The Puddle Jumper

Every time it rains, you need to take care. I know the puddles are tempting. I know they look shallow and inviting. If you jump in, you might be able to make a big splash and it could be so much fun. But don’t do it. Don’t jump in. Just walk around them. Ignore them. Don’t even look too long. Because once you jump in, there’s no knowing where you’ll come out.

There was once a little girl who loved to jump in puddles. Every time it rained, she would grab her bright yellow raincoat, her green, and blue polka-dotted rain boots, and run outside. Once she was outside, she would leap into every puddle she came across. What she loved most about the puddles wasn’t the splashing. It wasn’t how her pants and socks would become soaked. It was the reflections.

You see, the clouds and the sky are always above us, so very far away and we’re stuck here on the ground. When it rains, however, the skies come down around us. Especially in puddles. When you look at the ground, it’s just the ground. You can see dirt, grass, flowers, sidewalks, etc. But when you look into a puddle, you can see the sky. Suddenly, it’s not just the ground anymore. It’s a piece of the sky, or it’s a window from a shop, or it’s the top of the trees.

She loved jumping into those puddles and pretending that she was jumping into the reflection itself. What she didn’t know was that each time she jumped into a puddle, she believed for just a moment that it was real, that she was actually jumping into what was reflected on its surface. The thing is, our belief is powerful. Every time we believe in something, it becomes more and more true, until eventually, it has a life of its own.

One day, it started to rain. In excitement and happiness, she grabbed her coat and boots and ran out into the rain. Searching around for the perfect puddle to jump into, she found one that was holding a cloud in its depths. Looking more closely, she saw that the cloud was shaped like a dragon. Perfect! She thought and jumped in.

Instead of the splash, she was expecting, however, there was nothing. No noise, no splash, and no ground. Her body simply sank through the reflection and all of a sudden, she was surrounded by clouds. Looking around in shock, all she could see was fluffy white clouds, and at her feet was a puddle. A puddle that seemed to reflect her house. Before she could understand what was happening, however, a roar split the air.

Looking up in fear, the girl saw the dragon-shaped cloud she had seen earlier, but this cloud seemed alive. It was twisting and turning in the air and coming straight towards her. In shocked awe, she watched as its dark grey body riddled with lightning arced towards her through the other clouds. Suddenly coming out of her astonishment, she looked back down at the puddle at her feet and jumped in again.

Once again, she met no resistance and in the blink of an eye, she found herself once again on her street, next to a puddle. Wondering if she had imagined the whole thing, she walked towards another puddle and looked into it. This time, she saw that the reflection seemed a little strange. Even though it was daytime, the reflection held the light of the moon. There were many buildings with flashing neon signs and she saw the shadows of people passing by. Looking around herself to make sure that there were no neon signs anywhere near her, she looked back into the puddle and wondered what would happen if she jumped in.

Unable to resist her curiosity, she took a couple of steps back and leaped into the puddle with all her might. As her body passed through the puddle, she felt a wave of dizziness and almost fell over as the world turned around her. Once she gained her balance, she looked around and realized that she was surrounded by those dark buildings she had seen, and sure enough, it was nighttime. The neon lights flashed, and she felt her mouth fall open as she realized that she couldn’t recognize anything that they said. It was written in a different language. She had no idea where on earth she was or how it was possible that she had even gotten there.

People rushed by her, giving her strange looks. She was a kid in a bright yellow raincoat when there was clearly no rain, after all. Suddenly, there were more and more people surrounding her and in the rush, she was tossed to and fro. Once the wave of people thinned again, she looked around in fear as she realized that she didn’t know where her puddle was. She was on a different street entirely and had no recollection of how to get back to her puddle.

Knowing she wouldn’t be able to understand anyone, nor they, her, she started to look around frantically. Trying to remember where the crowd had dragged her, she looked for the neon signs and the dark buildings, but she couldn’t find them.

A couple of hours passed, and she was getting tired and hungry. She sat down next to a quiet door and let herself cry. How was she going to get home?

Suddenly, she felt a soft tap on her arm. She looked up to see a boy about her age with dark hair and concerned eyes. He said something to her that she didn’t understand and she shook her head telling him she didn’t speak his language. Cocking his head to the side, he looked over her, taking in her raincoat and boots. His eyes widened in understanding as he grabbed her hand and pulled her up. She didn’t know what else to do and so she followed him to what appeared to be his house.

He stopped her before she could step fully inside and showed her where to put her shoes and gave her some house slippers. Sitting her down in what appeared to be the kitchen, he gave her a little ball of rice that had something green wrapped around it. Sniffing it, she decided it didn’t smell too strange, and she tentatively took a bite. It was salty and warm and she ate the rice ball gratefully.

The boy came back with his mother in tow and was pointing at the girl and speaking rapidly. His mother smiled and nodded, letting go of his hand, she went to grab a pot of water. The mother then indicated that they all needed to go outside.

Licking her lips from the salt of the rice ball, she followed them outside and watched as the mother poured all of the water from the pot onto a little dip in the ground. There was enough water that it formed a puddle and both the mother and the son kept pointing towards it.

Eventually, the girl looked into the puddle, but all she could see was the sky. Closing her eyes and thinking of her home, she believed as hard as she could that if she jumped into that puddle, she would be home again. Opening her eyes, she realized the reflection had changed and she could see her own front door. Smiling with her success, she turned and gave a hug to her new friends. Waving goodbye to them, she jumped into the puddle and found herself back on her own street.

The rain had stopped and she looked around at all of the puddles she could jump into if she wanted. It had been a long day, though, and she knew that if she was going to jump into a puddle, she had to be prepared first.

Perhaps that could wait for another day, after all, there will always be puddles when it rains.

So just remember, my darling, you can look at the puddles but take care. Who knows where your imagination will take you? Don’t just jump in blindly. You need to look before you leap.