She was only 15. She was the happy, smart, sarcastic kid that everybody liked. When she went missing and her shoes were found by the river, everybody thought that she had drowned, but I knew differently. She never took off her shoes unless she was dancing. Nobody considered that maybe, just maybe, her wish came true. Then again, nobody ever believed in myths and stories.

If there was one thing that Reyna had loved above anything else, it was the rain. Whenever it started raining while we were in school, she would look so wistfully out the window she was sitting beside that Our teacher would almost let her go outside. Almost. Hence, my nickname for her, Rain. Most people called her Rey, but I thought Rain was more fitting.

Throughout our friendship I had admired and loved her so much. I admired how she came up with half our pranks, how she always had a sarcastic retort ready for everything. I loved how she smiled at everything, how she had a glint in her eye when she was either pulling or thinking of a prank. But the most beautiful sight was, without doubt, when she danced and sang in the rain.

Her voice sounded like water flowing smoothly in a river and when she danced, it was like she became water itself. She always dragged me with her, taught me to dance and made me sing with her. All in all, she was like the sister I always wanted and never had. 

I remember that day clearly. She was unusually quiet and brooding. When school ended, she came up to me and said "You are my best friend and like a sister to me. I love you, but I love the water more. When it rains, look out your window you'll understand".

With that, she walked out into the rain that I didn't even realize had started and didn't look back. That was the last time anyone saw her. She just vanished. Even when they found the shoes, there was no body. All of us who knew her closely mourned for her. Her parents were heartbroken, she was their only child. I kept thinking about her last words to me, trying to figure out what she had meant.

Three weeks later, I sat staring at the photo of her dancing that I had managed to take. I heard the soft pitter patter of rain. I remembered what Rain had told me and rushed to the window. There she was dancing and laughing in the rain. I ran downstairs and outside where she was, beckoning me to join her.

Reyna had left everything, broken her parents' heart, left without a word of warning to them. I should have been angry, but when I saw the face of my best friend, whom I thought Id never see again, I didnt care. I joined her and we laughed as is if she was never gone. But our time together came to an end when the rain stopped.

I tried to tell Rain's parents what had happened, that their daughter wasnt really dead...but they wouldnt listen. They said I had imagined it. After many attempts, I let them be, maybe it was better for them this way.

She is a myth now, there are tales of a sweet melodious voice singing or sightings of a mysterious figure dancing. But she still visits me  when it rains, though I have grown old, and my children have danced with her as I once did and my grandchildren do the same. Who knows? Maybe one day, I'll join her and dance and sing as we used to when we were young.