A Gentle Rain

A long, long time ago, in a kingdom far, far . . . wait, it was yesterday . . .

I had a very eerie experience yesterday. It was after the tornado sirens had stopped sounding and we were able to walk outside. We had been missed by a decently long way, it turns out but I could tell that something had happened. It wasn't like the last time I walked outside after a tornado. Last time, I saw a shopping cart stall had been moved. Then I saw that another had been knocked over. Still thinking there had only been some strong winds, I then saw a large, rooftop air conditioner lying in the parking lot, followed by the car that had been pushed sideways into another car, later followed by the complete devastation that had worked its way through Springfield's southern end.

That time, the tornado had traveled about 6-8 blocks south of our house. This time, it hit two small towns outside of Springfield.

Like I said, I wasn't near the heart of the problem, but I could tell that something had happened. As I stepped outside, something caught my eye. Flipping over in a free fall, a large piece of cardboard was making its way to the ground. It landed and my eyes roved up again. Something else came drifting down. It was a leaf. There was another, and another, and another. I peered into the depths of the clouds above. From seemingly nowhere and amidst a gentle rain, hundreds of leaves were falling from the sky.

While it was an interesting and unique experience for me, I knew that it likely meant destruction for someone else. Our prayers go out for those who were hit, and I hope that the people of our city will respond as well as they did last time.