Short Story: The Sound of Rain

◉ Wind-blown Literature Club [Rain] Entry

　On the outskirts of town, there was a small clock shop. The sign read "Shigure-do" (Rain Shower Hall).
　The old man who owned the shop had a peculiar hobby: whenever it rained, he would bring a chair out in front of the shop, close his eyes, and listen intently.
“Today’s rain has a slightly lonely sound.”
“Today’s rain is the sound of waiting for someone.”
　He would distinguish the sounds of the rain in this way, muttering to himself. The townspeople would laugh, asking how there could possibly be any difference in the sound of rain. But the old man would shake his head.
“There is. Rain is the memory of the sky, you see.”
　No one believed such stories. Except for one person: a high school girl named Tsumugi.

　Tsumugi would visit the shop whenever it rained.
“What does today’s rain sound like?”
　The old man would close his eyes.
“Hmm... today, it’s the sound of a departure.”
“A departure?”
“It’s the rain that falls on the day someone takes a new step forward.”
　Tsumugi smiled, looking puzzled. But deep within that smile, the old man had spotted a small shadow.
　Tsumugi’s father had passed away three years ago. Ever since then, she had hated rainy days, because it had been raining on the day of the funeral when she said goodbye to her father. Yet, for some reason, she kept coming to Shigure-do.

　It happened one day. As a sudden evening shower enveloped the town, the heavy rain beat against the roof and made the windows rattle. Tsumugi was taking shelter in the back of the shop.
“Hey, old man.”
“Yes?”
“Why does it rain, I wonder?”
　The old man thought for a moment.
“Some say it’s because the sky is crying.”
“That’s not really it, is it?”
“Of course not.”
　The old man laughed. Then, looking out the window, he said,
“But I think the sky is returning things to the earth that it shouldn’t forget.”
“Things it shouldn’t forget?”
“Like days that were precious, or people.”
　Tsumugi fell silent. Raindrops streamed down the window.
“That’s why, on rainy days, I feel like the people I can no longer meet are nearby.”
　The old man’s voice was quiet.
“I can’t see them. I can’t hear their voices. But they are definitely there.”
　Those words sank slowly into the depths of Tsumugi’s heart.

　At the end of that summer, the old man closed the shop. It seemed he had been ill. The townspeople learned for the first time that the old man didn’t have long to live.
　The last day was also rainy. Tsumugi visited the shop. The old man was sitting in his chair, listening to the sound of the rain as he always did.
“What kind of rain is it today?”
　Tsumugi asked. The old man slowly opened his eyes and smiled gently.
“It’s the rain of reunion.”
“Reunion between whom?”
“Who knows?”
　The old man said, looking up at the sky.
“But, it’s a very gentle sound.”
　That was their last conversation. A few days later, the old man quietly passed away.

　Autumn passed, winter ended, and eventually, spring arrived. Shigure-do remained an empty building.
　Even so, on rainy days, Tsumugi would sometimes walk past it, remembering the words from that day.

　It was a rainy day. The morning she was leaving town to attend university, it began to rain on her way to the station.
　Tsumugi stopped. As she was about to open her umbrella, she suddenly listened intently. The rain hitting the roof. The rain striking the asphalt. The rain shaking the trees.
　Various sounds overlapped. Within them, she felt she could hear a nostalgic voice.

──It’s the sound of a departure.

　It was the old man’s voice. Of course, she hadn’t really heard it. But Tsumugi was smiling.
“I see.”
　She looked up at the sky. Raindrops wet her cheeks. It was as if they were precious memories the sky had returned to the earth. Her father. The old man. The days they had laughed together. Everything she didn’t want to forget.

　The rain continued to fall quietly, as if the people she could no longer meet were calling out from beyond the distant sky, saying, “Take care.”