I

t'€™s the rainy season! Keep your raincoat and umbrella ready! Be prepared to get wet! And brace yourselves for the worst enemy, the traffic jam! Oh yeah, the dusk of this year will apparently be showered with rain and filled with adventure to mark the dawn of next year.

Yet, the funny thing is, the smell of rain always brings back my timeless, blissful childhood memories. It transports me to the old days spent in the countryside, lying flat on the green grass under the blue skies, facing the lashing rain.

After the rain, the small white and pink wild flowers just shine in the pure sun. Droplets of water glisten on the leaves, while the brightest rainbow decorates the bluish skies and the smell of fresh ground and grass wafts through the air.

It'€™s so great to be so carefree, having an unfettered life with an easy-going attitude.

Our greatest joy came when the rain flooded the small river in our village. Its water became light brown like chocolate milk. The current got wilder, which we loved so much. We swam across the flooding river in groups, testing our guts. The strong current often carried us down the stream and we had to hug some rocks as our saviors.

We cheered like wild Amazons when each of us succeeded in swimming across to the other side. We were just like
fearless warriors!

Oh, can we bring back the joy that we got from such silly things? It seems that was lost decades ago. Gone are those days when we could find wildlife in the rain. In its place emerge all the hideous carvings of the human race speeding the decay of Mother Nature.

Now, in the concrete jungle of Jakarta, the rain gives us an excuse to curl up on the couch with a good book in the company of hot tea or coffee during the weekend. We could all the while listen to the melodic rhythm of the rain drumming on the roof and then constantly barraging the windows to create a rattling sound to suit the harmony.

However, during workdays, venturing outside after a storm and taking in a long draw of damp air, an earthiness with hints of dust and smoke seems to linger in the air.

Then, there have been several powerful storms with lightning and thunder, menacing clouds and a great quantity of water that flooded the streets of the city, disrupting the train and paralyzing the traffic.

People are stuck for hours in the streets, soaked and drenched in cold and brown muddy water. Then, floods will inundate homes and destroy access to the city. Thus, rainy days become constant nightmares to city dwellers.

Despite these drawbacks, I still have this odd tingling feeling about the rain. I miss playing in it. I miss going out and just getting wet to be wet and getting muddy under the guise of having fun. So, I steal time just to have a walk under the drizzle, feeling the droplets splash on my face.

Closing my eyes for seconds, I can see flashbacks of my timeless childhood memories in the rain.  

Yuni Herlina
Depok, West Java