The Hum in the Clouds
The rain stopped. The sky went gold. Nel stepped out onto the soft cloud floor. Mo came too, slow and steady. Light dripped from every edge. Nel held still. Somewhere, something was humming. Not loud. Just soft, like a hum under a blanket.
Nel looked at Mo. "Listen, Mo. Something soft is humming." Mo blinked his slow turtle blink. Nel took one step. Then two. The humming came again. Hmmmm. It came from up the cloud stairs. So Nel went up. Mo came too.
The stairs were warm and puffy. Light lay in little pools. Nel stepped in one pool. Then another. Mo walked through them all. Hmmmm, went the sound. Hmmmm. It was closer now. Nel's feet went pat, pat, pat on the soft white stairs.
At the top, the wind was quiet. The humming was big and round here. Nel could feel it in their toes. Mo stopped. His shell glowed warm and gold. Nel put one hand on the cloud. The cloud hummed back. Hmmmm.
Then Nel saw it. A round little cloud, rocking. It held the last of the evening light. It hummed to keep the light warm. Rock, rock. Hmmmm. Nel knelt down close. The light was gold as honey. Mo watched with sleepy eyes.
Nel patted the round cloud. Pat, pat. Nel hummed too. "Listen, Mo. Something soft is humming." Now there were two hums. Then three, because Mo hummed as well. The gold light stayed warm. The sky went slow and dim and kind.
Nel lay down beside Mo. The cloud was warm under them. Hmmmm, went the little cloud. Rock, rock. Nel breathed in. Nel breathed out. Mo breathed too, slow and deep. The last gold light went soft. Everything hummed. Everything slept.
