Hold It Soft
Tap, tap, tap. Gus heard it first. Soft rain on the cloud floor. The rain was warm and slow. He sat up in the warm fluff. Sunny sat up too. The fluff felt like wool. Tap, tap, tap. Something small was knocking. Gus went to look.
A little light sat on the step. Round as a plum. Warm as toast. Gus picked it up. It felt bumpy, like a pebble. It hummed in his hands. Sunny opened her paws. Hold it soft. Pass it along. Gus gave the light to Sunny.
Sunny held the light in her fur. Her fur was honey-gold and warm. The light glowed brighter there. They walked up the cloud stairs. The stairs felt soft, like flour. Sunny gave the light back. Hold it soft. Pass it along. Gus held it with both hands.
At the top hung little misty lamps. They were grey and dim and cold. Gus touched the light to one. The lamp woke up, soft and yellow. Gus touched another. Then another. The rain stopped tapping. Sunny smiled with her eyes closed. The clouds turned pink underneath.
The little light was sleepy now. It yawned a small warm yawn. Gus lifted it up high. Up it floated, slow and round. It sat down in the sky. It was a star now. Sunny hummed. Gus hummed too. The lamps hummed back, soft and low.
They walked back down the soft stairs. The wind went by, slow and kind. Gus found his blanket of fluff. It felt like warm wool on his cheek. Sunny lay down beside him. The lamps glowed small and yellow. Hold it soft. Pass it along. Gus said it very quietly.
Gus put his hand in Sunny's paw. Her paw was warm and soft. The star blinked once above them. The cloud rocked, slow and slow. Gus closed his eyes. Sunny closed hers too. They held on. Somewhere high up, a small light hummed.
