Raining cats and dogs

Caught this view yesterday evening. Dark clouds were blowing in from the left and these were the last rays of light before night took over. These fighter planes were on their way home probably after dropping their bombs on some unfortunate passer-by who would then buy lottery and curse a second time when the expected "luck-exchange" didn't materialize. Well, one thing was for sure - weather exchange - raining cats and dogs in the middle of the night.

Haha what a strange phrase actually, given that only small creatures like frogs and fish occasionally get scooped skywards in freak weather and dumped somewhere else. A phrase like raining frogs and fish seems more appropriate although I don't think we'll experience such a phenomenon over here. Well, my favorite origin of the phrase would probably be witches taking the form of cats and riding the winds and obviously forgetting their umbrellas (my designer will go 'Ella' here), got beaten down by the rain. And dogs being attendants to the god of storms, Odin sometimes lose their scent and find themselves stranded on the streets. So treat strays with respect and kindness! What goes around comes around!

One thing in exchange for another. Life is always a duality of sorts. Yin and yang, good and evil, black or white. And everything it seems, has its price. It's only a matter of how much we are willing to pay for it - that's the exchange rate. I have this story in my head that's been there so long I'm sure it has given up on me! The premise is about a person who laments that his life is not worth living. He asks for a special charm to change his life but receives a 'non-returnable' gift from a fortune teller. The gift is an ordinary white envelope nicely framed in glass. Inside the envelope is a letter that states his exact time and death. While he sits on his chair and contemplates the framed letter, the exchange rate is fluctuating day to day according to which way his heart beats...Haha The choices are simple yet they are difficult. If he wants to find out, all he has to do is take the letter out. Hahaha Will that change a person's life? I wonder... but its sure makes a good story!

I remembered the story in my head when I read Murakami's "Birthday Girl". A twenty year old girl working as a part-time waitress couldn't get the day off on her birthday as her replacement has taken ill. As it happens, the manager who brings dinner to the owner on the sixth floor every day without fail, has also unexpectedly taken ill. The birthday girl is tasked to perform this duty and the owner, recognizing the special quality of this chance encounter, grants her a wish. The owner was in turn surprised by the girl's wish, as it was not about wanting more beauty, money, etc. Twenty years later, she was telling her friend what happened and asks what he would wish for if it had been him.

'I can't think of anything,' I confessed. 'I'm too far away now from my twentieth birthday.'
'You really can't think of anything?'
I nodded.
'Not one thing?'
'Not one thing.'
She looked into my eyes again - straight in - and said, 'That's because you've already made your wish.'

Haha And we never get to hear of what the birthday girl wished for... Perhaps, that's the special quality of this story!