A B O V E

It was one of those nights that Donghae didn't feel like falling asleep. He didn't want to just put his head on the pillow and drift into another place. He lied in his bed and under his warm blanket, toes tangeled together while his fingers were buried into his blanket.

His eyes stared steadily at the ceiling with nothing particular in mind, but he was carefully listening. He clearly heard his father's heavy steps walking to his bedroom and the lighter ones of his mother following. He heard their voices get muted as they entered the room and closed the door with a barely there creak and a soft thud. He still listened for a while, making sure they were tucked in bed before he sat up.

The brunette kicked his blanket away, making it crumble near the end of his bed. He wondered what he should do. He reached for his phone and it wasn't 30 minutes since he lied down. His eyes darted to the door's direction when he heard a voice, but relaxed when he found out of was only Donghwa. His elder brother didn't care if he was awake when he is supposed to be asleep, unlike his parents.

Donghae the small lamp on his bedside table, and looked around his room wondering what he should do now. He could play video games but it wasn't that fun without Kyuhyun, he could read a book but he had read all of them -which reminds him to buy that one novel he had been wanting to read since last month-, he could venture into the living room and watch some tv but he could get caught. A small sigh passed his lips as he got up and made his way to the window, pulling the curtain aside and perching on the ledge.

He slid open the window and inhaled the fresh night air, feeling it slowly going into his lungs and filling his chest. His room didn't overlook anything special, only a small ally and his neighbours houses on the opposite side. It wasn't something he hated, or cared about, because with a small tilt of his head he could see the dark night sky. Of course it was dark, but some clouds were hanging here and there, contrasting with the murkiness that surrounded it.

Sometimes Donghae wished he didn't live in the city. His family is here, his school and friends are here, everything he grew up to sure was here as well, but he imagened city life incomparable to the serenity of the countryside or the suburbs. Just sitting here and watching the sky makes him wish all those streets had no lights in them to pollute the beautiful darkness of the heaven's above, because then the stars would have a stage to shine on, and the tiny ones of them would make their presence known. He could already see it under his eyelids and it would be breath-taking sight to behold.

The curtain covering his window slowly dances as the soft breeze blows, tickling his face and pushing the dark strands away from his forehead. He takes a small breath and lazily places his cheek over his open palm while he extends his other hand out of the window. The air was cooler than the nights before, making it clear that winter wasn't so far away. It makes his lips curl. Because just like how his friends anticipate summer and beaches, he waits for winter and rain.

There had always been something about winter that strangely made him warm up from the inside and put his heart in peace. He could think and try to figure it out but he still wouldn't know what it actually is. Maybe it was just that people would huddle closer in winter, seeking warmth from each other. Maybe it was because Christmas happens in winter, and everyone's faces are decorated with delight during the season.

It could be so many reasons mashed up together but maybe because he just loved how the cold raindrops would splash into his palms when he spreads them under the sky.

He looked up the sky and the few stars hanging there, memorizing their locations before he got up and closed the window. He needed to wake up for school anyway tomorrow so he'll need sleep.

-

Next morning was even cooler, making him take a deep breath as he pushed the main door open and was greeted with the bright sun and chirping birds. Donghae stood there enjoying the warmth of the sun seeping into his pores while the cool breeze ruffled his fringe gently.

'Get out of the way, Donghae.' His older droned in his lazy morning tone. He pushed his shoulder and walked ahead of him. The younger brunette just adjusted his bag over his shoulder. 'You're being very mean in the morning again, hyung.' he grumbled and the other boy apparently heard him as he gave him a flick of the wrist over his shoulder. Donghae chuckled and made his way to his school.

He spent most of the day peering out of the class’s window, eyes trailing the clouds or their shadows, wishing it'll at least drizzle a little or something. It was just another day of his normal and slightly boring high school life that he wished to be over soon.

Everything was uneventful, friends chatted away all day long, the food in the cafeteria was still the same, and teachers were still thinking that everyone in class cared to what they droning on and on about. What made it all bearable was the clouds filling the light blue sky, promising him the approach of his favourite season.

Donghae was glad though, because as his best friend went on and on about his adventures in the latest version of a video game, he was able to capture some of the moments in which the sun played hide and seek with the clouds with his camera. At least he accomplished something, he thought.

By the end of the day everything from that just-another-day wasn't stuck in his mind, except his anticipation for the cold and wet season and the pictures he took. He also found himself doing what he did the previous night, sitting on the ledge with his legs spread in front of him but this time with his head resting over his folded arm with the other one dangling out of the window, letting himself get lost in the quite of the night.

He found himself on that spot almost every night, sometimes with a hot cup of tea he soundlessly made, or soft songs flowing into his ears and to which he popped his head. Each night was unlike the other though. There were always these subtle changes that made him repeat the routine each night, and left him eager for the next.

One night a tiny far star seemed somehow closer, another the air was a little bit wet, and another night the breeze messed up his hair completely. There always was something to look forward to.

-

But when it rained it was a whole different matter.

It was during school hours while he sat bored out of his mind  but surprisingly was listening to what his teacher was saying and was even taking a note or two every once in a while.

It wasn't that surprising, he had noticed the heavy looking clouds that day but thinking it wasn't going to rain today, like how it didn't even drizzle at all during previous days. It took couple of minutes though, before the windows were softly tapped and the sun was concealed.

He abandoned his notebook to glance to his left where the thing he anticipated for weeks occurred. Fresh droplets of water continuously splashed against the clear glass, leaving trails as they descended further, their