Li Ting: Rainbow after the rain

Early summer in the village is full of life and vitality. Seeds in the fields are quietly poking their heads out; wheat, under the caress of the spring breeze, has donned a golden coat; returning swallows show off their aerial acrobatics. As always, the father, to support his family of three children, has to carry coal from the dark mine, while the mother works in the fields; both are out from dawn till dusk.

The wind picked up, the clouds in the sky changed rapidly, and a light rain began to fall. A clap of thunder, a sudden gust of wind, and hailstones, like bullets, fell from the sky, hitting the roof tiles with a clatter. A child stood under the eaves waiting for their family to return. Soon, the older sister rushed in, carrying her schoolbag, followed by the mother, carrying half a basket of pigweed, with drops of water dripping from her hair. Before even reaching home, she asked:

Is your eldest sister back? Is your second sister back? ?

The child replied, "Dad hasn't come back yet."

The mother wanted to take an oil-paper sheet to meet her husband, but the wind grew stronger, the hailstones smashed the tiles, and the house was leaking everywhere. The house was in chaos, as if the end of the world had come. The trees outside swayed precariously in the wind; with a loud crash, a large tree fell, causing the child and sister to cry. The tree fell directly onto a small house, where dozens of sheep and several pigs were kept, and the father was nowhere to be seen.

The children cried out loudly, "Dad, where are you? Come back quickly!" The mother stood rooted to the spot.

The rain gradually stopped, the wind died down, and the father, covered in rain and coal dust, ran into the house. The children's cries grew louder. Upon hearing that the house had been crushed by the tree, without changing his soaked clothes, he immediately ran to the small house.

Sunlight broke through the clouds, as if comforting the scene, and a particularly vibrant rainbow appeared in the sky. The child pointed at the rainbow and said, "Look, a rainbow!"

After checking on the sheep and pigs and seeing that all were safe, the father breathed a sigh of relief.

【一工部 / 李挺】