A leprechaun’s pot of gold can’t be found at the end of the rainbow. Dorothy was wrong when she thought a better world could be found on the other side. My brother knows. My mother and father know. Even I know.

“Why does it have to be so rainy…” I sighed. “I’m so bored…”

Thunder crackled across the sky, lighting up the windows for a moment. Mom sat at the table packing Ethen and my lunchs. We sit on both sides of her, eating breakfast. Ethen finished up, cleaned his bowl, and then climbed up the steps to finish getting ready. I could take my tome though; Ethen’s bus came before mine.

Dad looked at his watch and saw that it was already seven. “I’ve got to go, you two.” He smiled and patted my head, kissed Mom’s cheek, and then headed out the door.

As I cleaned up my bowl, Ethen came downstairs with is book-bag. “Ethen, darling, make sure to wear your rain boots and to grab an umbrella. It’s still raining cats-and-dogs out there! Hopefully it will lighten up soon.”

Ethen grabs his lunch, kisses Mom on the cheek, and then waves at me. “See you when you get home, Emilee.” He opens up his umbrella and enters the storm.

I follow Ethen fifteen minutes later. The sky is black, and icy cold rain pounds against my umbrella. It had been raining yesterday afternoon, and then into the night, and hadn’t let up once. Cold water splashed onto my pants as I ran in the dark up the street to my bus stop. No one talked, the three of us stood on the sidewalk with our arms crossed as we tried to get warm. Hope finally came when the bus’s yellow lights flooded the street, and we climbed on like savage animals.

Everyone was almost soaked by the time we got to school. The windows were black, but lit up occasionally when lighting cracked. Some kids shrieked the first few times, but quickly gave up after a while. I shook the water out of my umbrella and then head to class.

By the time the bell rang for lunch, the sky wasn’t as black any more. My face grew a smile when I walked down the hall to the cafeteria and saw the sky had faded from black to grey. Rain still drizzled down the windows, and thunder still rumbled off in the distance. When Mary and Ashlyn and I went to go sit outside, like we normally did, changed our mind. The picnic benches were dripping water.

The cafeteria was packed as usual, but we sat down at one of the tables where people sit if they didn’t have a table. Mary picked through her salad, laughing at all the jokes Ashlyn was telling.

“Not Sally!” Ashlyn laughed at the punchline.

I chuckled along too, though it wasn’t as funny as Ashlyn and Mary thought.

“I just hope the rain lights up soon.” I sigh.

“What, getting bored sitting at home?” Mary says.

“Yes! What’s the fun of sitting home? I want to go outside and run.”

“I’m pretty sure you’re the only one who doesn’t mind running the pacer in gym.”

I shrug. “It’s not that hard.”

The three of us laugh, and before we know it, the bell has rung and it’s time to get back to class.

At the end of the day when it was time to get on the bus, the sun was peeking out from behind the grey clouds. There were still puddles on the ground and by the time I was sitting on the bus the hem of my pants were wet with cold water again. A girl-whose name I didn’t know- sat down next to me, squeezing me next to the cold metal of the window seat. The bus ride home was long; I was one of the last stops. And when I got home, I was glad. The sun was shining, and the clouds were fading away.

“Ethen, I’m home.” I shouted as I walked inside. I stomped up the steps and tossed my book-bag into my bedroom. Downstairs I saw homework lying out on the dining table, but Ethen wasn’t anywhere to be found.

“Ethen?” I asked. When I looked out onto the porch. He stood leaning on the railing looking at the sky.

“What are you doing out here?” I stepped out onto the wooden deck and stood next to him.

“The sun is finally out.” He said. “It’s about time. I didn’t think the sky would ever be blue again.”

I chuckle and look up at the sky. “Hey look, a rainbow.”

“Hm?” Ethen looks to where I’m pointing. “Yea… there is.”

“Let’s follow it.”

I stomp down the wooden steps and race down the backyard to the edge of the woods. I loved the feeling of my burning lungs and the fresh air that was circulating in them.

“Emille, wait-“I hear Ethen stumble, it was hard for him to race after me with his long legs. “What are you doing? You can’t just go chasing after rainbows.”

“Why not?”

“Because… a rainbow is just light reflecting through water. You can’t touch it. Besides, you’re in seventh grade, you should know you can’t catch a rainbow.”

I roll my eyes. “Ethen, where’s your sense of adventure? You’ve been stuck inside the house for almost twenty-four hours. Don’t you want to get your hands in the dirt?” I looked up into his eyes, pleading to go into the woods.

Ethen scowled. “Fine, we can go. Five minutes, and then we’ll go back home.”


I smile and hug my brother. “Thank you!” I shout before racing off into the woods. I duck under branches and jump over logs, looking up at the sky occasionally to make sure I’m going the right way.

“Hey Emille wait!” Ethen shouted. He followed after me but he was slow-going.

In the woods, there was a small clearing with sparkling lights on it. “What’s that…?” I question. My run slows to a walk. Ethen catches up to me. He stops for a moment as well before continuing.

In the clearing, small lights of different colors floated. Red, orange, yellow, green, and blue lights all floated above my head. “What is this place?” I whispered. Was it the end of the rainbow? Had I made it?

I looked over at Ethen who was staring at something else. I suppose I should say someone else. There was a small pool of crystal clear water. In the pool were three… mermaids? I blink with disbelief. Three girls with golden hair that flowed down to their stomach floated in the puddle. Each one had different colored eyes, but Ethen was staring at the girl with eyes that were such a deep blue they looked like blueberries. Her lips were cherry red, and she appeared to be chewing gum.

“Hey there, doll face.” She said with what sounded like a Long Island accent. “Why don’t yew come a little closer?”

Ethen didn’t say anything and began to take steps closer to the pool. I take a step closer too, but only to pull Ethen away. My boot gets stuck in a pile of mud, and falls out, leaving my bare foot hanging in the air.

“Ethen… lets go home…” I say to him. Ethen doesn’t hear me. If he did, he refused to do anything. My older brother took a few more steps forward until he stood at the edge of the pool.

“Why don’t you dive in? It’s much more fun here then it is on land, baby cakes.” The blueberry-eyed mermaid held out her hand for Ethen to take. After a moment’s hesitation, he took her delicate porcelain hand.

“No, Ethen!” I shout, but it’s too late. Ethen is pulled into the puddle, and the other two mermaids dive in after him. Despite me only having one shoe on I race to the edge where my brother stood only moments ago. I reach in, trying to grab him back. My hand only hit mud.

I race back to the house. It was all just a dream, right? When I got back home, my brother would be on the porch waiting for my return. Or he would be in the dining room, doing his geometry homework. Had it been five minutes? Ethen might have gotten worried.

When I got to the house, it was dead silent. “Ethen? I’m back. Sorry it took so long.” I laugh. “I just saw the strangest thing, my imagination got ahead of me again.” On the table sat Ethen’s geometry book and paper. His book-bag sat in the chair next to it. “Ethen?” I call out again. The only thing that I hear is the sound of the clock ticking in the living room. I take a step further, and my foot reaches cold ground.

I look down only to see that I am still only wearing one boot.