He remembered that dark dark day. Grey clouds lingered in the sky and refused to leave. There wasn’t a sign of rain but the sky was so dark everyone was scared that it might rain any second. Chanyeol stared up at the sky through the window of his house. How much he longed for a rainbow then.

            There was darkness in the house he was living in too as a mixture of noises and yells filled his ears. He tried to shut the voices out, but it was no use. He curled up into a ball as he sat near the window. When thunder roared, he was more afraid than ever. And no one was there to comfort him. Not even his parents, who were supposed to be loving him with all their hearts.

            They don’t have time for him as they were busy yelling at each other at the top of their lungs. Plates and glasses smashed into pieces as they hit the floor, turning the kitchen into a mess. Tears escaped Chanyeol’s eyes and drenched the sleeves of his shirt. He didn’t even bother to wipe them away. He lifted his eyes and saw the first drop of rain pouring down from the clouds in the sky. A thousand more followed.

            Eventually, the din in the kitchen was swallowed by the sound of the thunder. Or maybe the quarrel had stopped, Chanyeol just wasn’t sure. He didn’t want to watch any more of that. He turned to the window and watched the rain until he drifted off to sleep with his head on his knees.

            When it was time for him to wake up, all he could remember was his mother forcing a smile and talking softly to him. He sat up and rubbed his eyes as he yawned out loud. Then, he heard the screeching of tyres on the wet road outside. He peered through the window just in time to see his father’s black car drove past the front yard and out of his sight. When he turned around, his mother had retreated to the kitchen with her face in her hands, her shoulders shuddering uncontrollably.

            Chanyeol did not go to his mother to comfort her or talk to her. Instead, he went up to his room. His mind raced as he tried to take in all that had happened. With his mother crying in the kitchen and his father leaving, he knew that this family was falling apart. It had fallen apart long before that day. He opened the cupboard and grabbed his favourite jacket. He pulled it around his shoulders and proceeded downstairs. He ce. His mother was still sitting there. Her face wasn’t in her hands now. But her gaze was so distant that Chanyeol nearly didn’t recognize her as his own mother. Taking the chance, he retreated and headed for the front door.

            The moment he opened the door, the wind blew more strongly, piercing his skin with the icy cold air. Chanyeol didn’t even bother to turn and grab an umbrella. He pulled the hood of his jacket over his head and walked down the porch steps. There weren’t as many people in the streets as the rain poured heavily and mercilessly. The roads were filled with the sounds of cars honking and screeching tyres. People were shouting unpleasant words at each other over the sound of the rain. Under umbrellas, people went on with their own business under the heavy rain, too busy to notice or even care about a 15 year old boy out in the streets all on his own.

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