Wow, it's rainy.<br/><br/>Of course, Ari<span style="font-style: italic">knew</span>this, hearing the wind screaming like drunk college kids at a pool party and the rain slapping the window in an endless barrage of<span style="font-style: italic">duh-duh-duh-duh-duh</span>, but the fact only really hit home when he grabbed his raincoat and his cane, slammed the door open, and stormed outside, immediately regretting everything the moment the rain got its wet fingers all over him.<br/><br/>"I hate everything," he announced to the world, not that the world seemed to care. The world thundered loudly. Anger and frustration steamed in him, bubbling over the edges as he marched down the sidewalk, knocking his cane a bit more harshly than usually against the concrete.<span style="font-style: italic">Tap, tap, tap</span>. Usually the rhymic sound was a comfort, knowing he could maneuver around the world on his own as he darn well pleases, the<span style="font-style: italic">tap tap scrape</span>letting him know there's space to step, there's nothing in his way, but today the rain was thundering and his stepsister's words were swirling in his head.<br/><br/>"We can't make gulab jamun without the saffron," she had said. "You got the wrong thing, we need saffron."<br/><br/>"Sorry the store helper guy is just as incapable of reading labels as I am," Ari had huffed from the couch. "Can't we skip the saffron? It's only a pinch, isn't it?"<br/><br/>"We need the saffron," his stepsister said, as if to increase Ari's irritation levels to 10^100000. "The recipe says we need saffron! Wouldn't your mom be able to tell the difference if we don't put saffron in the sugar?"<br/><br/>"Ugh, I don't know!"<br/><br/>"Wouldn't<span style="font-style: italic">you</span>be able to tell the difference?"<br/><br/>"Does it really matter? It's just a pinch of saffron!"<br/><br/>"Maybe the pinch of saffron makes all the difference!"<br/><br/>"Oh my god, then I'll just go out and get stupid saffron!"<br/><br/>"It's raining like crazy out there, you can barely see anyt- !"<br/><br/>"Wow, I wonder why I don't care about that!" he had yelled over his shoulder, seizing his coat and his walking stick and flying out the door.<br/><br/>It really was stupid, but he couldn't go back now. Not when he has the feeling that he has to prove himself. Again. He can walk to the store by himself - it's fine. He's done it before - a little rain's not going to stop him.<br/><br/>The thunder was really loud today.<br/><br/>Really, really loud -<br/><br/>....<br/><br/>........<br/><br/>...........<br/><br/>Ari had a feeling he wasn't where he's supposed to be anymore.<br/><br/>The second of scorching pain was a bit of a clue, but it was more the fact that he could no longer feel the rain hitting his skin.<br/><br/>After a moment of silence, he ventured a "hello?" into the empty space.