Lucy❀

The thunder above is rolling in. The lightning is striking, and the wind is blowing fiercely. I know, what you're thinking. Who really cares? It's just a storm.

Well, it's a storm...that happens to drive a lot of people with Astraphobia hiding in their closets. It also happens to be the time when people like me have anxiety attacks and cry for all the reasons imaginable. But why? Why do people like me suffer through a storm?

There happens to be many different definitions of storms. There are storms in your mind, in fairytales, in books, in movies, but more importantly, in life itself. When most people are aware of storms, they sit around with a book, some food, music, maybe a movie. No, that's not what I do.

My absolute worst fear on this planet are storms. Every since I was a young child, I've been petrified of storms. When I was younger, my parents were always there, they told me to calm down, that it would all pass, that no scratch would touch the earth from the roaring. Of course, a young gullible child would believe in that.

A storm appeared, it made havoc all around the city, the lightning split the trees in half, created holes in people's roofs.

But now, I'm eighteen years old. I'm all alone. My parents are always traveling. So when the storm rolls in, the thunder roars, and the lightning strikes, I'm all alone. No one is there to comfort me. No one. Sure, I have some friends at school. Levy, she's always the one who knows when I lie. Erza, she knows of my strengths. Juvia, well she's the one calling me love-rival, just and only because of her precious 'Gray-sama'. One thing no one knows, is I'm a suffering victim of Astraphobia.

Astraphobia, one of the many things children and some teens deal with. A lot of people struggle with the roaring clouds. I'm one of those people.

*~*

It was the middle of the night, I was calmly reading a book before I finally lay down to rest. Absorbing the words from the page, I didn't hear the first one.

I slowly put the book down, sweat was all over my face, water almost spilling over the edge of my eyes.

"No no no," I looked to the window, only to see a strike of light flash across the sky, followed by another boom. My breathing became heavy. Why now? The water coming from my eyes didn't let up, and the booms only got louder, the lightning only flashed more, making my small body shake. "This can't be happening."

I slowly lifted my covers, sliding my feet over the edge. I started to stand up until I heard yet another boom, I fell to the floor in tears. The house was silent, you could hear a pen drop in the emptiness. Then the silence broke. I screamed, I cried, I breathed heavily. My eyes were covered by my knees, I rocked myself back and forth.

"H-Help!" I screamed out crying. My body violently shook with each boom and strike. The worst part? I was defenseless. No one was there. My tears started to get heavier and heavier, every part of my body trembling. I had nothing. I frantically rose my head, looking for some sort of escape from this reality. My cat, Plue came into view. Plue, my white cat with an orange nose. I stood up, still shaky and unbalanced. As I was getting onto my bed, another boom sounded.

My hands instantly went to my ears. I cried and trembled. That night, I didn't sleep, I cried until the storm calmed itself down. But the storm wasn't calm until the rain came along...