Monsoon Nights – Vietnam

Monsoon season has arrived.  Lightning shafts into the water and platinum white illuminates the night revealing storm clouds creeping towards the shore.     I stand on the sand within the silvered scene, the light so bright that when the dark night returns I am temporarily blinded. 

The incoming breeze swoops inland over the sea and gusts thorough palm trees, rattling and rustling fronds.  The wind blows fresh and cold breathes, dispersing the humid, sweat inducing air away.   Fingered draughts tousle my hair and assail my face, they slide over my body and cool my skin.   I breathe in and savour the sweet smell of rain and wait for the moment before the deluge begins. 

The moment when sound is sucked out of the air trapping the body in a vacuum of silent enveloping space.     The moment before the pressure cracks and one can hear the sound of fat splattering raindrops  falling leisurely from the sky.  When diners on the beach grab plates and glasses and run for shelter, dogs dive under tables and drinkers take refuge in the covered bar.    It is the moment before the large watery globules transform into small fast hitting bullets that  thunder down, bashing and bruising those who dare to defy it’s power.           

 The air snaps, galvanised into action I head for shelter, order a beer and settle in to watch the light show.