Shelter From the Downpour

Raindrops began striking my helmet with heavy, rhythmic thuds. I stepped beneath the rim of an overturned cast iron tub half-sunk in the dirt. Inside stayed dry, but the mud near the lip began to soften under the runoff. I reached out and took a broad piece of weathered roof slate resting against the tub's flank. Cold and dense. Kneeling, I drove the slate edge deep into the soft ground right where the water channeled in, angling the stone to divert the trickle outward into the weeds. The interior stayed dry and solid. I leaned back against the iron curve to let the night pass.