One Hundred Days of Rain

By Jaidin Knipp

I watched as the city workers hung a banner outside. The banner, water-proof I presume since the colors were not running together in the rain, rippled in the ferocious winds. The small television sat in the corner opposite my table. It crackled and popped every now and then, shooting little rays of light in every which direction. A large, brown leather chair sat a few feet away. I sat near the front of the cafe, I rather enjoyed sitting next to the large glass windows that covered the front wall. I pressed my hand to the cool glass and traced the rain drops as they ran down the surface on the other side. The little beads of moisture danced and glimmered in the blue light. It was cold and the dark clouds that hung heavy in the air covered every inch of the sky. It was gloomy and I found it rather peaceful, but I didn’t always.

Today, I can’t help but be reminded of a similar day just last year. Initially the weather appeared to be clearing up when I left my apartment that morning. I only made it a few blocks before the heavens opened up and the thunder rolled in. Fortunately, I was able to take cover in this very cafe. I ordered an iced latte with extra sugar and had to spell my name twice for the barista.

“N-o-e-l-a-n-i. Noelani.” It was still wrong but I carried the plastic cup that read ‘Noelany’ to a table next to the large wall of windows. I guess you could say it became my tradition. Whenever it was gloomy and I felt like leaving the house, I found myself at the cafe. Of course, that quickly became a daily routine seeing as how it was almost always rainy out.

Despite the heavy rain, the streets and sidewalks were always covered by cars and pedestrians. One thing I never could understood after moving to the Northwest was how people could possibly stick to their regular routine no matter the weather. Rain, snow, sleet, or sun those people would walk outside and continue with their day. Watching the crowds you would be lucky to find a single umbrella. If you found one the hand holding it most likely belonged to a tourist. I don’t know if it is a pride thing or maybe they just don’t know how to open one, but people here do not use umbrellas. Maybe it is a stupid thing to get caught up on but regardless- it bothered me. I turned back to the leather chair and reminisced.

A year ago, in the leather chair sat an older gentleman sipping from his mug and enjoying whatever warm contents were inside. He seemed rather interested by the news broadcast displayed on the tiny screen.

“It is just past 11:30 on this Thursday morning, where we are joined by our Meteorologist, Gregory Michael who will be sharing what to expect weather wise this weekend.”

“Yes, I can tell you, you do not want to put away those raincoats and boots quite yet. There is a major storm heading our way covering the greater Northwest in torrential rain. This weekend, Seattle can expect to get another four or so inches of rain. I know the majority of our viewers are anticipating what will possibly become the longest stretch of rain the greater Northwest area has seen in over 50 years! Back to you Kelly.”

“Thank you, Greg. Well that takes us to our next story. The city of Seattle is in fact anticipating 100 days of rain. If all goes accordingly, they will hit this milestone on Saturday.

The city of Seattle is preparing to celebrate the milestone with a large indoor/outdoor celebration this weekend. The mayor has been working overtime to keep the details a secret. He wants to surprise the citizens of Seattle. However, we were able to speak with the Mayor who revealed a bit of what to expect-”

I turned back to the laptop in front of me and tried to continue my work. I had endless emails that needed checked and the growing red notification in the corner was bugging me to no end. I was tempted to select and delete them all but that would only make matters worse. I loathed the idea of celebrating this ‘milestone’. I hated the rain and had no interest in taking part in it’s celebration. To make matters worse my boss had assigned me to write on the celebration. I desperately tried to pass it off onto someone else but she insisted I write the piece. She thought I would provide an interesting perspective since I ‘despised’ the rain. I even went as far as to explain my seasonal depression but she insisted I was merely making excuses. In the past two years, I had written for five different papers. I lived and wrote in many major cities; Atlanta, Phoenix, San Francisco, Dallas, and finally Seattle. I needed to make this work and so I had no other option than to accept that I would in fact cover the piece.

I along with over three million other people in the U.S. have been diagnosed with Seasonal Affective Disorder also known as SAD. Growing up in the Midwest it was common to become depressed in the winter months. For a few months every year I would become super withdrawn and socially isolated. I would force myself to socialize, often going out every weekend with my closest group of friends. After graduation, I attended college in San Diego and it became much more manageable. When I lived in San Francisco, I stopped any and all treatments. I was truly happy no matter what the weather was like outside. I spent a lot of time socializing and I had a really great group of friends. I still talk to them when possible, we all have busy lives. But, when I moved to Seattle I spiraled back. My depression was back and the constant gloomy weather was not helpful. I became so isolated that other than my coworkers I didn’t know a single person in the city. It was probably the lowest point of my life. But you know what they say, there is no where to go but up.

I still remember the sound of the bell ringing as the door opened. I can feel the rush of cold air that snuck in and enveloped me. And I can recall the sudden curiosity that filled me when I looked up from my laptop that day. A bright blonde walked into the room, she was soaked head to toe and her laughter rang through the room. She approached the counter and smiled at the barista.

“Hey Joey. My usual, please?” She pulled a couple bills from her coat pocket and placed them on the counter. The barista smiled and handed her an already made iced coffee and some sort of chocolate muffin wrapped up in a brown napkin. With the rain, the cafe had quickly filled up and only a few chairs remained empty. She scanned the room before setting her sights on my table. Rather than awkwardly stare, I pretended I was busy on my phone.

“Mind if I sit here? It sounds silly but I like sitting by the windows.” She sat down before I could answer and so I just turned back to my cell phone. “Don’t you just love the rain? It’s so calming.” I opened my mouth to respond - “And it’s so pretty to watch. Not to mention the rainbows that follow every storm. It’s like this big ‘start over’.” I could tell she was passionate about what she said. She barely took a breath between words. I should have realized then I would never get her to shut up. “Man, life is just one giant metaphor ain’t it.” She laughed and her laughter was contagious so I laughed. Soon we were laughing so hard we couldn’t remember why we were laughing to begin with. It was at that moment that I noticed the break in the clouds outside, a small beam of light shining through.

I learned her entire life story that day. Somehow she convinced me to talk about myself. She grew up in Brooklyn but moved to Seattle when she was 10. I only lived a few blocks away. Her entirely black cat was named ‘Blanco’, she loved irony, never learned to drive, and hated to read anything other than magazines. I had no pets but preferred dogs, found irony slightly amusing, started driving as soon as it was legal, and read all sorts of books but had not a single magazine subscription. Her name meant ‘daughter of the sun’, my name meant ‘mist of heaven’. She was bright and funny and impossible to refuse. I was quiet and withdrawn, could not stand small talk, and had an addiction to chocolate muffins. She was outgoing and charismatic, could talk about anything for ages, and also had a serious addiction to chocolate muffins. We were nothing alike (other than the unhealthy obsession with muffins). Her name was Eliana and I didn’t know it then but she would become my closest and most trusted friend.

“Noelani?!” “Noelani... are you okay?” I looked up and found Eliana sitting across from me. “Oh hey, I’m sorry I was just thinking. I didn’t realize you were here yet.” I smiled sheepishly. She nodded and headed to the counter to order for the both of us. I glanced out the window only to notice the rain was lighter. I pressed my hand to the glass and felt a new warmth, nothing like the familiar cool touch I had felt only moments earlier. As I packed up my things I analyzed my laptop backdrop. It was a picture of Eliana and I, we were standing among the crowd in downtown Seattle that day last year. It was from the giant celebration the city had for reaching 100 days of rain. It was an event I dreaded but I ended up enjoying every moment. I wrote the story for the paper, one that I was proud of. It was featured on the front page and it wound up getting praise from all over the country. Looking back, I honestly could not tell you where my new found happiness and acceptance of the rain came from. I gathered my things and joined Eliana at the counter.

“Hey Joey, is it too late to get those to go? It looks like it’s gonna be clearing up.” I smiled.

*originally published November 4, 2020*