It was a cold day out, and Adain was just putting on her jacket when she heard her mother shouting from the kitchen, "Adain put something on its cold out and its gonna rain ok! And say hi to Mrs. Mandalay if your going" Adain shouted back "Ok mom just going for a walk. I dont think I'll see Mrs. Mandalay today....." she didnt hear her mothers reply because she was out of the door before she could, it was cold and the wind was blowing her hair all over the place, she pushed back her dark brown hair and pinned it behind her small ears, she hated her hair sometimes it was so unrully, although straight and mundane it was also flying everywhere and was almost the hardest thing to tye up and control during school, but she did like her eyes which were dark blue in a round face with a button nose and small but full lips, she was about five foot nothing as her mother would say, too small to amount to anything her lovable grandmother had said, she was petite, slim and shapely, but nearly tidy really, but she liked herself, she was almost pretty in a smallish way, she liked the idea of going unnoticed, that was an advantage, and she had gotton out of a lot of bad situations, which she and her mother had laughed at many times, so as she walked along the street thinking of these things about herself she felt the first drops of rain falling on her head, and with a strange smile she didnt care, she just needed to get out of the house, it was one of those weeks when she just felt uneasy, school was on a break and her friends were off some where having a great time with cousins and grandparents and sisters and brothers, while Adain had to stay home and cook clean and maintain the house, and there was Mrs. Mandalay's too, her mother made her go over there everyday and see if she needed anything, but whenever she did Mrs. Mandalay never spoke she only pointed and grunted and then just turned to look out of the window, she never made any kind of jest of thanks or even mention that she appreciated them, even though she paid them it wasnt too much to say thankyou, sometimes she would sit for hours just reading to her and sometimes Adain thought that Mrs. Mandalay actually did enjoy those times but she never spoke of it ever. But she shouldnt be complaining really; her mother was holding down two jobs really although she did feel like a married woman herself sometimes; her mother was a nurse at the local hospital so she hardly was home at all, only at weekends was she home and then she had to go over to Mrs. Mandalays to clean up and make dinner, during the week whatever her mother cooked was placed in containers and Adain was sent to feed Mrs. Mandalay so shewas like their family really if she thought about it, and her dad was a journalist, and he never was home, but Adain couldnt say anything to her mother, although sometimes she thought that she heard her crying at night, but when she asked the next day her mother would laugh and say that she was dreaming, so dad was never blamed for anything and although he never seemed to come home, always off somewhere doing something or other, he was contantly in the papers but not like famous, sometimes they would get phone calls once in a while saying that they had read his artıcle and what a great guy and being married to him must be wonderful and having such an intellegent father was awesome and so fourth, but of cause no one really new that it was the hardest thing in the world when a child hardly ever sees her father and her mother was holding down the house and everything else that came with it, so anyway he did send money through the bank account they had set up every month on the dot; first day of the month.
So mom never questioned him about anything much and when they did talk it was all about him, and his work and never about how things were at home and how mom was working double shifts and maintaining Mrs. Mandalay's home at the same time, so this was life for them. Althoug Adain new that her father was up to something, or with someone, she just had this feeling that everything wasnt as it should be, but she never could tell her mom about it and when ever she did try to it just never came out right and her mother would get angry and do something else instead, so that part of life was off bounds.
So as she walked down the scenic street, covered with trees and beautiful victorian styled houses she listened to the whispering of the trees,and the singing of the birds, and with the patter of the first drop of rain which had soaked through her jacket and hair by now Adain realised she was going to get rather wet or wetter, but that wasnt too important when she felt so sad and lonely, she watched as the blackening the sky brought on more rain and a sudden shower which drenched Adain through, her jacket was saoked now, perhaps she should have worn her coat, but that was past tense now.
