Unlikely Tales

In Every Raindrop a Rainbow

The businessman stood in the rain, tapping his foot impatiently. The repetitive sound of raindrops hitting his umbrella as he stood waiting for his cab was giving him a headache. A laughing teenager dodged past him and his right pant leg was drenched by icy water as the boy splashed through a puddle. Cursing, the businessman began to chase after the carefree teen, but was brought up short by the arrival of his taxi. Fuming in the back seat of the car, he glared out at the miserably wet city as he thought to himself: I hate the rain.

The secretary sat in her uncomfortably stiff chair, gazing wistfully out at the gleaming city streets. Passing vehicles sent plumes of water arcing into the air; individual droplets of water glittering with rainbow hues. She sighed to herself, and had returned to her pile of papers when the door slammed open, allowing in a gust of refreshingly cool air as well as her angry boss. He stormed in with a face darker than the clouds outside and snapped a few brusque orders at her before stomping into his office. As he vanished through the doorway the secretary noticed his right leg had been soaked, and secretly grinned to herself; that explained his bad mood.

In the seven years she had been working for him, she had never seen her boss smile. He had smirked, gloated, looked smug and even cackled with evil delight when he had been told the company's major competitor had crashed; but never had he seemed to be truly happy. So far as the secretary could surmise, he had no family, wasn't married and seemed to care about only one thing: money. Every morning of the week he came to his office and laboured until nightfall to obtain even more wealth to add to his hoard. Like a broody dragon he seemed totally occupied with the accumulation of money, and never spent it on anything other than the bare necessities. His sole purpose in life was apparently to gain as large a percentage of the country's currency as possible.

Compared to the large sums of money hidden within her employer's bank account, the secretary survived on an average wage which allowed her family to live a comfortable lifestyle, with the occasional holiday trip. Thinking of her family, the secretary smiled tenderly. Her sons would be in class now; probably staring outside, wishing they were playing in the rain rather than imprisoned in a classroom. Gazing out of the window herself, the secretary once again became enraptured by the beauty of the gleaming, wet city, but her reverie was broken by the sound of her employer's excitedly raised voice.

Curiosity compelled her to look through the window in the office door. She could see her boss pacing agitatedly as he talked to someone on the phone, and the avaricious gleam in his eyes informed her that the company was likely about to make another economic coup. Repelled by the greed in her employer's expression, the secretary returned to her desk. She had often wondered whether her job was worth spending every day with a man who thought of nothing but money. In some ways she pitied him: he was in love with something which would never love him back, whereas she had a family who returned her adoration tenfold.

The remainder of the day passed slowly and by the time night was falling the secretary was content to return home. As on every night before, she wished her employer a good night before leaving, and as happened every time he merely responded with a grunt, remaining fixated on his paperwork. Walking home, the secretary quietly admired the stately old buildings in this section of town and inwardly marvelled at the beauty of the city lights reflecting on the river and in scattered puddles. Finally she found herself opening her front door and entering her home. Excited yells and the sound of feet thumping down the stairs greeted her, and she smiled as she was embraced by the golden glow of her family's love. Here was her treasure; her hoard. Here was her pot of gold and beautiful rainbow all rolled into one.