Day 6: The Sweetness of Weather

The Sweetness of Weather
by
Matt Zurbo

Lilah was a girl not quite like the rest.
(She stood on the outside, walking in the rain while the other kids took the bus.)

Lilah loved her Nan, but her Nan was dying. Before she passed away, she gave Lilah some advice:
“If you want to feel less lonely, do things different.”
“Like what, Nan?” Lilah asked.

“Everything! For starters, mix opposite words up!” Nan said. “Here, I based some of these on watching you…”
(Nans old, frail hand passing a textured book with the title A Thundering Hush handwritten on cover. Lilah’s hand receiving book.)

“The Sweetness of weather”
(Lilah, open smiling mouth in rain.)

“A silent thunder”
(Girl staring in love with boy.)

“A fragile silence”
(Girl watching butterfly.)

“Warming cold”
(Lilah, beanie and scarf on, smiling in morning frost, watching a rooster crow.)

“Beautiful nowhere”
(Child in the bush under full moon.)

“A forever moment”
(Small boy, tatty shorts, in hunch over gutter, blowing his matchbox boat along while Lilah watches.)

“Window person”
(Lilah by campfire with Aboriginal telling Dreamtime stories shown in fire smoke.)

“An if moment”
(Boy, homemade feathers on his arms, standing indecisively on ledge.)

“Scared brave”
(Girl holding pug up from barking big dog.)

“Silent shout”
(Girl, arms wide, beaming face bathed in glorious streaks of white sunlight through big tree trunks.)

“Simple chaos”
(Dancing.)

“A wonderful hurt”
(Lilah sitting on side of her Nans grave, hugging the book, head tilted thoughtfully.)

“Thank you, Nan. I miss you so much…”
(Lilah from behind, watching an amazing sunset.)

The End.