From the bay window
Brigit's Flame, December mini-contest week 1, "An Aftermath of Sky", fiction, no warnings, about 484 words.
The bay window offered the best view when the rains began. The sunlight disappeared as clouds bursting with rain filled the entire sky. The water came forth, hitting the houses and coming down in deceptively pure rivulets, coursing into lawns and quickly soaking the earth. The yellow skeleton grass turned briefly green, but soon browned as it drowned under the endless poisonous onslaught. The sewage system overflowed, rainwater bursting back out and re-merging with the still-falling rain to become a rushing river the likes of which had not been seen in ages. Down the streets it ran, coursing powerfully as it found its way to dry riverbeds, flooding them one by one.
The trees lining the parkways became the houses’ first line of defense from the powerful water as they protected the houses beyond. But they too were unaccustomed to such a deluge. Though they were sturdy, they eventually drowned, their leaves withering and adding even more decay to the river until it was brownish black and even fuller of death. The water scoured the land like sandpaper on wood, gathering debris which also slowly filtered the water as it flowed down streets and rivers, then somehow found its way back up into the clouds to come back down for another purging. The vicious cycle continued, scouring the land and water as they had not been cleaned in ages. The water rushed without impediment, rushing at its task with such fervor and impunity, nothing was safe from it.
It was only long after the water had cycled around too many times to count, the trees had fallen, and houses and buildings were slowly chewed down by the hungry waters, that the rains at last slowed. It might have been weeks, years, or even decades as the rains calmed, falling lighter and slower, finally allowing the long-forgotten sun to once again peek through the clouded sky. Finally, one day the sun rose unencumbered -- the first time since the rains had began ages ago. Its rays spilled across the watery wasteland, reflecting blindingly off the water and casting strange shadows off the few remnants of buildings still standing.
The bay window on the block still stood, though the rest of the house had long since been washed away. The waters outside receded and drained away completely, revealing the result of the water’s long labors. The entire block was covered in fresh silt which hid all the debris that had once rushed along with the water. In the bay window a pair of eyes observed the newly blank canvas of the earth for the first time in ages as the sun once again marked the passage of time. A single doll had survived and was the only witness from the world before to see a bird swoop down, sunlight glinting off of its wings as it plucked something from the ground with which to make a nest.
The bay window offered the best view when the rains began. The sunlight disappeared as clouds bursting with rain filled the entire sky. The water came forth, hitting the houses and coming down in deceptively pure rivulets, coursing into lawns and quickly soaking the earth. The yellow skeleton grass turned briefly green, but soon browned as it drowned under the endless poisonous onslaught. The sewage system overflowed, rainwater bursting back out and re-merging with the still-falling rain to become a rushing river the likes of which had not been seen in ages. Down the streets it ran, coursing powerfully as it found its way to dry riverbeds, flooding them one by one.
The trees lining the parkways became the houses’ first line of defense from the powerful water as they protected the houses beyond. But they too were unaccustomed to such a deluge. Though they were sturdy, they eventually drowned, their leaves withering and adding even more decay to the river until it was brownish black and even fuller of death. The water scoured the land like sandpaper on wood, gathering debris which also slowly filtered the water as it flowed down streets and rivers, then somehow found its way back up into the clouds to come back down for another purging. The vicious cycle continued, scouring the land and water as they had not been cleaned in ages. The water rushed without impediment, rushing at its task with such fervor and impunity, nothing was safe from it.
It was only long after the water had cycled around too many times to count, the trees had fallen, and houses and buildings were slowly chewed down by the hungry waters, that the rains at last slowed. It might have been weeks, years, or even decades as the rains calmed, falling lighter and slower, finally allowing the long-forgotten sun to once again peek through the clouded sky. Finally, one day the sun rose unencumbered -- the first time since the rains had began ages ago. Its rays spilled across the watery wasteland, reflecting blindingly off the water and casting strange shadows off the few remnants of buildings still standing.
The bay window on the block still stood, though the rest of the house had long since been washed away. The waters outside receded and drained away completely, revealing the result of the water’s long labors. The entire block was covered in fresh silt which hid all the debris that had once rushed along with the water. In the bay window a pair of eyes observed the newly blank canvas of the earth for the first time in ages as the sun once again marked the passage of time. A single doll had survived and was the only witness from the world before to see a bird swoop down, sunlight glinting off of its wings as it plucked something from the ground with which to make a nest.