The Rain

       The rain fell softly that night, an oddity in this place. She sat at her window starring, searching for something, or so it seemed. It was hard to tell. Her blank eyes gave no trace of emotion or want, but they remained pointed toward that one spot on the other side of the glass. I walked across the room slowly, not wanting to startle her, though she knew I was there. She didn't move in the slightest as I sat next to her, trying to figure out what she was looking at. It was then I noted the rain. Why was it falling so softly? I furrowed my brow. This doesn't happen, not in this land of torrential storms. Did she know what was wrong? I turned to look at her, studying her face. Still blank. What could she be thinking?
       A flash. There was something in the corner of my eye, but it moved so fast. Was it really there? I turned to look, but it was already gone. More oddities. Her eyes had widened slightly. She had seen it too. I didn't know whether to feel relieved that I wasn't crazy, or scared of whatever it was. I blinked and rubbed my eyes, trying to see it again. It did not come.
She stood up and paced the room. She was nervous now, I could tell. So calm she was before whatever she might have been looking for showed up, and how...scared? Was she scared? It was hard to tell. While she gave off the air of one who was nervous, her face still remained blank. Passive. I shifted to turn my body toward her, studying her further as she paced. This would be easier if she would show something on her face, I thought. How am I to help her if I can't read her?
       "Are you...okay?" I asked carefully, not wanting to disrupt whatever might be going through her head, but still looking for some of the answers I sought myself. She stopped and starred at me, her eyes still blank. I smiled softly, looking to gain her trust. She blinked this time, the first I had seen since arriving, but then went back to the tedious task of pacing the room, as if it were something she were required to do. I sighed. No wonder they had given up on her. She was unresponsive, they said. Unwilling to cooperate. Unbelievably distant. Not once had they gotten her to talk. In fact, this may have been the only reaction she has had to anything.
       I stood up and walked in front of her. She stopped to prevent the collision that would've otherwise occurred. I tried to look into her eyes, but she just starred on ahead, as she had done. I placed a hand under her chin in an attempt to tilt her head upward, to make her look somewhere else. It didn't work.
       Well, I should rephrase that. It couldn't work. I was unable to even put my hand on her chin to try to make it work. It was like she wasn't there. All this time, we thought our problem had been with her. But...was it us? My hand passed right through her. Her eyes widened again, and she turned away, hiding her face. I had discovered it. She...wasn't real. Well, she was, but she wasn't. I took a step back. She had the appearance of a normal girl. She did not speak, she did not show any emotion, and, apparently, you can't touch her. I returned to the window, letting her have her moment.
Another flash. I narrowed my eyes again. Aha! There it was! A figure was lying on the ground. The rain was getting harder now. I got up to leave, to investigate the outside figure. I turned to face the girl and approach the door, but she was gone. I didn't hear the door. Another oddity, but not one I could pay attention to right now. There was a figure, and I felt it had great importance. Deciding to leave this mystery for now, I ran out the door and down the hall toward the outdoors.
       The rain was almost unbearable. I cursed myself for not having an umbrella, but there was nothing I could do now. I could see the figure ahead, still in the same spot I had seen it originally. Not wanting to wait any longer, I bolted toward it. The closer I got, the more unbelievable everything became. I knelt down beside it, beside her. How? Another flash. I saw it this time. Lightning, and close. So that's what it was.
I touched the girl's hand. She was solid this time, though...a lot less...alive. Strange...and sad. How? The girl was in the room, she wasn't solid...and then she was gone, but here, and solid. This wasn't making any sense. It...didn't make any sense.
       I remembered the look on her face when the lightning first struck. Fear. She knew. And now here she was. Fear worth having, for she was alive no longer. Was she alive before? Hard to tell...impossible to tell. I stood and looked toward the room where we once sat together. It was over now. There was nothing we could do.