he stands beneath a tree in the pouring rain

when the lightning flashes

his silhouette motionless in the night

she peers out the window startled

when the lightning flashes again

he’s gone

she chuckles to herself

just her imagination

thunder rumbles

shaking the windows

setting off car alarms around the neighborhood

hides the noise of breaking glass

a long day

the heat of the day

and the humidity of the oncoming storm

she runs the shower after watching for shadows beneath the tree for a while

too long

her phone sits on the counter

music playing loudly as she undresses

she swears a shadow flitted across the doorway

just the lightning making shadows dance

she sings along as the water heats

a little dance across the tile floor

the mirror grows steamy

into the shower she goes

her mother’s voice in her head

if you shower during a thunderstorm you’ll get electrocuted

an entire adult life of ignoring those words proved her false

still singing as she shampoos her hair

a bit gets in her eyes

she curses and let’s the water blast the burn away

then the shower curtain rips open

she let’s out a gurgling scream

her blurry vision makes out a tall man shape coming at her

she tries to fight him off in panic

he grabs her arms and holds them tight

then brings her in for a kiss

laughing at her distress

her husband came home early from his trip

saw her in the window and waved

it was too dark

a branch blown down broke a pane of glass of the door

he stopped to clean it up

he called to her but the music was too loud

he heard the water and decided to join her

eventually her heart stops pounding and she playfully slaps at him

he’s just happy to be home