Many an hour had passed that had featured not much more outside of walking through a dark night in heavy rain.
Whilst any danger outside of not being able to see much had successfully been avoided, one could also say that it was out of luck that it happened to be raining, as creatures of the night preferred to be about when it was dry.

The person was beginning to feel exhausted by this point. The rain had taken a toll, slowly draining them as they pushed on through it’s thick pelting of the earth.

There had not been any shelter seen since the last had collapsed, but, by this stage, they didn’t care anymore, as they knew they were near home and soon the sun would begin to bring some light into the area, allowing them to see with at least a little bit more visibility and therefore be able to walk with more confidence.

And soon it was. The first rays of light were beginning to lift the darkness and, with it, it seemed, the rain.

The pelting began to lighten up quite quickly, transitioning through various stages until it was not much more than a sprinkle, before saying goodbye and stopping altogether.

The area seemed to be getting warmer as well. It began to feel humid, but at this point it didn’t matter, for the person’s clothes were drying and they were moving much quicker than before.

Birds began to make their sounds as more light filtered into the region and the warmth increased.

Then the path ahead was completely clear and unobstructed by anything unless it had to turn.

Using as much of their energy as they could, the person ran the rest of the distance as they recognised exactly where they were and knew how far they had to travel.

Reasoning that, if they continued walking they would need to rest heavily before getting home, they decided that  running was indeed the best course of action as they would  be able to at least collapse once they reached their door and then slowly crawl their way to bed, allowing them to sleep for a while before then having something to eat to help them recover from the night they had just experienced.

Although it hadn’t been the most dangerous of nights they had lived through, it still was not one that would be remembered fondly.

They went around corner after corner, trying to keep the pace fast, making good progress compared to the rest of the journey, until they reached a clearing at which they stopped suddenly.

Choosing their next direction carefully, they moved through thick bushland until they finally reached their home.

However, their home was not there.

There was no sign of rubble or destruction. It was meant to be there, yet it was as absent from its location as the person had been during the long night.

It was a strangely uncomfortable experience.

Then without warning, it began to rain heavily again.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 11:43:22

Could  have been faster and much better.

Oh well.

Written at work.