“End of the Rainbow”

Alton smiled, sitting hungry at the breakfast table, observing his new home. So far the meals shared were the best part. His aunt focused on the stove, all of the burners were in use. Alton dreamed of eating cereal with the biggest wood spoon. He turned his attention to his uncle who looked different with no beard. Alton wondered why he always used the same cup if they had so many. He noticed everything from the furniture to spider webs on the ceiling as he wiggled around in his metal chair.

He wouldn’t believe they were poor staring down the growing stack of pancakes. There were even bottles with different colors of syrup! The rainy day outside seemed distant, almost unreal.

“Why is the rain sad?” Alton broke his silence, his soft voice unsure of itself.

“It is not sad, the rain gives water to everything!” His aunt was too quick and vibrant in her answer. Alton turned away, knowing his question was wrong.

With his attention still on his tablet his uncle was quick to counter, “Oh, no one told you about the contact? Old news really.” The baited hook got the boys attention. He playfully looked at the two of them daring them to say more.

His uncle obliged. The large man set his tablet down, “There is a contract as old as time between the rain and the sun.” Alton’s uncle waved his hand while speaking in a calm voice. Alton hung on his every word. “Everyone thinks the rain is sad, or that it’s crying. Nothing can be further from the truth. Rain falls from the clouds to give, everywhere on earth gets rain.” He paused. “Of course, that is the end of the story, not the beginning. Your aunt and I should start from the beginning.”

Connie turned off the last of the burners. She hung back up the dishtowel. The vibrant woman, seen by many as too energetic, began to act her part. Connie raised her voice to a high-pitched squeak. “I am the sun! I will shine bright so everything can grow! I can show everyone how great we all can be!”

“Now the rain was different. The rain would only fall in a few places around his own home. The clouds and rain were shy and didn’t think anyone wanted to see them. I mean we all want the rain to go away right?” His uncle did the perfect job of stringing Alton along.

“Yeah! Rain, rain, go away, come again another day!” Sang a happy child.

“Yeah, and the rain used to go away. So nothing grew. No flowers…”

“No carrots?”

“None.” His uncle made a swift chopping motion.

“What?” Alton giggled. He let his whole body turn and twist in his metal chair. He played with the armrests and picked at the spokes.

His uncle stayed in character. “I couldn’t do everything. I tried, but we all had to work together.” She raised her hand and counted. “Sun, starts, wind, moon.” She counted them off one by one on her hand until she had one pointer finger left. “The clouds still hid convinced they had nothing worthwhile, but I could see something inside of them, even if they could not.”

“The rain?” Alton asked, now more focused on the pancakes than the story.

“No the colors we all see, they came from within the clouds. Imagine a colorless world. That is how it was before all five worked together.” His uncle drove the story forward.

Now it was his uncle’s turn to get into character. Unlike Connie, the burly man did not make voices or play pretend. For his nephew, he would learn. His uncle put his head down and spoke into his hands in a loud slow voice. “The sun shined so brightly over the ocean one day I saw the colors within. All five of us did.” He raised his head timidly and shugged. “The others asked me clouds to help. Of course, I would! I just never saw the colors before. I didn’t know I could help. But woes me! Now I had an even bigger problem.” His uncle put his head between his hand, communicating sorrow.

“What?” Alton could not hold his question back.

“I had no gift for my friends. So I thought long and hard. When all of the rain drains from them sometimes the clouds leave a trail of the colors! That is a gift for those who believed in me when I did not.”

“Do you think we will see the rainbow today?”

“I do.” His uncle gave a quick response.

Alton paused. “Wait, that is not the whole story! What about the pot of gold?”

His uncle opened his mouth to respond. He paused, thinking to himself.

“You are right Alton!” His aunt exclaimed enthusiastically. “The pot of gold is the rainbow. The greatest gift ever given!”

Connie reached forward and pulled Alton’s wheelchair toward the table. She winked at her husband who looked like a new man. They were an older couple, it was lucky they were able to adopt. Alton will never walk, so his aunt and uncle will teach him to fly.

Never give up on life. Never give up on love.

That’s it, that’s all:

-Nathan Hall