Cloud People

“Have you ever looked up into the clouds and seen things?” Joey asked his sister, Maria, while they were sitting on their back porch.

“Yes,” said Maria. “All the time. Only, I don’t see things. I see people.”

“You mean you see real people?” asked Joey, almost afraid he’d said anything.

“No silly,” said Maria. “I don’t see real people. I see cloud people.”

Marie looked up toward the sky and pointed at a big, billowy cloud.

“Do you see that little boy?” asked Marie.

“No,” said Joey, almost straining his neck to see what his sister was pointing at. “I don’t see anything.”

“Right there,” said Marie, pointing again.

“Oh,” said Joey. “Now I see him. He looks like he is wearing a baseball hat.”

“Yes,” said Marie. “I think he is. Oh look! I think he is losing his hat.”

The wind was blowing quite strongly.

“That’s not all he lost,” said Joey. “His whole head is gone.”

“The cloud people don’t stay around for long,” said Marie.

“Will that little boy come back again?” asked Joey.

“No,” said Marie. “They are usually only around for a few seconds.”

“Well,” said Joey. “That hardly seems fair. We just get to know them and then they are gone.”

“Oh but the good thing about cloud people is that you can always meet new ones,” said Marie. “Like look over there.”

“Yes,” said Joey, looking at the cloud that Marie was pointing at. “That looks like an old man.”

“Yes,” said Marie. “A kind old man.”

“How do you know he’s kind?” asked Joey.

“Just look at the smile on his face,” said Marie.

“I can see his smile,” said Joey. “Oh, but look. His smile is fading away.”

“So is he,” said Marie.

“Do you think that we will ever become cloud people?” asked Joey.

“I don’t know,” said Marie. “Maybe we become cloud people when we die.”

“Yeah,” said Joey. “Maybe you are right, maybe we do.”

“I hope that we become cloud people when we die,” said Joey.

“Me too,” said Marie.

“Hey,” said Joey, pointing to a huge billowy cloud. “There’s a boy in that cloud and it looks like he is crying.”

“He is holding something,” said Marie.

“It looks like a chain or a dog leash,” said Joey. “But if it’s a dog leash, then where is his dog?”

“I see the dog,” said Marie, after looking up into the clouds for a few minutes.”

Both Marie and Joey watched in silence as the cloud that was shaped like a dog went straight over to the cloud that was shaped as a boy. Both children were sure they saw a smile on the boy’s face just before he disappeared by a sudden strong burst of wind.

“That was neat!” exclaimed Joey, excitedly.

“It sure was,” said Marie.