Chaos Tales: Sun-Day Rains
Happy Independence Day! Today Chaos Tales get your free fix of delightfully weird, occasional dark fiction. Plus bath time pictures for Dante and Crokell!
Happy Fourth of July weekend! In start contrast with today’s dark story, we’ve had a wonderful weekend. We had our bi-weekly online RPG group yesterday. Plus we visited with my Science Father and his wife today which is always wonderful.
On top of that Friday, we washed both dogs, since I constantly brushing Crokell, this was a 3 hour event, rather than an all day marathon.
Still the pups knew what was happening, even if the bath initially looked like a play pool - Crokell knew better.
This was our first time bathing Dante. He took it pretty well. After the dog competitions the next couple of weekends, we’ll give him a change to actually play in the water.
Crokell is of course an old hand at baths.
And here he is, looking fabulous for thirty minutes before somehow returning to normal.
Story: Sun-Day Rains
Water splatted, shattering into rivulets. The first drops ran down the window, leaving a trail of thin irregular lines across the clear glass.
The calm, cool voice of Zelia’s guardian aunt came thought the small speakers in the room. “You better stop the rain, Zelia. We don’t have time to clean it up today. Today is a Sun-Day. No rain today.”
Zelia look down where her hand rested on the controls and bit back a sigh. A sigh which wasn’t allowed. She flipped a switch and the sun sprang back on, causing rainbows to dash though the rivulets and mists from the unscheduled rain. She bit her lip, feeling her heart thud at the beauty of mist, dancing around the light, causing swirls of dew. Her finger hovered over a different control for a moment.
The calm voice spoke again. “Zelia.”
The door cracked open to reveal her aunt, dark skin brilliant against the bright white of her Sun-Day robe of radiance. Not a hair out of place, not a fold bent the wrong way. Nothing to show she was living, Zelia thought as she looked at the aunt’s beautiful face. Her aunt’s black hair was twisted into a crown, below which even darker eyes glowed with synthetic happiness.
The symmetric sterile beauty was agonizing to look at.
The beautiful figure made a beckoning gesture.
Zelia felt a the tug of power. She knew better than to fight it as her body moved her hand away from the controls and walked towards the arched door, looking at the floor. Her thin braids jingled above a face wearing a mask of calmness she did not feel - nor wish to feel. If she had any wish it was to be left alone and not to be wiped away.
The voice was calm. “Now, look up at me, child.”
Zelia did as commanded.
Her aunt Aurora tisked. Zelia fought a shudder as she felt a thin prick of a needle and all her thoughts slowed.
Where once there was turbulence, joy and sorrow, her yearning for the rain, now there was nothing. A numb shroud settled over her, neither sadness nor joy. Without hope or despair. Just a thin cloak of emptiness, of perfect, clear thoughts, sharp and organized. Walls rose up between her and the odd fluctuation of the emotions she was not meant to have.
Zelia’s words came out clipped and precise, like cut diamonds, etched and perfect. “Thank you, aunt.”
Her aunt’s smile was softer than usually, and the surprise made Zelia blink, before crisp thoughts fell into place again. “There, now. It will fade in time. You have almost grown through the worse part.”
The colors from the rainbows faded to little more than dust. The mist from her rain drained away leaving just a sharp, clear brilliance.
“There is much to do on a Sun-Day. Go, gather your things. We must work.”
***
It was dusk almost two days later, before she felt again.
Zelia took a deep shivering breath. She could not sleep and her skin prickled with an urgent need for freedom.
Her fingers played across the controls, below her face hot with unshed tears. She pressed a final button and stepped outside, looking up as the sky darkened from pale blue to dark grey in seconds. With the safeties off, torrential rains coursed down, washing her tears away. Behind her, an alarm sounded, followed by her aunt’s voice over the comm. “Come in this instant.”
She stood and let the storm take her. She could feel and would never let anyone take that away from her. She felt the thunder in her blood, the lightning in her heart. This was living. She spun, dancing with the storm. The sky roared above, perfect in its turbulence - a reflection of her, inside and out.
Finally, the water closed in on her and swept her away, out of the valley that had been her prison.
***
Zelia’s guardian aunt watched from the window, the rain splattering, and thundering on a Sun-Day. She worked her hand on a dial, and the storm rushed higher for a moment, sweeping all the dirt and disappointment away. Then she lowered it, turned, and left the room.
She opened another door, and flicked another switch, watching as another Zelia woke - clean and whole on the bed. The girl sat up and looked around with dark eyes and perfectly braided hair.
“Aunt?”
Aurora placed the needle against the girl’s skin. “Yes, Zelia. Rest now.”
This time, it would work.
Inspiration Unveiled
It is sometimes hard to say what inspires us to write. Sometimes it is an image that haunts us and calls out to be written about. Sometimes it is a dream that lingers and holds onto our thoughts long after we have woken. Other times, it is our own life, the push and pull to be better, to see something that should be there but never will be - or is but never should have been. And yet, as a writer, I think what drives me the most is a yearning. It is a yearning for my heart and soul to be seen, both for the dark and tangled thoughts that torment me, as well as the wonderful hope that tries to set me free from my fears.
Chaos Tip of the Week
When bathing your dog, check for shrinkage and colorfastness before hand. Otherwise, your Newfie may fade to white and tan, shrink, and have his tail fall off. I mean see what happened with Dante…
Chaos Question of the Week
How do your critters handle baths? Ours are pretty relaxed about it. Although, Aki takes it as a personal affront and won’t talk to us for the rest of the day. Beleth likes water but wants to choose to go in himself.
The Swamp-doodle endures baths, but he hates the tub. He also dislikes the ocean. As a feral cat, the Feline-muse gets her baths when the rains catch her outside. I wouldn't even try to bathe her; I prefer not bleeding. 🙀