Written by Dennis Harvell
Saturday Stillness, Part 2: The Orange Sky
The rain paused briefly and the sun began to peek through the clouds. I decided to step out; however, the air felt heavy — arid, humid, quiet, deceptively clean. It looked harmless, but after days of Canadian smoke drifting south, I knew better, so I kept my time outside short.
Hours later, the shift came fast. The clouds returned with purpose, moving across the sky like a slow‑closing curtain. The light dimmed. The wind changed. Then came the thunder — deep, rolling, almost biblical — followed by lightning that cracked open the sky.
And then the rain.
Heavy, blinding, relentless, hitting from every direction as if the storm had been waiting all day to break loose. In the middle of it, that strange scent again: the Canadian smoke pulled down by the downpour, lingering in the air like a reminder of what had been sitting above us.
I’m just glad I made it home before it all came down.
Now the flash‑flood warnings are out, but inside it’s peaceful. Dinner finished. The storm settling. And the air finally clearing — the purifiers quiet again, their sensors showing clean air after days of working overtime against the haze.
After a day of tension in the sky, that quiet feels like a reset.
Read Part 3 → Saturday Stillness: The Day After (Sunday’s Brilliance)
