And there she stood, in the middle of the desert. For weeks not a drop of rain fell. For weeks, everyone suffered.
But there she stood. Bravery had choked her, but bravery did not kill her.
Unexpectedly, she quickly, but gracefully, spread her arms wide. She tilted her head. She stared at the sky with her eyes closed. It had turned grey.
And as if someone had struck her, she fell on her knees, unshaken. Her face still towards the sky, her eyes still closed. In months, she had not spoken. In months, she had never once smiled.
But today was different. Today she had left the house.
"Thank you," she whispered to the winds.
An unfamiliar sensation washed over her. Invisible strings fell from above and attached themselves to the corners of her mouth.
They tugged. And as they tugged, she felt the pain within her dissolving, she felt the depression that has left her empty for months bleeding away.
She smiled when the first drops of rain pelted her.