The First Storm

Read the audio here: https://venture-within.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/The-First-Storm.m4a

Rainy season has descended on Nicaragua. The heat lightning warned us of its coming, dancing arrogantly along the purple horizon. I’m coming for you, it flashed.

And it came.

At the stroke of midnight, the thick, humid air was shattered by a downpour that woke dreamers from their peace.

I was not sleeping but had been watching from the window as the lightning paced closer, illuminating the trees, the clouds rearing their heads like war horses, hooves cascading.

The buzz of the daytime cicadas hinted that the weather was shifting, about to get wetter. The frogs slopped up from their ponds to sing their way into evening romance. Or maybe they were hollering for a good romp. New life was stirring.

The last few weeks have nearly buckled us under the heat and silent tension, waiting for the rain.

Last year’s rainy season was not terrible. I remember only a few gnarly storms, and I think Roo, 4 or 5 months old at the time, didn’t seem too nervous about them. Storms can be a scary thing for dogs.

But this week, as the rainy season cracked open the sky, the wind slammed the window shades, the thunder pounded over our heads, and the rain came down, Roo…