To Get Thoroughly Soaked in the Rain

2,932 characters2006.07.24

Although it has been drizzling and raining off and on lately, today’s thunderstorm this evening was downright exhilarating—a veritable downpour.

I had originally been lying lazily in bed, getting by even meals with instant noodles or takeout, when, listening to the torrential rain pounding down, I suddenly had a whim: how many years has it been since I last got thoroughly drenched in a real rainstorm?

…At least three or five years, I suppose. Time really does fly!

I do occasionally go a little crazy, and many spur-of-the-moment ideas are acted on at once.

I grabbed an outfit that was neither clean nor dirty, changed into a pair of shorts that were neither clean nor dirty, and both were black, so there was no worry about exposure…

Barefoot in slippers, off I went for a stroll in the rain!

The rain was truly beyond words; by the time I got to Xueyi, I was completely soaked, and the water on the road had risen above my ankles.

The only flaw was that there were many people around staring at me. Walking in the rain with no rain gear and my hands in my pockets naturally drew a very high rate of looking back, and every so often I heard girls exclaim and men sigh… It’s not that I like to show off; I just wanted to enjoy, by myself, that feeling of heaven and earth blending together that can be sensed most intensely only when one is alone in a heavy rain.

Once you’ve been drenched to a certain extent, you gradually forget that you’re being drenched; when you no longer make a point of thinking about it, you can’t even feel the raindrops hitting your body, and only the water underfoot—sometimes deep, sometimes shallow—reminds me from time to time that I’m out for a walk.

I kept going all the way to the East Gate. Along the way I met a little boy who was likewise “jogging” without rain gear. He grinned at me with a heh-heh, and I laughed back at him with a ha-ha… I also ran into classmate kk, who was sitting by the roadside taking shelter from the rain, and asked me what I was doing out here. I answered that I had come out to get drenched in the rain, and he said, “Are you deliberately trying to catch a cold or what?”

I’m long used to showering with cold water, and this time I was getting drenched with preparation; while walking, I took care to adjust my breathing properly, so I probably wouldn’t catch a cold that easily. Of course, in summer it wouldn’t matter even if I did come down with something and get a little chilled. But recently my stomach hasn’t been in the best condition, and if I got cold, I’m afraid my belly wouldn’t be able to take it, so I didn’t dare stay out in the rain for too long. When I got to the spot near the East Gate where the water was deepest, I took a lap and then turned back.

If I walked a dozen more steps, I would be able to see Weiming Lake, but I didn’t go over, because I knew that once I got to Weiming Lake, I’d find it hard to resist circling around her for a stroll. Better to stop the rain-drenching exercise while it was still just right, so I returned a little regretfully.

The experience of being drenched in rain brings intoxication, melancholy, peace, and so on; at the same time, it also brings a surge of heroic feeling and a gratifying sense of unbridled release.

Refreshing! Refreshing!

2006年7月24日