It's raining, and the afternoon is perfect for
It hardly ever rains in Cumaná. Rain is a shadow that can appear in June and last until December. People look up at the sky and make predictions, like predicting the lottery: “It's going to rain today.” And it may rain, but it may not. That's why, as I said before, we don't have a rain culture in Cumaná. Here, even if dark clouds herald storms, no one carries an umbrella, and if by chance it does rain, the city comes to a standstill and people prefer to stay at home, as if they were cookies and the water would soften them.
So yes, on a rainy afternoon, I prefer to stay sheltered in my house, even if I have to go out to work, not only because the rain brings the city's public transport and street drainage to a standstill, but also because the spirit that rain brings is one of calm, of being in bed with the one you love, sometimes looking out the window, listening to soft music, so soft that we can hear the rain falling on the house.
Another thing I like to do is drink coffee or hot chocolate. It's not even to warm up, but to fill the house with the aromas of coffee, chocolate, vanilla, and cinnamon. Rain has the peculiarity of amplifying smells. As the water falls heavily, the aromas emerge from everywhere and become clearer and more intense.
It's perfect if I can make something to eat, sweet or savory, from tequeños, cookies, popcorn, pizza, or puddings. At home, there's always a box of something, a piece or bag of something, that can be used to whip up a snack for a rainy afternoon. The idea isn't to have lunch or dinner, it's simply to fill the silence left by the falling rain with food rather than words.
Another thing I do on a rainy afternoon is read or watch a movie. Using that time to cultivate my imagination or have fun seems like the perfect plan to me. Alone or with company, I get into bed and let time pass while I read a book or entertain myself watching a movie.
When I was little, my parents forbade us from getting wet in the rain. While the other kids in the neighborhood went out to play and get wet in the rain, I stayed inside watching through the window and every so often I would stick my hand through the bars so that a tiny part of my body would get wet. Today, there is something nostalgic about doing that: when it rains, I like to watch through the window as people run for shelter or children play and get wet.
Just as the deserted city is cleaned and a fresh smell remains in the air, while the smell of wet earth restarts your soul, rainy afternoons have the ability to make some of us look for a little corner in the world where we can take shelter and realize what we love, what we have, what we miss, and what we don't. I don't know about you, but I have a theory that after a rainy afternoon, we blossom. 🌷🪻
Images from my personal gallery and the text is translated by Deepl.
Thank you for reading and commenting. Until a future reading, friends