2025-07-11, 10:35 PM
I was on my way home from work when a slight rumble was already in the air. Isolated gusts of wind signaled the approaching storm. The news had predicted hurricane-force winds with heavy rain. These weather forecasters always express themselves so vaguely, almost like politicians. I hurried: I had a lot of respect for thunder and lightning. The rumble was getting louder, the intervals between the thunderclaps were getting alarmingly shorter – it couldn't be long now until the major showdown between the forces of nature would occur.
At the next street corner, I was hit hard by a strong head-on wind. A strong gust of wind had kicked up sand and dirt from the street and blasted it right around my ears. I quickly closed my eyes and turned around to protect myself. Nevertheless, I could feel the stinging pain of the grains of sand on my legs and neck. I wish I hadn't worn shorts this morning, but it had been so warm early in the morning. In the middle of the intersection, the wind swirled a small tornado across the asphalt. All the paper and other trash lying around was thrown several meters into the air in this column, accompanied by repeated claps of thunder and, by now, strong flashes of lightning. Man, I hope I'd still make it to my apartment in time.
The sky darkened by the minute. Cars had already turned on their headlights, presumably also trying to get to their destination quickly. The scene was almost like something out of a disaster movie. The sun had disappeared behind the black clouds, and only a stifling, humid air reminded us that just a few hours ago it had been a beautiful summer day.
Slowly, the rain began to fall. A few people tried to brave the strong wind and bravely opened their umbrellas. But it was of little use: the umbrella behaved like a wild dog, blowing away with the wind, and its owner was drawn after it as if by a magnet. The storm took its course, gathering ever faster above my head. Even the street lights gradually came on. Black skies, gusts of wind, and increasingly heavy rain dashed my hopes of reaching safety at home. Hopefully, the storm would pass quickly. I started looking for suitable shelter.
And a blessing in disguise: Near me was an inward-facing house entrance. As hail had now started to fall, I headed for this entrance, already quite soaked. This was a temporary relief, as the storm was now directly overhead. The road was impossible to see through the heavy rain. Lightning after lightning shot across the sky, accompanied by a deafening clap of thunder. I flinched at every rumble. How about that? You counted the seconds from the lightning to the thunder and divided them by three, then you knew roughly how far away the storm was. I learned that many years ago in school. But which lightning bolt belonged to which clap of thunder? In any case, it was clear to me that I was right in the center of the storm.
The water on the streets and sidewalks stood still like a large lake. Moving cars sprayed high jets as they passed. Cyclists were simply pushing their bikes, pedestrians had long since lost their battle with umbrellas. I looked fearfully at the sidewalk sinking into the floodwaters in front of me when suddenly a figure laden with bags came running towards me. In the bright flashes of lightning, I perceived the figure as threatening. Just in front of me, amidst the thunder and lightning, a bag slipped from this person's hand, and many things scattered at my feet: pineapples, oranges, apples, and bananas flew wildly across the path.
"Damn it. Couldn't this storm have waited another five minutes?" I heard the figure curse.
Instinctively, I reached into my shoulder bag and fished out a cloth bag. I always carried a few of them with me for spontaneous shopping trips so I wouldn't have to buy those horrible plastic bags. I put my shoulder bag in the far corner of my makeshift shelter and bravely threw myself into the water to help the person rescue the groceries. We were standing directly opposite each other when lightning flashed again. I saw his face straight away. He was probably my age and wore glasses, although he probably couldn't see through them anymore. I could make out a beautifully soft face. Blond hair was plastered wildly to his face. He no longer had a hairstyle. He stood before me like the proverbial wet poodle.
"Wait, I'll quickly help you save your groceries from drowning."
"Oh, that would be nice of you. These stupid paper bags can't hold anything anymore."
We quickly began gathering all the fruit pieces and shoving them into my cloth bag. Our hands touched as we reached for the same orange at the same time. We both recoiled. Whether it was the lightning and simultaneous thunder or an electric shock from someone else, I have no idea. I just felt a beautiful sensation, one I hadn't felt in a long time – in that moment, it felt beautiful. Even though the thunderstorm had made it almost dark, I sensed a smile on his face. The next flash of lightning confirmed my feeling. He had taken off his glasses, probably to see me better. And so we stood facing each other in the pouring rain and just looked at each other.
The next loud clap of thunder tore us out of our trance. I held out the bag of fruit I'd collected.
"Here, your shopping. I'll give you the bag, I have enough of them."
"Thank you, that's very kind of you. Do you also live in this house?"
"No, I was just looking for shelter from the storm. I still have a fair way to go."
"I've only recently moved here, and since the rain probably won't stop for a while, I'd like to treat you to a hot cup of tea so you can dry yourself off a bit."
"Thanks, that's kind, but it's not necessary. I'm going to rush home now and jump straight into the shower so I don't catch a cold. I'm soaked anyway."
"No argument, you're coming up with me. And I'll make us some tea. Then, when the rain lets up, you can get an umbrella from me and then move on. But first, I'd like to thank you for your help. So let's go."
The young man pushed me towards the house entrance.
The next continuous flash of lightning caught my eye. His smile simply blew me away. No, I wasn't struck by lightning, was I? But then it was his flash of lightning that set my heart ablaze. In an instant, I was melted in his arms. And that was even though he hadn't even touched me yet. The butterflies in my stomach waltzed. I felt like I was floating. Is this being in love? I've had boyfriends before, but I've never felt like this with him.
"What's going on? Are you coming with me now, or do you want to dance another round of 'Singing in the Rain' out here?"
He started laughing. I think I just turned red. Thank God the sky was still covered with dark clouds.
"I'm not going to eat you. I just want to say thank you, and I hope you don't catch a cold out here."
He walked slowly past me, his eyes never leaving my face. Luckily, he couldn't see my confused expression in the rain. I carefully followed him to the front door. There, I grabbed my bag and stepped behind him into the still-dark hallway. He stopped, turned to me, and reached past me to the light switch. There was another bang behind me, and I jumped. But it was just the front door slamming shut.
"You're quite jumpy. What brings you out in such terrible weather?"
"I'm coming home from work. Today, for once, I didn't drive. It's for an inspection. And then I also had to work overtime."
He looked stunning standing in front of me, soaking wet. The rainwater ran from his hair down his face, forming a funny droplet under his nose. Blue, his eyes a bright blue. And his lips were beautifully shaped. He kept flicking them lightly with his tongue.
"Come on, otherwise I'll have to sweep the stairwell right away. The old woman from the first floor loves to complain. And she always knows exactly who's coming home and when. It'll definitely come in handy if the police ask for my alibi."
We stopped on the third floor, and he rummaged in his pocket for his apartment key. So, this is where my angel lived. Now, don't think I'm already showering him with nicknames, but "angel" actually appeared on his doorbell. And he looked like one, too.
At the next street corner, I was hit hard by a strong head-on wind. A strong gust of wind had kicked up sand and dirt from the street and blasted it right around my ears. I quickly closed my eyes and turned around to protect myself. Nevertheless, I could feel the stinging pain of the grains of sand on my legs and neck. I wish I hadn't worn shorts this morning, but it had been so warm early in the morning. In the middle of the intersection, the wind swirled a small tornado across the asphalt. All the paper and other trash lying around was thrown several meters into the air in this column, accompanied by repeated claps of thunder and, by now, strong flashes of lightning. Man, I hope I'd still make it to my apartment in time.
The sky darkened by the minute. Cars had already turned on their headlights, presumably also trying to get to their destination quickly. The scene was almost like something out of a disaster movie. The sun had disappeared behind the black clouds, and only a stifling, humid air reminded us that just a few hours ago it had been a beautiful summer day.
Slowly, the rain began to fall. A few people tried to brave the strong wind and bravely opened their umbrellas. But it was of little use: the umbrella behaved like a wild dog, blowing away with the wind, and its owner was drawn after it as if by a magnet. The storm took its course, gathering ever faster above my head. Even the street lights gradually came on. Black skies, gusts of wind, and increasingly heavy rain dashed my hopes of reaching safety at home. Hopefully, the storm would pass quickly. I started looking for suitable shelter.
And a blessing in disguise: Near me was an inward-facing house entrance. As hail had now started to fall, I headed for this entrance, already quite soaked. This was a temporary relief, as the storm was now directly overhead. The road was impossible to see through the heavy rain. Lightning after lightning shot across the sky, accompanied by a deafening clap of thunder. I flinched at every rumble. How about that? You counted the seconds from the lightning to the thunder and divided them by three, then you knew roughly how far away the storm was. I learned that many years ago in school. But which lightning bolt belonged to which clap of thunder? In any case, it was clear to me that I was right in the center of the storm.
The water on the streets and sidewalks stood still like a large lake. Moving cars sprayed high jets as they passed. Cyclists were simply pushing their bikes, pedestrians had long since lost their battle with umbrellas. I looked fearfully at the sidewalk sinking into the floodwaters in front of me when suddenly a figure laden with bags came running towards me. In the bright flashes of lightning, I perceived the figure as threatening. Just in front of me, amidst the thunder and lightning, a bag slipped from this person's hand, and many things scattered at my feet: pineapples, oranges, apples, and bananas flew wildly across the path.
"Damn it. Couldn't this storm have waited another five minutes?" I heard the figure curse.
Instinctively, I reached into my shoulder bag and fished out a cloth bag. I always carried a few of them with me for spontaneous shopping trips so I wouldn't have to buy those horrible plastic bags. I put my shoulder bag in the far corner of my makeshift shelter and bravely threw myself into the water to help the person rescue the groceries. We were standing directly opposite each other when lightning flashed again. I saw his face straight away. He was probably my age and wore glasses, although he probably couldn't see through them anymore. I could make out a beautifully soft face. Blond hair was plastered wildly to his face. He no longer had a hairstyle. He stood before me like the proverbial wet poodle.
"Wait, I'll quickly help you save your groceries from drowning."
"Oh, that would be nice of you. These stupid paper bags can't hold anything anymore."
We quickly began gathering all the fruit pieces and shoving them into my cloth bag. Our hands touched as we reached for the same orange at the same time. We both recoiled. Whether it was the lightning and simultaneous thunder or an electric shock from someone else, I have no idea. I just felt a beautiful sensation, one I hadn't felt in a long time – in that moment, it felt beautiful. Even though the thunderstorm had made it almost dark, I sensed a smile on his face. The next flash of lightning confirmed my feeling. He had taken off his glasses, probably to see me better. And so we stood facing each other in the pouring rain and just looked at each other.
The next loud clap of thunder tore us out of our trance. I held out the bag of fruit I'd collected.
"Here, your shopping. I'll give you the bag, I have enough of them."
"Thank you, that's very kind of you. Do you also live in this house?"
"No, I was just looking for shelter from the storm. I still have a fair way to go."
"I've only recently moved here, and since the rain probably won't stop for a while, I'd like to treat you to a hot cup of tea so you can dry yourself off a bit."
"Thanks, that's kind, but it's not necessary. I'm going to rush home now and jump straight into the shower so I don't catch a cold. I'm soaked anyway."
"No argument, you're coming up with me. And I'll make us some tea. Then, when the rain lets up, you can get an umbrella from me and then move on. But first, I'd like to thank you for your help. So let's go."
The young man pushed me towards the house entrance.
The next continuous flash of lightning caught my eye. His smile simply blew me away. No, I wasn't struck by lightning, was I? But then it was his flash of lightning that set my heart ablaze. In an instant, I was melted in his arms. And that was even though he hadn't even touched me yet. The butterflies in my stomach waltzed. I felt like I was floating. Is this being in love? I've had boyfriends before, but I've never felt like this with him.
"What's going on? Are you coming with me now, or do you want to dance another round of 'Singing in the Rain' out here?"
He started laughing. I think I just turned red. Thank God the sky was still covered with dark clouds.
"I'm not going to eat you. I just want to say thank you, and I hope you don't catch a cold out here."
He walked slowly past me, his eyes never leaving my face. Luckily, he couldn't see my confused expression in the rain. I carefully followed him to the front door. There, I grabbed my bag and stepped behind him into the still-dark hallway. He stopped, turned to me, and reached past me to the light switch. There was another bang behind me, and I jumped. But it was just the front door slamming shut.
"You're quite jumpy. What brings you out in such terrible weather?"
"I'm coming home from work. Today, for once, I didn't drive. It's for an inspection. And then I also had to work overtime."
He looked stunning standing in front of me, soaking wet. The rainwater ran from his hair down his face, forming a funny droplet under his nose. Blue, his eyes a bright blue. And his lips were beautifully shaped. He kept flicking them lightly with his tongue.
"Come on, otherwise I'll have to sweep the stairwell right away. The old woman from the first floor loves to complain. And she always knows exactly who's coming home and when. It'll definitely come in handy if the police ask for my alibi."
We stopped on the third floor, and he rummaged in his pocket for his apartment key. So, this is where my angel lived. Now, don't think I'm already showering him with nicknames, but "angel" actually appeared on his doorbell. And he looked like one, too.