linette's dancing through puddles, splashing with a satisfying smack! her cheekbones equine and rosed by the weather, pink to match her galoshes and raincoat with the buttons all done up and elbow length lined black kid gloves and the flower petal shaped umbrella that she lofts above her head, the rain pattering drip-dropping the whole sky blooming lavender clouds and fierce wind. she's skipping, swinging her umbrella singing in the rain when she notices figures of three tiny girls up high in the sky above her, drifting down at an incredibly slow and slender pace, their dresses billowing out like parachutes she's completely astonished the girls advancing on her from on high, landing elegantly poised on their toes; in straight lines, esprit de corps they start performing a petit ballet, darting between the rain drops, while thousands of other girls in pannier skirts drift down from the darkening sky. linette dances with them, in her clunking boots and twirling coat, and they sing, sing, sing.