APRIL SHOWERS WITH AFINA

In theory, Afina loved the rain. Especially when she was curled up in bed, enjoying the embrace of warm pillows and blankets, belly full, drifting in and out of sleep. When it rained, the world felt fuzzy. It pitter pattered against the window but she was protected inside, untouchable by the cold or the wet. What was better than that?

And being particularly lazy, it was very rare for her to be anywhere else but home when it rained and so never had to worry about any consequences. When it rained, she ate, she slept, she dreamed.

Until the unthinkable happened.

She ran out of blueberries.

While she was indeed lazy and quite slothful, that was not her sin of choice. Gluttony was her want and her desire for scrumptious food was the only decent reason to get out of bed on a cloudy afternoon, pull on a shawl and totter sleepily out into the world.

“Waaah,” she whined to herself as she swung the door closed, a basket on her arm and her eyes squinting against any light that wasn’t her dimly lit home. Then off she went out into the street, towards the conveniently located (by design) blueberry patch tended to by all the nearby locals. A community garden of sorts. Though Afina had a sneaking suspicion she ate most of them.

As she walked, the day was already growing darker and she peered upwards, eyeing off the masses of gray clouds that threatened to make a nuisance of themselves. Afina hurried her steps, a little ‘huff, huff, huff’ as she trotted along.

Here she was!

The community garden had a vegetable patch and a few rows of blueberry bushes, which she tended to with great care, coaxing the fattest and juiciest berries. It wasn't easy being a gardener. Not for someone more inclined to doing nothing but the yield was always worth the effort.

So despite her eagerness to return home, Afina took the time to walk down the line, inspecting the line for bugs or rot. All was well. Not a leaf out of place. The blueberries were growing well, many little clumps, some still tiny and purple, others plump and blue. With a pleased hum, she started adding the ripest to her basket, stealing one or two here and there to chew on.

That was when the first drops started.

One landed on a leaf, then her paw, then her head.

She tipped her head back.

Another droplet plopped onto her nose.

Uh ohhhh.

Maybe it was just passing.

That was it!

She wrapped her ears around herself for warmth and popped a berry in her mouth, then with slightly more pep, Afina added the last few blueberries to her basket and turned to leave. 

Just in time, she thought to herself, as the cavern cloud’s opened and unleashed a deluge. 

“EEEEEEEEII,” she squealed, and for the first time in three months (the last time had been when she’d forgotten her fresh blueberry pie was in the oven and had been alerted by the smell of burning), started to run.

Afina scampered, cradling her precious cargo and hurtling down the street, through sheets of rain and burst through her front door, dripping and drenched. She stood in her little entranceway for a moment and then - ACHOOO!

She sniffed and casually wiped her nose with her ear.

With a sigh, she sat down exactly where she was. There was only one medicine for suddenly getting caught in a downpour. Blueberries, obviously. A good pawful of them, shoved straight into her mouth, bursting on her tongue.

She flopped backwards, arms spread, mouth full.

Yeah, she was still very wet but her ears were warm and so was her house. Her belly was pleased and there was sugar on her tongue. From here she could listen to the pelting rain on her door and windows, making her drowsy and content. That sure was enough excitement for one day. It was definitely time to...

ZZZZZ