My writing group is pretty informal – we don’t have officers or go over the minutes of previous meetings. Â Â Instead, we get together for lunch, talk about our current projects, and discuss things like our latest marketing efforts. Â In September, we decided to change things up by taking a trip to an arboretum, bringing only paper and pen.
After a few minutes of “sharing,” we split up – each wandering through the gardens and the paths of our own imagination.
It was overcast with a passing sprinkle or two, a comfortable 72 degrees – perfect writing weather.
I thought I had found the perfect spot to write – a picnic table under a gazebo. Â I scratched out a few lines and after a moment, I moved to another location. Â It was there, sitting in an Adirondack chair that I met Grace.
Dropping the garden rake, she placed her hands on the small of her back and stretched as rain drops lightly fell around her. Â June had been unusually hot and dry. Â Grace refused to run inside. Â She thought it a sacrilege not to bathe in the prayed for precipitation, to not revel in the glorious wetness.

The clouds thickened, the droplets fell harder, faster. Â A low rumble signaled this would be no passing shower. Â This would be an electrical frenzy – a clashing of the elements.
The wind shifted. Â The trees found their rhythm, swaying to some mystical music. Â Grace closed her eyes, raised her hands into the air until she too, found the melody. Â she rocked to and fro, and as the storm increased in intensity, so did her movements. Â She danced – twirling like a tornado. Â A laugh erupted from deep inside as lightning crackled across the sky.
It was then he saw her – this beautiful madwoman embracing the storm – and the fairy prince knew she would be his.