The Rainbow Trail

A little girl was staring out of her classroom window one day, right at the back of the room. Hundreds of tiny water droplets landed on the outside of the glass and slid down to the ground. The sound of the rain was drowned out by the chattering of the girl's classmates, all giggling and fidgeting and ignoring their teacher. The teacher's withered voice barely rose above this din, though she didn't seem to notice.1

The little girl held her chin in her hands, and continued to stare out at the playground, where the swings were rattling in the wind and the see-saw was tipping from side to side. The rain seemed to find every single corner of the playground, which meant that everywhere was dripping wet. The girl sighed mournfully, her honey coloured hair streaming down her back, her eyes still fixed on the dismal scene outside.2

She wished there was a rainbow.3

There was nothing but grey and white outside; nothing bright or cheerful at all. The droning of the teacher and the patter of the rain was soft in her ears, and as she gazed through the window, she began to imagine that the rain was stopping, that the clouds were parting to reveal a stream of colours in the sky. It was incredible that such beautiful colours could float up there, always too far away to reach.4

She imagined, in her dream-filled mind, what it would feel like to stretch her arm up to the heavens and grab that rainbow by the tail, to twist her fingers around it before it could get away. The rainbow might wriggle and struggle, but she would hold fast, keeping all seven colours tight in her small hand.5

The rainbow would lead her through the clouds and up towards the sun, where there was no rain and no sound but the singing of birds. She could feel the wind blowing through her long hair as the rainbow pulled her along, turning this way and that, far above the earth.6

They would land together on the moon. Her sandals would send dust into the air as they fell to the ground, laughing and playing all the way. The cold and the dark would not touch them even there, and they could look down on the whole planet, watching every single person still stuck in the rain. The little girl smiled as she held the rainbow in her hand, the warmth of the colours seeping through her skin like some magical potion.7

She jumped as she heard the school bell ring, and suddenly she saw nothing but the damp playground, and her classmates all rushing to the door. The rain was still trickling down the foggy windows, and the grass outside was full of puddles. The little girl sighed again as she looked up to the sky.8

Maybe it was her imagination, but she thought that she could just see the faintest of red and blue tinges from between the clouds, winking down at her from above the rain.