張玲

They gathered quickly， rolling in from the vast expanse of sky beyond view. Gray， swirling like smoke from a chimney，saturated1） with crystalline drops ready to fall on the heads of those without an umbrella. The lonely smell of fresh rain invaded the house through the open windows， striking my brother and me like a slap in the face. Disbelieving， I sniffed the air a few times to make sure I wasn't mistaken. Looking over at Christian I said， "Smell that？" He nodded. We rushed to a window， pressing our faces against the glass. The scent hit us again as we stared eagerly at the angry clouds headed our way. Rushing to our rooms for swim trunks2）， we both knew one thing was certain， and we couldn't wait. It was going to rain.

Pulling on my trunks， I yelled， "Christian， hurry！" I headed toward his room. "Come on！" I shifted my feet impatiently. They stuck to the wood floors in the stifling3） humidity.

Christian emerged with a frivolous4） Spiderman swimsuit. He darted to a window to see whether the rain had started. It hadn't， but almost. Once outside， we stared expectantly at the sky as it shifted to and fro. Wind ripped through5） the trees， scattering frightened leaves. Once again， that lonely smell permeated6） my nostrils7） and I became even more excited about what was coming. A few moments later， something cold dropped on my shoulder， leaving it tingling8）. My eyes darted across the sky， searching for more.

Next to me I heard my brother gasp， and his hand rose to his cheek， where a single raindrop glistened. I noticed dark spots on the driveway where drops had fallen. It was bound to begin soon， I thought. It couldn't be much longer， could it？

Suddenly， the sky opened up on the two of us， raindrops falling from the churning9） clouds， surrounding us in a shower of glistening gems shattering on the pavement， our hair， our chests. The rain turned the driveway into a reflecting pool， clouded by boundless ripples， spreading ever outward. Steam rose up from the parched10） asphalt11）， creating a fog.

Our bare feet splashed in puddles as the rain pounded on us. Normally， we would have scoffed at the notion of dancing in a rainstorm， but we were giddy12） and acting on impulse.

By now， we were both soaked through， our hair plastered13） to our heads. I don't think I'll ever be dry again， I thought. But I didn't care. Each drop was so refreshing； we danced across the yard， shouting and laughing.

I made a wild leap into the muddy grass. Standing up， Christian pointed at me and laughed. My chest and face were painted brown， and I had mud caked14） in my hair. Grinning， I scooped up a double handful and hurled it at him. He turned away and the globs15） struck him in the back of the head and lower back. I collapsed on the ground， clutching my stomach in a fit of16） laughter.

After I recovered， I let my head fall back onto the grass. I stretched my arms and legs to their full length so my whole body faced the sky. As the raindrops danced across my arms and legs， I knew the heat wave had passed and I was relieved. I lay there， taking it all in： the cool breeze， the indescribable smell of rain， the soft grass beneath me.

"Nice day，" I said out loud.

After a while， I stood， wiping the mud from my hands. I suddenly remembered Christian. Where was he？ How long had I been lying there？

"Christian？" I called. I waited but heard no reply.

"Christian！" I yelled again， louder.

The next thing I knew， I was covered in mud. It hit me in the head from behind， dripping down into my eyes， oozing17） over my nose and working its way into my mouth. Wiping it from my lips， I turned to find my grinning brother， hands covered in mud.

Fleeing in mock terror， I ran around our house to the backyard， where I stopped in my tracks. I looked across the river at the fog curling from the dissipating storm. The opaque18） sky was making way for sunlight to peer through. The ripples lessened， the rain ebbing19） to a drizzle， but dew drops still dangled from leaves and clung to blades of grass. I watched as the whole world took a deep breath and gently let it out.

I know that what we did will probably seem senseless to anyone but us. But it was fun. It was real fun—the kind that our grandparents had as kids in much simpler times when people weren't so distracted.

Christian walked up beside me， and I tousled20） his hair playfully. We stared toward the river as the storm cloudsgalloped21） off into the distance.

烏云快速聚攏起來，從一望無邊的茫茫天際滾滾涌來。它們灰暗陰沉，像從煙囪里飄出的煙霧一樣在空中打轉(zhuǎn)，飽含晶瑩剔透的水滴，隨時準備落到那些沒帶雨傘的行人頭上。清新雨水散發(fā)出的寂寞味道從敞開的窗戶涌入房中，襲向了我和弟弟，就像一記耳光打在臉上。我覺得難以置信，聞了好幾次空氣，想確定自己沒有弄錯。我瞧了瞧克里斯蒂安，說：“聞到了嗎？”他點點頭。我們沖到一扇窗戶前，臉緊緊貼在玻璃上。當我們熱切地盯著那些怒氣沖沖的烏云朝我們的方向滾來時，那種味道又一次襲來。我們立刻沖向各自的房間去換泳褲，因為我們都知道有一件事是確鑿無疑的，而且我們等不及了：要下雨啦。

我一邊穿泳褲，一邊大喊：“克里斯蒂安，快！”我朝他房間走去。“快點?。　蔽也荒蜔┑貋砘氐跪v腳。天氣悶熱潮濕，踩在木地板上直黏腳。

克里斯蒂安出來了，穿了件傻傻的蜘蛛俠泳衣。他沖到一扇窗前，看雨開始下了沒有。還沒，但也差不多了。一來到屋外，我們就充滿期待地盯著風云變幻的天空?？耧L在樹木間橫撞直闖，將受驚的樹葉驅(qū)散開來。再一次，那寂寞的味道鉆進了我的鼻孔，對于即將到來的夏雨我感到愈發(fā)興奮。過了不大一會兒，有冷冰冰的東西落在了我的肩上，留下了刺痛的感覺。我的目光在天空中四處掃視，尋找更多的跡象。

我聽到在我身邊的弟弟倒抽了一口氣，他抬起一只手摸著臉頰，那里有一滴雨滴閃閃發(fā)光。我注意到門前的車道上出現(xiàn)了雨滴落下來而形成的一個個深色斑點。我心想，這雨肯定馬上就要開始下了?？隙ㄒ涣硕嗑茫瑢Π?？

突然，我們頭頂?shù)奶炜樟验_一道口子，雨滴從翻滾的云層中傾瀉而下，如亮晶晶的寶石一般將我們團團包圍，砸落在人行道上、我們的頭發(fā)上、胸襟上。雨水將門前的車道變成了一個倒映池，密密麻麻地布滿了無窮盡的漣漪，不斷向外擴散開去。干透了的柏油馬路被雨水一打，水汽騰起，形成了一團水霧。

我們光著腳在水坑里踩水戲耍，任由雨水砸在我們身上。通常情況下，我們對在大雨中跳舞這種念頭本來是嗤之以鼻的，但這會兒我們渾身是勁，隨性而為。

到現(xiàn)在，我們兩個全身都濕透了，頭發(fā)也都貼在腦袋上。我當時想，我這渾身上下是再也干不了了。但我才不管呢！每一滴雨珠都是那么清爽，我們手舞足蹈地從院子這頭跑到那頭，喊著笑著。

我瘋狂地縱身躍進了泥濘的草地里。克里斯蒂安站在那里，用手指著我哈哈大笑。我的胸口和臉都沾上了泥，變成了灰褐色，頭發(fā)上還粘著一坨坨泥。我咧著嘴呵呵笑著，挖起一大捧泥巴就朝他扔了過去。他轉(zhuǎn)身避開，結(jié)果那坨泥打中了他的后腦勺和后背下面。我癱倒在地，捧著肚子一陣大笑。

等我緩過勁來以后，我將頭向后一倒，仰躺在草地上。我盡情舒展四肢，讓全身都朝向天空?？粗挈c在我的四肢之間舞蹈跳躍，我知道熱浪已經(jīng)過去，我釋然了。我躺在那里，盡情享受著這一切：涼爽的微風、無法言狀的雨的氣息，還有身下柔軟的草兒。

“美好的一天。”我大聲說道。

過了一會兒，我站起身，抹去雙手上的泥。我突然想起克里斯蒂安來。他在哪兒呢？我在這兒躺了多久了？

“克里斯蒂安？”我叫道。我等了等，但是沒有聽到回應。

“克里斯蒂安！”我又喊了一聲，這次聲音更大。

接下來我就被糊了一身泥。泥漿從我身后劈頭蓋臉襲來，滴落到我的眼睛里，淌過我的鼻子，一路流進我的嘴里。我擦去嘴唇上的泥，一轉(zhuǎn)身就看見弟弟咧著嘴笑著，雙手都是泥。

我假裝害怕地逃跑，繞過我家房子來到后院，在那里停下腳步。我望向河對岸，暴雨已臨近尾聲，河對岸一片煙霧繚繞?；薨档奶炜諠u趨明朗，陽光若隱若現(xiàn)。水面的漣漪越來越少，傾盆大雨變成了毛毛細雨，但是依然有雨珠掛在樹葉上，懸在草葉尖。我靜靜看著，仿佛整個世界深深吸了一口氣，然后慢慢地呼了出來。

我現(xiàn)在明白，我們那時所做的，除了我們倆，在其他任何人看來都很可能毫無意義。但在當時那很好玩，真的是很好玩，是我們爺爺奶奶那一輩小時候經(jīng)歷的那種好玩——他們的那個時代簡單得多，人們不像現(xiàn)在這樣精力分散。

克里斯蒂安走到了我身旁，我用手撥弄著他的頭發(fā)玩兒。我們望向那條小河，暴風云正向遠處疾馳而去。