I was born in a town where it doesn't rain much.
Since childhood, I have had an inexplicable desire for water.
I was very good at swimming, and as a child, I often spent most of the day in the pool. I also had a habit of keeping a glass of water on my bed foot - not to drink, just let it be there.
It's probably because the town is neither adjacent to rivers and seas nor does it rain much that I'm so enamored with water.
Today, however, it's raining here.
I don't own a raincoat or a pair of rain boots. Most people in town are like me. Everyone was unprepared for the sudden downpour, but it was obvious that each of them was a bit elated. Everywhere I went today, I could hear a crunching "Kagu Kagu" sound.
What's that, you ask?
Haha, you must live in a place where it doesn't rain much too!
Kagu Kagu... … The water flows into your shoes; when you walk, your shoes squeak.
********
But the rain has brought a fair amount of trouble.
While I was working in the restaurant today, I noticed that the rainwater had seeped into the basement and a bunch of materials had suffered. We staff were forced to leave our work and help clean up the mess.
Floating on the surface of the stagnant water were small cockroaches, which could probably fill half of a chip bag when packed together!
Once the water had been drained, we found the nest of these bastards under a piece of loose floor tile.
Normally no one pays any attention to the space under the floor, and the pests simply grew wild.
Thanks to the rain, otherwise we would have never known such filth existed.
I held back a wave of nausea as I took the broom and dug under the locker, and in a few seconds, I saw a greenish-gray mass being taken out.
The thing was almost as big as a small pet dog! Eyeballs went white from the water.
In wicked amusement, one cook lifted it up by its tail. "It's raining hard enough, even the Rat King drowned!" He deliberately waved it in front of me several times.
Only to hear a snap sound, the dead rat smashed on the ground and broke into pieces of flesh. Juice splattered and tanned all over the cook's face, and a few drops landed on my collar.
When I think back to that image now, I'm still deeply sick to my stomach.
********
The rain started early in the morning and did not abate until late in the evening. As time passed, people's initial excitement and curiosity faded, and once the daylight dimmed, no one was interested in venturing out to watch the rain again.
Tonight, the restaurant was deserted, and I, the waiter, basically sat at the bar all night, staring at nothing.
Just as I was about to finish my shift, a girl came into the store and interrupted my quiet good time.
She sat herself down at the bar and only asked me for a glass of water.
It was the beginning of summer, so it was still a little chill, but definitely not to the point of wearing a coat. However, the girl was wrapped in a very thick winter coat, with a wide hat covered almost her entire face.
Rainwater kept dripping off from her body, but she acted as if she didn't even realize it.
The owner gave me a quick glance, and I instantly understood what he meant.
In the service industry, we have to deal with all kinds of people, hence from time to time, we will meet some "special" customers. The restaurant once had a patient who had escaped from the hospital and was clamoring for food, but obviously didn't have a penny in his pocket. Usually, we will try to meet the requests. If it's just an old trick to get free food and drink, then this is enough. Giving away some food is better than letting a madman make trouble here.
If the person still refuses to leave after eating and drinking, then we need to bring out a "seemingly" higher status person to play the bad guy.
In our restaurant, it's the cook.
This was the case the other day. After the meal, that guy still refused to leave, so the owner sent the cook over to reason with him.The cook threw his apron in a domineering manner and greeted the man's whole family with variants of the f-word. He also explained to the old scoundrel in an all-rounded fashion what was meant by social threats.
What we didn't realize was that the old scoundrel actually lost his marbles.He wasn't in his right senses, so it was no wonder that he was crying for food even though he had just eaten.We had to choose the ultimate tactic - calling the police.
I have long been familiar with these three steps.It's just that although the girl looks a bit strange, she has a quiet demeanor, not like those people I had dealt before. I was a little unsure for a moment whether I wanted to go through the procedure or not.
The owner saw me didn't respond, so he took the initiative to speak.
"Dear guest, our restaurant will be closing soon, we don't charge for the water, so please drink it as soon as possible." He turned his head and glared at me, "Elin, why don't you hurry up and pour some water?"
"Ai...okay!"
I was doing my work while secretly observing the girl. Even if she got caught in the rain, it's far too dramatic for her to get wet like this!
She looked as though her entire body had just been fished out of the pool. I kindly offered if she wanted to get a towel to dry herself.
The girl didn't answer, just kept circling her fingers around the brim of the glass.
Her fingers were pale and puffy, as if they had been soaking for a long time.
"I'm not thirsty, you can finish this one..." She turned around and walked back out into the pouring rain.
I looked at the untouched glass of water on the table, feeling uneasy.
"Rain is so annoying."The owner said, pulling out a mop to clean.
It was only then that I realized the girl had left a lengthy water stain on the floor, like the marks left by a snail crawling in the rain.