When it rains they come

I live in the desert

It never rains

Cacti and vultures

My grandpa use to tell me stories

Mainly about rain

He says no rain is good

But what about the plants and animals

He just smiled

Lately grandpa has been worried

The forecast cause for the first rain in 40 years

I hear noise

I look outside to see my neighbors in a panic

Grandpa grabs my arms and drag to the basement

I grab my cat Luna Eclipse

He pulls back a heavy door from the ground

We climbed down 

The stairs felt like the went for miles

We came to a huge door

He opened it with a key

Inside it looked like an apartment

I looked wide eyed at my grandpa

He kissed my forehead

Pointed to a room

I went in to the room to the right

There was a bed, chair, and desk

I put my cat on the bed 

I sat down hear my grandpa scramble to lock all the doors

Then silent……..

I fell asleep

Woke up to an earthquake

Our state didn’t have earthquakes

I held on to my cat

I started to cry

My grandpa came in 

Shhhhhhhh

Don’t

Let

Them

Hear

You

My mouth opened to agree

No words came out

The quake lasted what seemed like days

Grandpa woke me up

I grabbed Luna

We walked back all the stairs

Into the basement

Back to the living……..

Our home was destroyed

My neighborhood gone

I looked at my grandpa who was so calm

We will rebuild…….

I was five when that happened

I’m going to be 45 this month

I turn on the tv and the forecast cause for rain

I looked at my husband who nods

We faced our kids as we prepare them for rain