The Ninth Cloud

by: Ariana Strong

On the Ninth Cloud there was a boy and a girl. Until one day something went array.

Out of the clouds she fell. Straight onto the cold rocky ground. 

The boy, he was there. Distracted by another girl on a distant cloud. He heard the collision and looked down.

He watched as she limply stood, figured she was okay, and went about his day.

She peered up at the sky, wide eyed and confused. She stood frozen in time, heart breaking in two.

The boy jumped to the distant cloud. He grew closer with that girl, with the New Ninth Cloud.

It hurt to see them together. The fallen girl had truly loved the boy. All she knew before she fell was love. Now all she knows is pain. 

Pain in every thought. Pain in every memory. Pain with every mention of his name. Pain in every mention of the New Ninth Cloud. 

From above, the boy looked down at the fallen girl. Rarely would their gazes meet. Even from afar, she could still feel their intensity. Even though their spark is no longer blazing, it is still there. It is still simmering low, unable to completely burn out. 

For the boy, the spark is buried deep. Deep inside the cold chambers of his heart. Locked away from the warmth of his feelings. 

Gravity weighs on her heart. It sags in her chest. The fallen girl could feel the drum in her heart. It does not beat the same rhythm as before. When they shared the Ninth Cloud, it was long, hard beats of the bass drum. Now it rolls into slow, dramatic thumps.

Her blood rushes with a constant, unbearable pain that steadily courses though her body. Her stomach tightens. All the beautiful, bright, prismatic butterflies have perished.

She feels worthless. She feels lost with no direction, no map, no love, no hope. Where could she go? The boy had been the only one to make her feel alive.

She was shy before she met the boy. He had taught her how to be free, how to live. They had met each other in passing. The winds blew them closer, and together they weathered every storm.  

Over time, she slowly built herself back up. She returned to the skies on a cloud of her own. She told herself that she'd never talk to him again. Though, she still searches the skies to catch a glimpse of him.

One morning, the winds blew strong and their clouds collided with a thunderous beat.

The smoke from their spark fills her lungs. In and out. In and out. It gets oh so hard to breathe. It is suffocating. The boy walks away from his new girl and approaches the edge of the fallen’s cloud. He reaches out and extends his hand. 

Her heart is cracked in every direction. But it has not shattered, like most. Something sweet had been designed to fill in the cracks. She takes the boy's hand, stepping onto his cloud and kindly greets the New Ninth Cloud.