Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2011 21:44:32 -0500
From: Adam Frederik <youdroptwo@gmail.com>
Subject: The Rain Falls Chapter 1

       THIS IS AN ORIGINAL WORK OF FICTION. IT CONTAINS DESCRIPTIONS OF
SEXUAL ACTS BETWEEN TWO CONSENTING ADULTS. IF YOU HAVE NOT REACHED THE AGE
OF CONSENT IN YOUR AREA (18 YEARS OLD / 21 IN SOME AREAS) OR IF READING
SUCH LITERATURE IS ILLEGAL IN YOUR AREA THEN PLEASE LEAVE IMMEDIATELY AND
RETURN WHEN IT IS LEGAL TO DO SO. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
	I INVITE YOU TO SEND YOUR COMMENTS AND ENCOURAGEMENT TO MY EMAIL
(youdroptwo@gmail.com), AS THIS IS MY FIRST ATTEMPT AT FICTION I AM
ACTIVELY LOOKING FOR AN EDITOR OR GUIDE(S) TO KEEP ME MOTIVATED. IF
INTERESTED PLEASE EMAIL ME.

       THE RAIN FALLS: Chapter One

       How I came to be sitting on this bench I don't know. The last thing
I remember was the feeling of having to get out; having to get away as fast
as I could so that the gravity of the news I had just received didn't tear
me to pieces. It was one of the few times in my life where I had trouble
comprehending what I was hearing. It wasn't that I didn't hear it right but
that I didn't want to accept it. I didn't want it to be true. It just
simply couldn't be.

       Sitting here on this bench, listening to the waves crash against the
rocks below me as a thunderstorm unfolded around me, had a calming
feeling. It gave me the mental clarity to be able to think. When I awoke
this morning things were the same as they always were. My life wasn't
perfect but I felt in control, something I definitely did not feel at the
moment.

       Without warning the storm suddenly let loose and the rain started
falling in giant driving waves. I was soaked within seconds, and the rain
brought me back to this bench and just why I was sitting here. I was
sitting in my office this Friday afternoon, finishing some paperwork and
looking forward to a long relaxing weekend when my cell phone rang.

       "Hey Celia, what's up?" I said, recognizing the number as that of
the sister of my closest friend and confidant Ben Holt.

       "Lucas, I really hope that you are sitting down."

       I immediately picked up on the distress in her voice and stopped
what I was doing to devote my full attention to her.

       "What's wrong Celia?"

       "Lucas, I... I don't know how to tell you this so I'll just say
it. Ben was in a car accident.  He's in surgery and they don't expect him
to make it."

       I was shocked. My phone fell from my hand, landing on the floor
somewhere under my desk.  The next thought to run through my head was that
it wasn't true and that I had to get out of here. If I went somewhere else
maybe it wouldn't be true. The next thing that I know I was sitting here on
this bench.

       This bench. The exact spot where I first met ben five long years
ago. My parents had died in a plane crash the month before and it was on
this bench where I spent many hours coming to terms that I was now all
alone in this world. It was that fateful sunny day when Ben happened to be
walking along the trail that runs past this bench and decided that I needed
company.

       "You know, it's illegal to look that down on a day this beautiful."

       Those were his very first words to me. I was too lost in my own head
to find them funny or cheerful and just sat there, staring out to sea.

       "I'm Ben" he said, offering his hand.

       I loosely took it, mumbled "Lucas" and went back into my head.

       "Well it's nice to meet you Lucas. Now, would you care to tell me
why the cutest guy in the area looks like his dog just got run over by a
truck, or am I going to have to just sit here quietly and enjoy my view of
you?"

       Knowing that there was probably very little I could do that would
get him to go away part of myself warmed up slightly inside. Even his few
brief, slightly cheesy words were enough for me to register that even his
presence alone was enough to signify that I would not, in fact, spend my
22nd birthday alone. I also decided that I should tell someone what I was
going through, what I was feeling. Given that this perfect stranger was
here, I might as well tell him.

       "Until you came along I had resigned myself to spend today, my
birthday, alone."

       "Well then, happy birthday to you but why are you spending it alone?
Surely there must be someone in your life to spend the day with."

       I glanced over at him, this mysterious stranger named Ben who I was
about to reveal the source of my recent anguish upon. He was smiling what
had to have been the most perfect smile I had ever seen. That, pared with
his hazel eyes, lightly tanned skin, and dirty blonde hair made me decide
to share my pain with him. I rationalized it by asking myself what the
worst that could happen was. I could tell him and in the end he could get
up and walk away, and I could move on down the path of healing.

       "No, there's no one. Not since my parent's died in a plane crash
last month."

       The smile faded from his face and he offered his condolences.

       "I'm so sorry. Do you want to talk about it?" He flashed that
winning smile at me, getting me to share more.

       "They died and I've spent the last four years buried in my studies.
Until you sat down there was no one outside of classmates and professors in
my life. That's basically all of it."

       "Again, I'm so sorry. How about I try to cheer you up? Come with me,
and let's celebrate your birthday like it should be celebrated."

       "Okay." What did I have to lose? The company was a welcomed change
and I was to the point that I'd do just about anything to take my mind off
of my parents.

       With that we went off and spent the rest of the day together. I had
gained an instant friend and was able to move past the loss of my parents.
And it was that memory of that day that I found myself sitting on this
bench, soaked to the bone and staring down at the waves as their swirled
blue and green mist topped peaks crashed against the rocks.

TO BE CONTINUED