Lino Doll: Weather School

In the summer, Reno and his friends go to a slightly unusual school.

It's called Weather School, and only in the summer mornings do we gather around a stump in the grass and learn how to change the weather.

The teacher is a kindly old man who usually works in the fields, but in the fall, school is closed for the harvest.

It's in the middle of a field and doesn't look like a school at all, but Reno and his friends still gather around the stump wearing the uniforms they made themselves.

The first grade is the rainy grade. The teacher said that when they learn to make it rain, they move on to the next grade. By the way, the next grade is the cloudy school, so it seems difficult to go easy on them. Once they manage to do that, they move on to the snowy grade, and finally the sunny grade.

Rain, let it fly! A Lino is practicing with hay.

But there isn't a single cloud in the sky.

The teacher looks at it with a smile.

But no matter how many times I try, the sky remains clear.

"I can't do it, teacher!" Lino says. "Well, try it a little slower," the teacher says, scratching his head.

"Rain...once!"

It's the same this time.

The student, Lino, is getting increasingly sulky, but the teacher is still smiling.

When it's lunchtime, Reno and the others start to get restless. They all want to go home and eat lunch.

Perhaps anticipating this, the teacher said early on, "Well, I'm starting to get hungry. I think we should call it a day."

The Reenos then reply "Yes," and all run home together across the meadow. Some roll around as they run, some take a detour waving hay, some wave their hands as they go home, and some walk while singing. Everyone goes home in their own way.

The teacher sits on a stump and watches them leave with a smile.

After a while, a light rain started to fall only around the school. The sparkling water droplets reflected the light and splashed on the summer grass.

The teacher follows Reno and the others with his eyes and says to himself, "They dumped me." When he looks up, he sees that there are no clouds left and the sky is a high, blue one.

Far beyond the blue sky, there was a faint hint of autumn.