The Rain Hides My Tears (Open)

[dany]

Jace stared around the garden as he perched himself on a soggy bench. It was raining and the thunder and lighting crashed and rumbled as the rain beat down on the poor plants. Jace had always loved the rain. Once, when he was very little, he used to run in to the rain and cry, because the rain always hid your tears and stopped any sane person from venturing out and finding your tears. That was why Jace had loved Ireland so much, because it was so wet. He smiled slightly at the memory, but darker and more sinister memories followed, causing Jace to flinch and grimace. Water dripped from his now limp brown locks and his white, thin shirt and black trousers were no match for the brutal force of wind and rain. Jace sniffed, feeling hot tears burn his eyes and his cheeks as they streaked his face. He missed everything. He missed his mother, his old life, Ireland and most of all, his brother, Tobias. He rubbed his red, sore eyes and sniffed again. A clash of thunder made him jump a little and he raked a hand though his soaking wet hair and sighed heavily, more hot tears burning his eyes. "Why am I being punished for my suffering?" he asked the rain, thunder and lightening, but their only response was to make Jace even more miserable than before.

[Cybele Renard]

She wanted to laugh; wanted to scream at the sky, taunt the lightning, roar at the thunder, and sing to the raindrops. Cybele wanted to give into the near hysterical madness and joy that was filling her as she danced between raindrops. Storms always filled her with a sense of happiness, she wasn’t exactly sure why. Maybe it was the smells, sounds, and emotions storms evoked. Perhaps it was the sense of cleansing and renewal. It could even be some primal reaction that was purely genetic. Cybele honestly couldn’t care less.

Seeing as she couldn’t actually vocalize her feelings towards the storm, Cybele did the next best thing. A worn Swan 12 Key harmonica was pressed to her lips. The melody of Tuesday’s Gone could be heard between bursts of thunder. Cybele’s dark blue dress billowed around her as she spun through the gardens. She absently jumped into a puddle, splashing water everywhere. Cybele had opted not to wear shoes or a blouse, knowing full well they would take forever to clean/dry.

Cybele noticed Jason perching on a bench. It was odd to see another student out during a storm; then again, Cybele didn’t venture into the gardens that often. She finished the song, and headed towards his bench. When she was a couple steps away, she signed, ‘Hello’ in BSL. Not bothering to wait for a reply, which she didn’t actually expect, Cybele reached into the back of her dress and produced a small waterproof pen and pad of paper.

“Beautiful storm, no?” she wrote and held the notebook towards Jason. There was a flash of lightning and Cybele got a better look at his face, particularly his eyes. The beaming smile she had been wearing since the storm began was replaced with a more curious, concerned version.

She scribbled “You ok?” and held the notebook out for Jason to read again.

[dany]

Jace hadn't expected anyone outside in the storm. Much less a girl from his year. He was startled from his memories when he heard music, but he'd never heard the tune before. He cocked his head and stood up from the bench he was sitting on and managed a small smile when Cybele came out of the storm. Jace had seen Cybele around the school and he was aware they did share some classes, but he'd always wondered why she never talked. That was, until he saw her say `hello` in BSL.

As a child, Jace had learned to do BSL since one of the children at his care home couldn't hear and Jace was the only one he could talk to. Jace said, `I'm fine, just the rain in my eyes,` in BSL and grinned at her. It was nice to have a change and at least he didn't need to worry about the noise level of the girl. He ran a hand though his dripping wet hair and sighed inwardly. He glanced at Cybele. `Why are you out here in the middle of a storm?` Jace had no idea that the girl could hear, but no speak.

[Cybele Renard]

Well this was unexpected. Cybele almost jumped up onto the bench to hug Jace. Her smile returned to her face in full force. In response to his question, she signed, “Why not? And you?” She spun in place, throwing water everywhere. She returned the notebook and pen down the back of her dress with one hand; she touched her throat with the other and shrugged.

Both hands free again, she signed, ”You can talk if you wish. Mute, not deaf.” Cybele racked her brains, attempting to remember the boy’s name. She knew they had some classes together… “Jake? Jason?” Cybele signed an apology. “Bad at names. Where did you learn BSL? You can not…” Cybele paused. She wasn’t sure how to say the next word and absently signed it in LSF. She attempted to cover her hesitation by wiping some rain out of her eyes. “i-m-a-g-i-n-e.” she hated resorting to spelling out words, “how nice it is to finally ‘talk’ to another student.”

[dany]

Jace licked his unusually dry lips in such weather and rolled his stiff shoulders, grunting a little in pain. He hated sports, but Tobias, his brother, had forced him in to it and now he ached everywhere, all the time. Jace watched Cybele's hands intently and nodded curtly. "Good. I'm not deaf or mute, I used to have a friend who was deaf and I was the only one who could talk to him." Jace used his voice that time, just so he didn't need to remember everything about BSL. He shook his head and water sprayed from his hair and around him. It was now all messed up and sticking up in places.

"It's nice to be able to use BSL for once." He thought for a moment, trying to remember what to do next. "You're close to my name. It's Jason, but you can call me Jace for short." There was a flash of lightening, followed by a loud rumble of thunder. Jace looked up at the sky and grinned. "Do you like storms?" he asked using his voice again, but softly, his Irish accent clearly showing. He cupped his hands together and he began to collect rain water in his hands. Little joys like that really made his day.

[Cybele Renard]

Cybele nodded, listening to Jace. While she would never admit it, she was a little jealous of Jace’s accent. When Hatter spoke, he had an extremely slight English accent. Cybele imagined hers would be a mix of French and English.

She signed, “Irish?” but it was more a thought than a question. Another bolt of lightning crossed the sky, and Cybele followed its path with her eyes. “Storms? Hate them. Do not like getting wet.” She put a serious look on her face, trying her best to look grumpy and discontented. She let the statement hang for a moment before giving Jace a wide grin. Cybele felt that sarcasm didn’t translate well into sign language. One almost needed to add vocal inflection to make it work. This did not stop her from trying, though.

She held her arms straight out to her side, palms up. When a little water had collected, she threw it in the air. ”I love storms. They make me feel alive. Remind me of home, chaos, life, change.” Cybele watched Jace. “You understand, no?”

[dany]

Jace was curious about Cybele. She was different from other students here and she had this certain thing about her which drew Jace closer to her. At this point in time, he was not in the mood for flirting, but for talking and getting to know someone as a friend. It was most unusual for him, but he didn't let it bother him. At her sarcasm, he laughed, tilting his head back so rain dripped over his face and down his neck. He shivered as he felt cool drops of rain water dribbled down the curve of his neck and down his spine. He loved that feeling.

"Aye, I'm Irish, but that doesn't matter." He shrugged and watched the sky intently. He saw he hand movements and grinned at her. "Yeah, they sure make me feel alive, and it's the best place for letting out any tears or sadness, because the rain covers your tears. That's the first thing I learnt as a young lad." His smile faltered at the memory of his past and he sighed inwardly.

[Cybele Renard]

It was nice to have someone appreciate a poor attempt at sarcasm. “I meant no offense. I enjoy accents.” Cybele tapped her ears. She signed ‘sensitive’ hoping to convey an appreciation for sound, language, and enhanced hearing with that one word.

Cybele took a seat on the bench and tilted her head back so the rain could splash on her face. She watched Jace out of the corner of her eyes, noticing his smile falter. This didn’t seem like the Jace Cybele had seen around school. She had written him off as the ‘cool, rebellious, ladies man’ type, perhaps hastily.

“Forgive me, but that does not seem like the type of lesson one wishes to learn young.” Cybele turned slightly to face Jace. “It is a good lesson though. Better one’s problems be washed away,” she made a sweeping gesture, indicating the rain, ”than left to f-e-s-t-e-r.”

Again a word she didn’t know. Cybele was too focused on Jace to mind this time. She was hoping he would get the hint and talk to her if needed. Honestly, he had no reason to; the two barely knew each other. Something was obviously bothering him, though. And if Cybele could do anything to help, she would.

[dany]

Jace could see that she wanted him to talk about his probelms and he was tempted to too, but there were doubts in his mind. Should I talk about my problems to a girl I hardly know? Would she want to know about my problems, or would she just get bored and leave me? I'm not the most interesting guy, am I? He sighed and shook his head. He couldn't make his mind up. Finally he decided to talk half of the truth, but he was still a little shifty about talking about his life.

"Well, I miss my family, my borhter mainly, and I guess I just feel homesick. That's why I'm out here, with...tears in my eyes. I mean, you could get homesick, couldn't you?" He faltered as he talked about his tears. He was taught to keep a brave face on and to show no fear or emotion on your face. He found talking of his feelings awkward and he didn't like it.

((Sorry it took so long to post. I had surprise exams and then my comp went down. )

[Cybele Renard]

“I get homesick, yes.” Cybele smiled lightly and cocked her head to the side, ”and no at the same time.” Cybele was having a hard time putting her thoughts into ‘words.’ She watched Jace carefully while she thought. It was fairly obvious he didn’t want to talk about his feelings and Cybele respected that. “Distractions.” Cybele shrugged. That wasn’t exactly the word she was looking for, so she also signed “Reminders.”

She held a hand out, letting the water pool in her palm. She indicated the pool with her other hand then threw the water into the garden. Next, she tapped her head and made a face like she was thinking hard. Finally she reached behind her back and produced the harmonica. She held it up for Jace to see, then blew a couple notes.

”Not an answer, but keeps me in the present and past at the same time.” She brought the harmonica to her lips again and played a beginner scale. The memory of her father teaching her to play filled Cybele’s mind for a moment. She closed her eyes, holding the picture then letting it fade. “Memories are just that.”

A sage she was not. Cybele gave Jace an apologetic smile, realizing full well that she was better at listening than giving advice. She hoped he wouldn't get angry at her non answer.


(( Ick, what kind of person gives surprise exams? That’s just wrong… ))

[dany]

((Well, that's my horrible school for ya! And I did well bad in them! lol)

Surprisingly, Jace actually got what she was telling him, only, he had very few cherished memories he wanted to think about. His life had been more of a rollercoast, with most of the rollercoaster on the down, than the up. It had been hard for him, and he hardly liked looking back, but someone had told him once, that the only way to move forwards, was to accept the past and to forgive and forget, but Jace couldn't forgive what half his family had done to Tobias and him.

"I know what you mean, and I think it's a good idea, but not for me. You see, I don't have many good memories, and they're mostly in Ireland. That's why I home sick." He couldn't really explain his feelings to her, because he made no sense of them himself. Sighing, he just shook his head. "I can't really explain it, you see." There was a lot churning himself of him, and the only thing that made him feel better was the rain.

[Cybele Renard]

Well now Cybele felt stupid. She kept the apologetic smile on her face and signed, “Guess the only thing to do is to make new memories. Eventually, you will have so many that they will replace the old ones.” Cybele put a thoughtful look on her face. “Or your head will explode. Could be messy.” She pantomimed an exploding head and shrugged. There was that sarcasm again…

“What do I know, though.” Cybele knew she couldn’t completely relate to Jace; most of her childhood memories were happy ones and she had no idea about his past. “So tell me about a happy memory.” Cybele figured there was a 50/50 chance he would tell her or change the subject. There was always the third option that Jace would get mad and tell her to butt out of his life. While she didn’t exactly like that option, it would at least, hopefully, help Jace by getting his mind off his past.