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The weather here is terrible. I thought to myself as the rain fell again. I pulled out my umbrella from my bag and walked to my car. Big puddles had formed in the parking lot from the heavy rain. I tried to avoid them and getting my shoes wet. How can the people live here with all this rain happening almost everyday?

"Cielo," a voice yelled behind me. Behind me was Kent, a deer I work with, running towards me. He was wearing that black raincoat he always had with him.

Guess we are doing this again, "What do you need?" I asked.

"Well I was wondering if you--"

"No," I answered and turned away.

"Hey, you didn't let me finish."

"Look, Kent, my answer is always going to be no. You ask this everyday."

Kent ran around me and cuts me off. "But why not? You've been here for a couple months, but you act like everyone around you is a stranger."

"That's because they are," I walked around Kent, unintentally stepping in a huge puddle. "Shit." Water goes into my shoe and seeps into my sock. This was not helping with my mood.

Kent cut me off again, "But why?"

I took a deep breath. "Look, I am only here for work. I have no interest in making friends. I am just trying to make it through this exchange program in one piece and go home. If I could I would have just headed home already. To me you are just a coworker, and I have no interest in being your friend. Now if you will excuse me." I stepped around him, making sure my umbrella didn't bump into his antlers.

The inside of my shoe was a mess. Every step I made was followed with a squishy noise and the movement of water inside my shoe. A low growl escaped me. As soon as I am in the car, the shoe comes off.

I fish my keys out of my pocket and unlocked my car. As I slide into the driver's seat, I reached down and removed my wet shoes and socks and placed them in the passenger seat.

The drive home was calmer than it usually was. Not a lot of drivers out when it rains. That was fine with me. I wasn't in the mood to worry about what the others drivers were doing. They drove so carelessly around here. It was like a free-for-all out on the road.

No matter how many times I drove to and from work, this place was so odd to me. It felt like another country out here than just a part of one. The weather here was always cloudy and grey. The buildings were so far apart, you couldn't walk anywhere. Even the closest store to where I live took45 minutes to walk there.

I only came here because the program would allow me to make more money than I was making earlier. If I had known this was waiting for me, I would have turned down the offer.

I pulled into my parking spot and stepped out of the car. The cold dirty water of the parking lot sent a chill up my spine. I was lucky that the door to my apartment was close to where I park.

I unlocked the door and entered my one room apartment. "I'm back," I said to no one. I tossed my shoes anywhere, not like they would hit anything. My one-room apartment was very bare. The term minimalist would be your first thought about it. Everything I had in this apartment could fit into my car easily. I never planned to get furniture. It would be a hassle to sell when I leave.

I flopped onto my blow-up mattress. It moved a bit into the wall. For the next few minutes, I lay there in complete silence. Sounds of rain were the only noise in my apartment. The mattress squeaked as I got off it and undressed.

Tossing my clothes into the hamper. I went into my kitchen and peered into my fridge. It was empty inside, or mostly empty. I really need to go to the store soon. I grabbed a can of soda from the fridge and returned to the air mattress.

I put my laptop onto my chest as I opened all the apps on it. It's still early, he probably not off work yet. I spent my time watching videos wishing time would pass faster for me. It was honestly the worst part of my day.

Once the clock hit 7, i speed dialed Coran. I placed the phone to my ear. Briiiiing. Briiiiiing. Briiiing. Click. "Hi," the cheerful voice said, "You have reached--"

I hung up. My heart sank with my phone. I lay face down on the mattress, feeling depressed. These things happened from time to time. The instant my phone rang, I answered it, "Hello?"

"Hey Cielo," Coran voice sounded through the speaker. "sorry I missed your call I was in the other room."

"That's okay," I said, my mood already improving. My tail thumped against the mattress.

"So, what's it like over there?"

"Same as always, cloudy and miserable. It rained again today."

"It always seems to be raining there whenever I call."

"Yeah it certainly does," I said with a laugh. Coran was the best part of my day. Just hearing his voice was a great comfort for me. Coran was like a security blanket for me, as long as I heard his voice at least once a day, I will always be fine.

"So, besides the crappy weather, what are the people like?"

"I don't know," I unconsciously said.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I don't know. I haven't got close to anyone here." I try to play off my comment as a joke.

"Well, why not?'' Coran voice became stern.

"Well, I don't want to."

"What do you mean?"

Might as well be honest about it. "Well. I don't plan on staying here. Once the program is up, I plan to come back home right away. I miss the sun."

"Cielo, you cannot just isolate yourself while you're there."

"I'm not isolating myself. I'm talking to you daily."

"Cielo, that is not what I mean. Don't you want to hang out or go to the movies?"

"Yeah, but going out by myself is expensive." something I learned quickly as I got used to living here.

"Well why not hang-out with the people there?"

"Because they are strangers to me."

"They will be if you keep up that attitude."

"Then what do you want from me? This place isn't home to me. This place is cold and dark all the time. All the people I love is back home, and I'm stuck here alone. This place is a nightmare to live in."

"And it will keep feeling like that as long as you keep that attitude about it. You are hundreds of miles away from us and you're not even trying to make the place feel like home to you. I am not there to hang out with you, and I can't promise my schedule will always be cleared enough for us to have these talks. Look, I have to go. Talk to you soon."

"Wait," Click_._ He hung up on me. I lay back down on the mattress and stared at the ceiling. How could I argue against that? He was right. This place wasn't home and my attitude about this place wasn't helping it. Coran was not here to hug me or help me when I am down. All that he could do now was speak through a device small enough for my pocket. I need to change.

###

It was another day of hard work done as I headed outside to me car. The sky was less cloudy, the sun peeking at us from the sky. In front of me I saw Kent messing with his phone. I took a deep breath. I guess he's the first place to start. He usually tries talking to me everyday. I approached him, "Hey Kent."

"Huh," Kent turned to me with a dazed look on his face. "This is a surprise. I think this is the first time you talked to me outside of work."

"I mean we talked." I think we do anyway.

"Yeah, but I was usually starting the conversation and you were trying to get away." I mean he's not wrong, "So what does the silent and stoic Cielo what with me today?"

I was taken aback, "I'm not silent or stoic."

"Well, you don't talk to people at work, so most people have that opinion about you."

I felt a bit flustered. "This was a mistake," I muttered as I walked away.

"Hey," Kent yelled, "if you want to talk tomorrow I'm free. Maybe during lunch as well."

Maybe I'll do that.