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The Eternal Rain · I
The fog covered us in a thick white blanket. It is so strange, I thought, how as children we're taught heaven is way up there. But today I feel I could reach my hand out and maybe take hold of my granny's thick glasses and put them on. It did seem that the sky was just above our heads and all around us, but I didn't feel my gran was any closer to me than any other day.
It was on that very morning that Harry arrived, just a few hours before lunch. He greeted me and embraced me tightly. As soon as he had hugged every member of the family, he asked if he could help in any way, and when he was answered no, he went all the same into the kitchen and started cutting up tomatoes as red as his hair.
It wasn't long before he took the weather as an opportunity to crack out some jokes, fed by his characteristic enthusiasm for word play. “We were planning our meal outside, but just look!” “Yes, that certainly puts a damp on our day.” “This thick fog... I hope it clears away soon...” Harry shrugged and put his best Cockney accent on. “Well luv, we'll jus' 'ave to... white.”
I rolled my eyes every single time he tried to be funny, but still he managed to get me in a good mood. My cousin was a pleaser. A dreadfully obnoxious one, but a pleaser nonetheless. That night he brought me a hot cup of tea while I sat in my favourite sofa. Harry stood by it, hesitating with his own steaming mug in hand. “Is there space in the Nest for me?” he asked in the end. I curled up on one side and Harry managed to squish himself next to me.