10 The Beauty of Rain

10 THE BEAUTY OF RAIN Jack and Annie went to the window and looked down at the festival. "There's Ama, Fuli, and Mina!" said Annie. "I see them dancing!" "And look! Tenzin's dancing with them!" said Jack. They both laughed. "Wow!" said Annie. "Tenzin is a great dancer!" "Hold on—" said Jack. He reached into his backpack and pulled out their guide book. He looked in the index for Festival of Colors. He read: Nepal has more than fifty festivals each year. One of the best known is the Hindu festival of Holi. It is sometimes called the Festival of Colors because people throw colored powders and water on each other. "Holi!" said Jack. He kept reading aloud:

Holi marks the end of winter and the coming of spring. Everyone celebrates beauty, the love of friends and family, and new beginnings. "That's perfect!" said Annie. "Tenzin has a new beginning." "Yes," said Jack. "Let's go home now and see Mom and Dad." He grabbed the Pennsylvania book and pointed at the picture of Frog Creek. "I wish we could go there!" He and Annie waited for the wind to start blowing. They waited for the tree house to start spinning. But nothing happened. "What's wrong?" said Jack. "I don't know," said Annie. She pulled out their rhyme and read it again. "Oh, no!" she said. "We didn't find out the secret of the snow leopard! We didn't write it down for Morgan!" "Oh, man, I don't believe it," said Jack. "Maybe Tenzin can tell us her secret! We have to go back." "Is he still dancing?" said Annie. They looked out the window.

"Yes, he is!" said Jack. "Let's go back down. We have to ask him!" "Wait, wait!" said Annie. "Look! Look up there, Jack! See her on that cliff?" "See who?" Jack asked. "The Gray Ghost!" Annie whispered. Jack looked up at the cliff and gasped. The snow leopard was sitting alone, watching the festival of Holi from higher ground. Again, she was hiding in plain sight. "I see her," Jack said softly.

In that moment, the leopard did seem to be the Guardian of the Mountains. The guardian of stone and fire and winter and spring. The guardian of Tenzin, Mina, Fuli, Ama, and the whole village— and travelers, too, like Annie and himself. The sun broke through the clouds. For a moment, dazzling light shone on the snow leopard. The leopard's radiance lit a spark in Jack. And, in that moment, he understood her secret. "I've got it," he whispered. "Her secret." "Quick, write it down!" said Annie. Jack pulled out his notebook. He scribbled down some words. "I don't see her anymore," said Annie. "Do you?" Jack looked up again. The snow leopard had vanished. "No," he said. "But I think I got her secret. It came to me while I was looking at her. Want to hear it?" "Yes! But first, let's see if the tree house takes us home now!" said Annie. Jack picked up the Pennsylvania book again. He pointed at the picture of Frog Creek. "I wish we could go there!" he said. "HOME!" Jack held his breath. Then the wind started to blow. "Yes!" said Jack.

"You did get it!" said Annie. The tree house started to spin. It spun faster and faster. Then everything was still. Absolutely still. Rain was still falling in the Frog Creek woods. Jack and Annie were wearing their yellow raincoats and rubber boots again. Their red backpacks had disappeared. "Your face is clean," said Annie. "Yours too," said Jack. "No more rainbow." "So, what did you write down for Morgan?" asked Annie. Jack reached into the pocket of his raincoat. His notebook was there. He pulled it out and looked at what he'd written. "It sounds really simple now," Jack said, frowning. "Read it to me," said Annie. Jack read aloud: Love hides in plain sight. We are never all alone. "Whoa," said Annie. "It might sound simple. But it's deep." "It is?" said Jack.

"Yes, Tenzin proved it," said Annie. "How?" said Jack. "After he lost his family, he felt all alone and just stayed in his house," said Annie. "But Morgan's note made him climb the mountain again. He found his old friend, the snow leopard. The Guardian of the Mountains. And she reminded him that she was always there, that love is all around us, protecting us. Even when we can't see it." Jack nodded thoughtfully. "Okay…," he said. "And remember him dancing at the festival, so happy to be surrounded by people who love him?" said Annie. "Well, their love was always there, too, even when he was staying alone in his house. He just forgot it for a while." "Right," said Jack. "That is deep." He tore the page out of his notebook and left it on the floor for Morgan. "Let's go home to Mom and Dad now," said Annie, and she started down the rope ladder. Jack followed. As he and Annie walked through the woods, their boots squished over the soggy ground. "The rain is so beautiful," said Annie. "Yes," said Jack. To his surprise, it really was. The wet wintry trees were beautiful, too, every bare