A Mysterious Encounter

thunder clapped and lightning flashed
smell of ozone in the air
then the rain began to fall
buckets of it not a drizzle

running as hard as she could
towards the shelter in the wood
just a few metres off the road
gasping she made it inside

a cough startled her
looking around she saw a man
shivering cold in wet clothes
he smiled at her saying sorry

she sat on the floor
of the leaky hut
they looked at each other
listening to the falling rain

his name was Jim, aged of 30
had a scar on his cheek
his dad once punched him
for some mistakes long ago

she laughed at his jokes
listen to his tale of faraway land
how he ended up at the hut
she never thought to ask

the man reclined against the wall
looking tired and unwell
she listened to the rain
as he went to sleep

dusk came and she woke up
the day was sweetly darkening
she looked around for Jim
he was gone like silent air

she skipped happily home
her mother gave her an earful
for her wet uniform and books
late from school again

she never told anyone
of meeting the man in the hut
one day she accidentally stumbled
on a lone gravestone just nearby

a suicide, he was never buried
in hallowed ground
he killed himself for losing
his sweetheart and baby girl

he drove his car into a tree
when he was very drunk
celebrating his fifth anniversary
he killed his family.