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Rain and darkness challenge my emotional immune system, threatening to dissolve me into the groundwater of sadness. On the days that it pours, it takes all my strength just to lift heavy smile muscles and emit pleasantries at appropriate intervals.

Although I like having an instinctive connection to water, light, and outdoor temperature, this sensitivity often makes me want to retreat from the burden of consciousness. On wet days, sadness can paralyze me, and I need something to light the cave of my mind. Thankfully, a friend in a neighboring depression-bunker offers me three gifts because she understands how it feels to want to withdraw into the depths of psychological winter.

With kindness in her eyes, she gives me the first offering with two outstretched hands. “This is a glow peach,” she explains. “Don’t eat it, for it’s supposed to last a long time.” I take the fruit, and soon my hands start to glow with apricot light. The glow highlights my very veins, and I am comforted by the reminder that blood pulses through me with reliable vigor even on the days I feel lethargic.

After several minutes, peach heat suffuses my entire body, creating an orchard full of summer in my soul. It’s lovely to feel how my entire being shares the solar source of our planet’s life. Strengthening me from the inside out, my friend’s gift fortifies me on rainy days and helps others who notice my warmth.

When my friend gives me the second offering, she says, “This gift may offend your fashion sense, but it’s worth the social embarrassment!” And she holds before me a golden 1970’s pantsuit with a cursive nametag that reads Ensalada Prodata (a silly nickname I gave myself). Beholding the special garment held before my eyes, I forget my depression and laugh in delight.

The pantsuit is made from semi-translucent fibers, so my friend advises me to wear a bra and tights underneath it if I’m going out. I decide that I want to stay in and try on the pantsuit. When I step