Hail holy cow!

The clouds were hanging low. The grayness in the city at four in the afternoon was eerie, especially these days when it doesn't get dark until ten in the evening. It was a scene that could have passed for a tornado flick. I already feeling tentative from leaving my university because I didn't bring any umbrella or raincoat. Who would have known it would rain in this summery weather?

It started raining as I took my bus to the dormitory. I heard the pittle-pattle of the rain, and it became louder as if stones were being thrown at our bus. The rain couldn't be that hard- literally. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me as I saw a white stone go through the window. And then another. People in the bus started to close the overhead windows and looked outside to witness the streaking of hail like coagulated rain. I shifted my sight to the door and saw white stones the size of marbles falling as if someone was hurling them from above. They bounced on the pavement, settled on the ground, and melted and mixed with rain water. The pelting sound has become louder, from a stochastic tapping into a symphony of rain and hail hitting the metal shell of our bus. The old man seated beside me couldn't have described it any better with his gesture of a shooting a gun. It was almost like an attack, a bad prank.

I got off my stop and the hail has subsided by this time. Or so I thought. I ran through the pouring rain and felt something hit my head. And then it happened again. I found safety as I reached my dormitory where I met a dorm-mate by the door. "Du bist nur ein bisschen nass geworden! (You're only a little wet!)", he greeted as I stepped into our hall while dripping from head to toe.

I glanced at our concrete quadrangle, this time only swept with heavy rain. I took a quick shower and the attack from the heavens has stopped when I stepped in my room. I'm now drying myself, and as I type this I can feel a small bump growing on my head. My first experience with hail is quite eventful as compared to my first sighting of snow. Getting hit by hail is not much fun, although I'm glad I wasn't driving. Maybe it feels much worse to see the scratches it caused on BMWs, Mercedes Benzes and Audis.