It Rains

         It comes down in thick sheets, so much water that you can't see through it. It runs down, through the smallest of cracks, wrecking havoc upon anything it finds.
It is the rain.
And it never stops. It has been raging on for a long time. It won't stop raining. It's not safe to go outside. It will drag you down, pushing you along, submerging you in the rivers in the streets. Walking outside is close to death.

         The rain is never-ending. It seems like no one can stop it. Oh, but they have tried. Yes, they have tried. Put up cement dams and blocks and every other silly human invention they could think of. It doesn't work, of course. No, why should it? Mother Nature does not bend to fit the needs of humans.

         And far away, she sits down. Comfortable in her own little cave. Smiling wretchedly at the chaos beyond her; the firelight dancing in her eyes as she stares out at the mass destruction. She is different. She is not even human. She enjoys coming to this world, toying with it's beings. She is not from here. She comes from down below this world.
Her name?
Lilith.

         She is hunched up; her knees drawn up to her chin with her thin arms wrapped around. Filthy, brown hair falls around her face. Her clothes are tattered rags. Made from the pelts of animals that are fool enough to challenge her. In one hand she bangs a shattered bone against the ground, filling the air with a steady clicking sound. As well as the crackle of the fire and the distant screams and roars.

         And Lilith grins madly, standing up and stretching. She has to be home for dinner soon. Mother would not appreciate it if she found out she was travelling into other worlds. Of course, Lilith knows what she's doing. She stares out through the mouth of the cave. Dark water drips from the stalactites, occasionally falling on her head or into the fire. This is not her doing. She decided not to dry it out. Best to leave it at peace. Disturb only the humans, as they disturb anything else.

         However, Lilith thinks. Maybe I can admire my work before going home?
The girl puts out the fire with her bare foot. No, it does not hurt. Why should it? Then the small girl moved out of the mouth, walking steadily down the gently sloping path to the nearby city. She does not even notice the sharp stones and brambles underfoot. All the while, knocking her bone against her leg.

         And tap, and tap, and tap. Steadily downward, towards the city. Walking across nettles and sharp grass blades; her head hung down with her dirty hair hanging down like a curtain. It would have looked odd to the passing stranger. To see such a young girl walking across a landscape all by herself. Cold, shivering, alone. Dirty, unclean, unkempt.

         No, not to her kind. Children were expected to make this sort of journey before her age. It was natural. Humans were so cushy. Demanding that everything be soft and perfect and delightful. No. That is not the law of reality.
Nothing is easy. Ever.

         Having reached her destination, she stands in the center of destruction, a mad grin alighting her face. She stands with her feet in the inch-deep water, not at all bothered by it's current. Nothing more than a gentle trickle to her. But around her. She watched, laughing quietly, as a grown man was swept along, yelling for help. Humans were weak. Why they were befit to rule this planet, she did not know.

         The buildings were cracked and leaking, straining under their erosion from the rushing water. Lilith looked up, now only smiling, holding her arms out, palms flat and facing the sky. She let the rain drops fall down, into her hands, her face, down her rags. Around her, the rain was lesser. Now only a slow trickle. She sighed dreamily, twirling on the spot, animal pelts trailing in the mucky water.

         Oblivious, they were. Didn't even notice how strange this little girl was. They were too busy drowning to worry or wonder. Shouts, screams, the roar of water. These all rang like music in her ears.
And then, a shout.
But not just any shout.

         Lilith turned sharply, eyes wide. There was a distressed lady, her eyes wide and fearful too. Holding an umbrella against the rain like a shield. As if that could help. Lilith narrowed her eyes, and made to cast the rain down harder on her when she hesitated. The woman was holding out her hand, reaching across to pull Lilith out of the flood.
And Lilith took it.

         The woman took her to her house, letting her bask in the warmth of the heaters and the white, friendly cleanliness. And all at once, the rain eased off and the sun rose, shining brightly. The woman brought the girl some food, wondering what she had been doing up there all alone. She watched the infant devour the food hungrily, as if she had not eaten for a while.

         When the lady finally gathered up courage, she sat down opposite to the girl and stared into her dark, cold eyes.
"What is your name, little one?"
To this, Lilith paused again, pondering if she should tell her.
"Lilith. I am not from here," she replied, trying to make her voice sound as feeble as possible. "I am three years old, and I lost my parents."

         Then the girl stretched in the chair, as if sleepily, and rested her head on the back. She stared outside the window through the corners of her eyes; a faint smile playing on her lips.
"Miss, it's raining again."