Winds of Change Lily could hear the storm as she stood in front of her home in Ansley, Nebraska. A line of clouds marched towards her. They towered over the valley she called home. All week the weathermen had warned that the storm would devastate the region. "More damage than anyone has seen in years," newscasters had foretold. Knowing the expected outcome, she had prepared herself as best she could. Buying cans of soup and tuna, boxes of crackers, jugs of water, and loaves of bread, Lily thought she would be alright if the worst did happen. She contentedly lived alone in a bungalow. The kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom were all on the same floor. The lack of a basement had never bothered her before now. However, the more she thought about it, the more she realized that she had no place to crawl under for shelter if a tornado were to form. The idea sent chills down her spine. It was only two in the afternoon, but the storm had blocked out all sign of sunshine above. The wind picked up in intensity and Lily struggled to keep her footing while standing on her porch. Deciding to take this as a sign, she moved inside. As the door slammed shut behind her, a bolt of lightning lit up the sky. Shortly after, thunder shook the frame of the house. Lily stood at her window looking out at the tempest. Leaves raced across the yard. A dog ran past her home frantically in search of shelter. She was tempted to save him but didn't want to risk it. At least I have four walls as protection, she thought. How many people have nothing to shelter themselves tonight? How many would suffer? How many would perish? A tear streamed down her face. Mother nature destroyed so much beauty with her wrath. Another crack of lightning slightly blinded Lily, striking somewhere nearby. Thunder followed almost instantaneously. This time, the house felt as though it would collapse from all the shaking. It's energy forced the wind out of her lungs. The storm was directly above her now. An alarm sounded outside, sounding close. Was there a tornado approaching? she worried to herself. She knew that the town had installed a system that warned citizens of a twister. Listening closer, she realized that it was only the alarm of a car. The security triggered by the crack of thunder. She calmed herself a bit and as her heartbeat slowed she saw a raindrop hit the window. And then another. It started to rain. Lily's life was about to change forever. The clouds opened above her and poured out rain. Never before had she witnessed anything like this. In fact, unbeknownst to Lily, no one had. The rain changed everything it touched in the world before her eyes. The change started off subtly; a hint of colour here, a shade there. The roof of the modest house across the street looked as though a bucket of mocha brown paint had been dropped on it. Even plants seemed to have been painted with a brush. They looked more vibrant; bright greens; pale yellows; pretty pinks and purples. Their former dullness washed away. As the rain coated everything around her, she continued to watch, mesmerized by the metamorphosis. The trees in front of her house began to grow. Their conical trunks expanded and their round branches stretched higher into the brightening sky. Taller and taller, they rose to meet their magical nourishment falling above them. They were given dimensions and they had aged. They were old, weathered trees scratched with various initials of lovers' names; the lighter oak wood visible underneath the rough bark. Glancing to her right, she looked in a mirror hanging on the wall. A wave of panic flowed through her. The sight took her breath away. Looking back was the somewhat blemished face of a young woman with light brown hair and piercing olive green eyes. Lily's bewilderment escalated as she inspected her facial features; a narrow, bumpy nose, rosy cheeks over high cheekbones, petite ears, and voluptuous red lips. Had she not known that she was looking into a mirror she wouldn't have believed that the person looking back was herself. Feeling like Alice after falling down the rabbit hole, Lily could see that the world outside and inside had been altered. Turning her attention back out the front window, Lily could see the ominous grey clouds of the retreating storm contrasted with a brilliant rainbow that stretched across the now radiant blue sky. She would forever remember this day as "The Day it Rained Adjectives".
