• Just inside a 2-bedroom house, a little girl is crying silently, so the angry man won't hear. She's scared, hoping that the pretty lady is ok. Now the man is here, by her bed. He's telling her to come, but she's too scared to move. What if he hurts her, like he does the lady? Now she's in his arms, being carried. She sees the lady on the bed, shaking. The little girl couldn't see any marks, but she knew better, the man had hurt her. The lady was trying to hide it, to not let the little girl see. The girl knew right then, as she sat down beside her that, she couldn't put up with the hurt and pain anymore. The pretty lady would run away, far away.

    The little girl is now nine, looking out a third-story window, watching the birds fly and the leaves dance in the wind. She's bored, tried of wondering what's going on out the door in the church-like room. The girl wants to be out the door to the pretty lady. But the people in the room say she's too young to understand, too young to choose. The girl turns to the door as it opens, hoping to see the lady. In the doorway is a law woman, ready to take her away from her known life. The girl can't understand at first, but as she climbs in the law woman's car, she realized she was being taken away from all she knew and cared for. The woman told her it was for the best and not to worry. The girl just stared at the sky and trees as they passed by, tears falling slow and soft.

    The little girl is now 13, and thinks she's in love with a boy. The girl is confused, he says he loves her. She doesn't understand and is scared of the boy. The angry man used to make those three words his excuse, the reason he laid his hands on the pretty lady. The girl wonders if the boy is the same. The pretty lady just says that her little girl is growing up. The girl complains that she's not a little girl anymore. The pretty lady smiles and says, "No matter how big or old you get, you'll always be my little girl."

    The girl is now a freshman, half-grown and still haunted by nightmares. The nightmares that keep her up at night, making her afraid of the dark. They make her angry and wanting to run, but she can't. She has to face her fears and learn how to become stronger.

    The freshman girl is now 15. She’s trying to block out the yells at the end of the trailer. The pretty lady’s voice was loud and accusing, as she confronted the dark man. The girl was waiting to hear the dark man yell, but he never did. She was quietly packing her things, headphones covering her ears. The music, turned up as loud as it would go, could suppress the yells. The girl dropped the clothes she had taken from the closet on the bed and headed for the door. Outside the trailer, the pretty lady’s voice was muffled. The girl walked down the long driveway, wondering if the pretty lady would notice she left. The girl didn’t go far, in fear of being left with the dark man. She knew where the pretty lady was going to go after the yelling was done. She would go to the one that made her happy, the bright man. The man the girl had thought was a little scary at first, until she saw him with the little brown puppy. He was kind to her and seemed to care about the pretty lady. The girl decided to test the bright man. She sends the man a text, cautious at first. The girl’s phone lit up with the man text back, and for the first time in awhile, the girl smiled, happy for the first time in the pretty lady’s choice of men.
    “Promise me one thing.”
    “Sure. What’s up?”
    “Never do anything to make my mom cry.”
    “I promise I will never, ever do anything to make her cry. And I will keep that promise no matter what.”

    The girl is now 16, and falling fast. But she’s worried this boy will be like all the rest. He says he’s different and her heart wants to believe him, but her head won’t let her. The pretty lady won’t say anything to her about him, probably waiting for the boy to walk away like all the others. All the pretty one cares about is the bright man. The girl is afraid that she’ll be hurt once again, and this time for good. She wants to trust him, but can’t. She’s uncontrollable happy with him, but for how long with the butterflies last.

    The girls now a junior and finally completely happy with the way her life is turning out. The pretty lady's happy with the bright man, who’s equally happy. The girl has fallen for the sunny boy and he never leaves her mind. The girl can forget all her problems and worries the minute the sunny boy wraps his arms around her and says, "I love my Rain." Some may say, the sun and rain are complete opposites, but they've never felt the warmth of the sun and the coolness of the rain, and how amazing that can be.