When The Rain came back

Caption

“When the Rain Came Back”

Zainab met Kareem on a rainy evening at the university library. She was hiding between the shelves, trying to protect her old notebook from the water dripping off her hijab. He offered her a tissue — not because he wanted to flirt, but because he genuinely looked worried.

That’s how it started. A small act of kindness.

They became friends. They’d walk home together after lectures, sharing roasted corn and talking about dreams. Kareem wanted to be a doctor; Zainab wanted to open a school for girls in her village. Their bond grew quietly, like rain soaking into dry ground.

One night, sitting on the steps outside the hostel, he asked,
“Do you ever think some people are meant to find each other, even if it’s just for a while?”

She smiled softly. “Maybe that’s what we are — a while.”

But fate had other plans.

Kareem got a scholarship abroad. He promised to write, to call, to visit. And he did — for the first year. Then the calls became shorter. The time zones got heavier. Life began to fill the spaces that once belonged to both of them.

Years later, Zainab finally opened her school. On the day of its opening, it rained — heavy, just like that first day in the library. She stood by the window, watching the children play in the puddles, when a familiar voice behind her said,
“I told you I’d come back when it rained.”

She turned. He was there — older, thinner, but with the same eyes. They didn’t run to each other. They just stood there, letting silence fill what words couldn’t fix.

He helped her hang a picture in one of the classrooms. It was a photo of the school’s first students. Then he said, quietly,
“You made your dream come true.”

She smiled. “And you kept your promise.”

That night, the rain kept falling. And though they both knew life had taken them in different directions, their hearts still recognized each other — like a familiar song that time could never erase.