Rain, Rain, Come Again

Chapter 1

Two months later...

I woke up due to the sunlight rays entering my room. I closed my eyes again and turned away from the open window. I sighed, realizing I had forgotten to close it again last night. I stay on my bed for a few moments, staring at the ceiling until Munching came to mind. I sighed and quickly got up. I looked at the wall clock and saw that it was already past seven in the morning.

I folded my blanket neatly beside my pillow. I tied up my messy hair before leaving the room and almost ran down the stairs. I went straight to the kitchen and my suspicion was correct, Munching was waiting beside his empty cat bowl.

Munching glanced at me with his wicked eyes. He ignored my gaze and I let out a soft chuckle. I felt like he was sulking because I woke up late and fed him late.

"Don't be mad at me, grumpy." I said as I took his cat food.

Two months ago, when I discovered Munching at the graveyard, he was really frail and thin. However, the cat was now putting on weight and his fur was thickening. Most of all, he was starting to have an attitude.

But for the months I spent with Munching, he helped me cope with my grief. He made me happy and gave me another reason to live. I treated Munching like my family. I felt like our connection was very strong, we almost understood each other.

"Here you go, my prince." I said while pouring his food into his bowl.

I smiled as I watched Munching eat. After a few moments, I decided to cook my breakfast and turned on the TV in the living room for the morning news. So while frying my egg, I was listening to the news. It had been almost two weeks since it last rained, and the weather continued to be hot. Perhaps it was already Summer. However, it seemed worse this year because the country was expecting El Niño or intense heat.

After breakfast, I went back to my room to take a shower. Wearing faded jeans and a white and red striped flannel shirt, I was ready to go and went down to look for Munching again, who was no longer in the kitchen. I walked towards the back and almost held my breath when I saw the flowers in full bloom and the greenery surrounding them.

The garden was my favorite part of the house. Grandma Carin loved plants, so our house was surrounded by them. Her love for flowers was the reason why she started a flower shop which I am now running. The business went well 'til now, despite the intense heat of the sun. I couldn't understand why the flowers in Nana's vast garden continued to bloom. In other flower shops, harvesting was difficult because most of their plants are dying from the heat.

"Munching!" I called out, looking under some plants.

I glanced at my watch and took a deep breath. I needed to leave to open the shop, but Munching was missing again. I couldn't leave him alone in the house without someone to feed him, and I usually come home late at night.I went back inside the house and passed by the front porch. I saw Munching's pawprints and followed them until I saw him sitting on the sofa with muddy paws.

"Where did you go?" I asked while pulling the rug to clean his paw prints on the floor.

Munching only stared and blinked. He licked his paws and meowed. I looked at him and lifted him up in my arms. I took him to the sink to clean the mud off his paws. While washing the stubborn cat, I realized something.

Where did Munching get mud on his paws when the ground is dry today?

I glared suspiciously at Munching but he stared back innocently. This puzzle stayed with me until we left the house.

I had just opened Cariña Flora - my grandmother loved flowers so much that she also named me Flora, and I already had customers.

My flower sales were doing well. Some were even happy that the flowers were fresh and blooming despite the hot weather. They were right. The sun was scorching all day and the road looked almost deserted, but my flowers still looked fresh.

Munching and I arrived home at six in the evening. The moment we went inside, Munching leapt from my arms and ran upstairs. I turned on the lights one by one and sighed as I scanned the entire quiet house. My eyes stopped at the photo of Nana Carin hanging directly from across the door. I intentionally placed her frame in front of the door so that her face would be the first thing I see when I came home.

While eating dinner alone, there was only the sound of the TV I'd been hearing from the sala. Munching was playing with my skirt on my lap. I had gotten used to the silence in the house that it never bothered me anymore. Sometimes, I still felt lonely, but I just focused my attention on Munching. Thankfully, I had this silly cat with me.

I felt tired, so I went to bed early. I even remember feeling Munching cuddling up next to me before falling asleep. But I woke up to find that Munching wasn't by my side anymore. I looked around the dimness of my room. It was only two o'clock in the morning. I groaned and turned towards the open window and my brows furrowed because I had forgotten to close it again.

I lazily got out of bed and approached the open window. I was about to close it when I saw Munching in the yard. He sat on the grass with his eyes staring directly at me. His tail was moving left and right. He turned away from me and headed towards the garden.

I often noticed that Munching leaves in the early hours of the morning. And now, I am curious where that mischievous cat goes. I closed the windows. And instead of going back to sleep, I decided to go downstairs.

I passed by the kitchen where there was a backdoor leading to the garden. I was yawning as I walked across the kitchen towards the door. But I stopped when I heard a voice from outside. I wasn't sure if it was a human voice, so I listened carefully.

Then, I heard a soft chuckle and Munching's cuddly meows.

My eyes widened. I grabbed the closest thing I could reach - a frying pan.

I slowly opened the door. Through the small gap in the door, I peeked and saw the back of a man. He was crouching and petting Munching. And I realized as I squinted my eyes, that he was wearing my grandfather's old clothes!

I closed the door again and panicked, hugging the pan to my chest.

Thief!

I shut my eyes and was sure of what to do. I opened the door again, making sure not to make any noise. I clutched the frying pan tightly as I tiptoed outside.

Before I could even see the man's face, I gasped and let go of the pan. It clanged on the wooden floor as my wide eyes stared in horror...

The strange man's hands were, unbelievably, watering my plants!