved each other, that they were meant to be. The raincoat rabbit was seen on rare occasions, sometimes Phoebe or Drizzle were seen separately! Whenever someone saw something they quickly ran after it, hoping they would find the little girl in the yellow raincoat again. Drizzle and Phoebe lived together as one being called Sky ever since the day they left the town, they were happy in each other's arms, they couldn’t be happier, and nothing could tear them apart.

Reviews

[Rye]

very nice detail and imagery