"Hey Daddy?"

I turned with a tray of cookies in my hand, smiling at the almost 5 year old, chubby cheeked, dark haired tiny version of her mother, sitting on a stool at the end of the counter eating her cheerios. She had a droplet of milk slowly running down her chin, but she was oblivious to it as she stared at me.

"What is it, Rayne drop?"

She giggled at the silly nickname I had been calling her since she was, probably, six months old, and put her spoon down.

"Tell me 'gain how I got my name..."

I felt that familiar tug at my heart every time she asked me something that had to do with Soo Ah, which was quite often. But I welcomed it. I loved talking about her mother to her. I loved that she was so curious, in a simple, unaffected way.

Of course, she knew her mother had died, but she had no memory of her. Except for the ones I was giving her. She hadn't shown sadness, and I didn't want her to be sad. I wanted her to smile when she thought of her mother, always.

"Well, you got your name because your mommy really, really loved the rain. She used to stand in it, and get all wet."

She giggled again, and I loved the way her cheeks plumped up as her mouth opened, the sweet little laugh bubbling out.

"When it wains 'gain, can I stand in it and get all wet? Pwetty please daddy, I wanna be like mommy."

I smiled, and leaned down to meet her gaze. "It's 'R'ain, and p'R'etty, baby. You're going to be starting school soon, we have to work on your R's.

She pouted. "I am saying 'aw'..."

I laughed, and she crossed her arms, glaring at me.

The door swung opened, and Jungkook came into the kitchen, his eyes lighting up when he saw Rayne.

"Hey Rayne storm...what are you doing here?"

She jumped off the stool, running towards him as he squatted and opened his arms to catch her.

"Uncle Kookie!"

He scooped her up, peppering kisses all over her face, then tickled her to get her giggling even more.

"S...stop un..uncle K..Kookie..." she sputtered, squirming in his arms.

He laughed, looking at me.

"Her babysitter was sick."

He gave me a smile, then put his attention back on Rayne.

"I'm helping daddy make cookies."

"Well, then I bet they'll be the best cookies this coffee shop has ever served!"

She smiled a big smile, then yawned, causing Jungkook to giggle himself.

"Someone looks like they need a nap."

She shook her head exuberantly, her hair flying around her face.

"Uh uh, 'm not tiwed."

"Oh, Okay," he chuckled. "Well, I need to get out front and start getting ready to open soon. Make sure daddy doesn't burn those cookies."

She nodded as he set her on the floor and stood up.

"See ya later."

"See ya latew, Uncle kookie."

He waved and walked back out front, the door swinging behind him.

"So daddy..."

I turned to look at her, trying not to smile at the serious look on her face.

"About me standing in the wain...can I?"

I sighed. I knew this would happen one day. I just hadn't expected it already. She was only 4.

"We'll see. It's only march, and it's still chilly outside. If it does rain, I wouldn't want you to get sick. Maybe once July rolls around, and the rainy season starts, we'll go stand in the rain one day."

She seemed to accept it, and climbed back up on her stool, reaching for a cookie on the cooling rack. She took a big bite, getting chocolate on her face, chewing happily.

"No more cookies just yet. It's only 5:45 in the morning, it's too early for you to get all hyped up on sugar."

She smiled at me, not saying a word, just chewing away at her cookie.

The door swung opened again,and Jimin stepped through, smiling immediately at Rayne.

"RAYNE PUDDLE!"

She jumped off the stool again, running towards him just as she'd run towards Jungkook. She adored her uncles.

"Uncle Chimmy!"

He grabbed her, swinging her around and perching her on his shoulders.

"You should be careful, she just ate a cookie, she probably has chocolate on her hands."

He scowled, grabbing her wrists and holding her hands up so she couldn't bury them in his hair. I grabbed a towel, wetting it and wiping her hands off as she giggled. Once I finished, he released them, and she immediately plopped them on his head.

"You're evil, you muddy Rayne puddle."

She laughed, wrapping her arms around his head, her chubby hands under his chin, leaning to look at him from above.

"You look funny upside down, Uncle Chimmy."

"Oh yeah?"

He bent, grabbing her legs and flipping her over his head as she squealed, holding her in front of him upside down.

"So do you," he teased, smirking.

"Put me down, Uncle Chimmy," she grumbled, trying to sound mad.

He shrugged. "Nah, I don't wanna."

She reached her little arms out, her fingers wiggling against his ribcage, and he laughed at her attempt to tickle him.

"Just gonna throw it out there, she did just eat a bowl of cheerios, and a cookie."

"Ah, maybe I better let you down then."

He lifted her, putting her legs over one shoulder and grabbing her to swing her around and put her on the floor.

"How come you aren't home with your babysitter?"

"She's sick, so I came to help daddy make cookies."

"Cool, I bet the cookies today will be amazing."

She tilted her head, looking smug.

"Uncle Kookie said they will be the best cookies this coffee shop has evew sewved."

She put emphasis on 'ever served', and Jimin chuckled.

"I'm sure Uncle Kookie is right. I gotta go out front so I can open. I'll see ya later Rayne puddle."

"See ya latew Uncle Chimmy." She waved, and turned to climb back up on her stool, her bottom pointing in the air as she maneuvered herself around.

Jimin smiled and grabbed his apron, disappearing out to the front.

I had filled the cookie jar, and told Rayne to stay put, that I would be right back, and I took it out front and set it in it's place on the counter. I doubled checked the strawberry shortcake in the display, and headed back to the kitchen.

I pushed through the door, catching Rayne shoving the rest of a cookie in her mouth, trying to look like she wasn't trying not to choke. I stared at her for a moment, so that she knew I'd seen what she'd done, even though she'd been told no more, then I turned my attention elsewhere so that she could chew and swallow without feeling like she was in trouble.

I smiled to myself, wishing that her mother was still here to see all her cute antics. She was a lot like her. The way she pouted, the sparkle in her eye when she was excited, how she crossed her arms when she was agitated.

She had my lips, but the rest of her face was her mother's. It was comforting, but at the same time, there were moments my heart broke all over again.

Usually when I went in to check on her at night, and make sure she was tucked in, those were the hardest times for me. I would stand, staring down at her, and I would miss Soo Ah so much. I ached to be able to hold her, touch her, kiss her, and I still missed her just as much as I always had.

If it hadn't been for Rayne, I don't think I would have been able to go on. I honestly believe I would have given up. I would have felt like I had nothing to live for. I did feel like that at times, but then I would look at my daughter, and realize just how lucky I was.

I tried to be strong, but some days, it had been impossible. I had taken hundreds of pictures of Soo Ah, but in the beginning, after she was gone, I couldn't look at them. It hurt too much. I had so many rolls of film to develop, and it had taken me months to be able to scroll through my gallery on my phone.

But the first time I had opened my gallery, and a picture of her popped up, I'm not even sure I can put into words the feelings I experienced. It was such an abundance of emotions, but I mostly remember the pain of realizing that she was really gone, that she hadn't just gone away for a period of time.

She was never coming back. I would never kiss her again, or play with her hair, or hug her, or hold her hand, or feel her touching me. I think, somewhere in my mind, I had tried to convince myself that she'd be back, but seeing the photos had brought the painful reality of the truth crashing down, and I'd spent an hour on the couch, sobbing and hoping I didn't wake Rayne up.

That had been about 7 months after she'd been gone. Now there were pictures of her everywhere.

The first year without Soo Ah was the hardest. I made mistakes with Rayne, and I learned a lot. I was still learning, and honestly, I didn't think I would ever stop. Having a child means every single day is different.

Rayne made my days bearable. She made me smile. Every day was an adventure, and there was laughter and fun in all of them, even when I sometimes found myself sad at a memory.

"Daddy?"

I was brought out of my thoughts by the tiny voice of my daughter.

"Yes baby?"

"I'm thiwsty."

I smiled.

"Would you like me to get Uncle Chimmy to make you a mug of his special hot cocoa?"

She nodded, giving me a toothy smile. "Yes, Please."

"Okay, sit right there and I'll go out front and see if he can do that."

I turned to go out to the shop, then as an afterthought, I turned back, smiling when I saw her little arm quickly draw back from the cooling rack closest to her.

"And no more cookies."

She pouted, her shoulders slumping, and I held back a chuckle as I pushed out the door to the front.

We had opened about 15 minutes ago, and it was a little busy, but I walked up to Jimin, who was fixing a cup of something, and leaned close to his ear.

"When you get a chance, could you fix Rayne a mug of hot cocoa?"

He smiled. "You got it. Might be a few minutes or so, but I'll squeeze it in before the next crowd comes in."

"Thanks. I'll be back out in about 15 minutes to check. Right now, I have to go make sure she isn't stuffing any more cookies in her mouth."

He giggled, and I walked away, going through the door quietly, hoping to catch her if she had, in fact, snagged another cookie. But she was just sitting there, waiting for me.

"Is uncle Chimmy making me hot cocoa?"

I gave her a nod. "He will, as soon as he gets a minute. It's a little busy out there, and he has to take care of the customers who are paying him first."

She looked perplexed. "Why?"

I sat on the stool beside her and looked at her, booping her nose.

"Because that's the way it works, sweetie. If Uncle Chimmy wants people to keep coming back, and buying coffee and cookies, he needs to make sure he gets them their orders in a timely manner. If he takes too long, they'll get tired of waiting, and they'll find someplace else to go for their morning coffee."

She wrinkled her nose up, her little brows furrowing as she thought.

"So, Uncle Chimmy has to be nicew to stwangews than he is to me? But I thought he loved me."

She frowned, and I tried to keep a straight face as I worked on coming up with an answer that would make her feel better. But fortunately, Jimin saved me, coming through the door with her hot cocoa at that moment.

"Uncle Chimmy does love you, Rayne puddle, more than anyone else in the whole wide world. Just because I have to be nice to the strangers, doesn't mean I always like them. It's just business."

"Biss-niss?" she repeated, wrinkling up her face.

"Yes princess," he chuckled. "I get paid for being nice to them, and when they give me their money, I can pay my bills. So that's why I be nice to them."

"But you" he said, putting her cocoa on the counter in front of her, a peppermint stick sticking out the top, and a very large marshmallow melting on the surface, "you are my favorite person, and I would rather make you hot cocoa than make coffee for any of them, even if you do only pay me with hugs."

She smiled, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly.

"I love you, Uncle Chimmy. Thank you fow my hot cocoa."

"Your welcome sweetheart, I love you too. Now, I gotta get back out front, I left Uncle Kookie in charge, and he's all by himself."

He kissed the top of her head, smiled at me, and headed back out to the shop.

Rayne turned to her cocoa, sticking her tongue out and licking the peppermint stick. I watched her, my heart swelling with love. She was my world, and I would do anything for her.

I wished every day that Soo Ah was still here, that she could see what a sweet, bright, silly, energetic, cheerful, fearless little girl her daughter was. I knew she knew, just like I knew she watched over us. But I wished so much that she was here.

Being a single parent wasn't easy. Every day was a new challenge, but I would't trade it for anything. The day Rayne was born changed my life. It was the first day in a long time I was finally able to say that I didn't hate the rain.

It was almost the end of March, and Rayne's birthday was in two weeks. I could hardly believe she was turning 5 already. I was excited for it, but also sad, because she seemed to be growing up so fast.

Strangely though, the thing I was waiting for, the thing that had me feeling like Soo Ah was always with me, was the anniversary of her death.

Every April 21st since she died, it had rained.

The first year, I brushed it off as a coincidence. The second year, I didn't know what to think, but even so, I couldn't deny that it was raining. I chose not to think about it. The third year, I couldn't ignore it. It had poured. Buckets of rain. Fortunately, I had just gotten home from work when it started. I stood in my house, watching out the window, while Rayne had played with her toys on the floor. I started to consider that maybe Soo Ah was trying to let me know that she was with me.

Last year, when I woke up on the morning of the 21st, which was a Saturday, I heard the rain immediately. I smiled. It was at that point I accepted that Soo Ah was saying hi, letting me know she was okay, and that she was watching over us.

This year, on April 21st, I would wait for the rain, and maybe, just maybe, when it came, I would bundle Rayne up and take her outside, so we could let it land on our faces, and catch it on our tongues, and splash in the puddles, and tell mommy that we love her.