Cloud Tempest

Cloud

I awake to the sounds of birds chirping and the slight clanking of instruments. Unlike in those “young adult” novels, I know exactly where I am when I awake. For the sake of dramatics, though, I almost wish that I didn’t. Were this a novel, I would wake up to the sound of birds and expect the scent of my mother’s burnt eggs to float up to my room and fill my nostrils. A ghost of a smile would present itself and I would snuggle into my comforter to catch a few more minutes of shuteye; but, the fabric covering me isn’t thick and fluffy, and all I smell is dirt and a strange combination of natural scents. Confused, my eyes would fly open and I would sit up too quickly. My head spinning from the movement, everything from the previous day would come rushing back to me in one fatal swoop.

This isn’t a novel, though; this is real life. In real life, nothing happens the way it’s supposed to.

Who would plan to fall through a tree, be taken in by hostile people who don’t understand my explanations, and have a pathetic breakdown in the middle of some unknown world? I certainly wouldn’t, but it happened to me anyway. In the real world, you are nothing more than a forgetful actor who is forced to improvise the longest play in the history of time. Most people keep hold of the hope that one day they will find their lost script, but so far no one has succeeded. Those who say they have are usually either on drugs, have a mental illness, or belong to a cult.

The banging suddenly stops, and I listen intently for the creator to make another move. Step by step, the person makes their way over to where I lie, but I am not afraid. I feel no negative energy emanating from the person, though my blind readings have not always proved to be fruitful. The person is now incredibly close to me. I can feel heat radiating off of their body and their steady breaths lightly hitting my face.

“I know you’re awake Master Cloud,” says a voice from above. My now open eyes are met with those of the wonderful Aria. She was standing–not so close as I had imagined, but close enough–and holding a glass bottle filled with some kind of liquid in her hands.

“I made you something,” she said when I didn’t reply, and extended her hand towards me.

Slowly, I propped myself up on one elbow and took the concoction from her. It was a deep green–not a beautiful green, I might add–and seemed to have small pieces of something floating around in it. I dared not ask what the potion was made of, but I was extremely thankful for her thoughtfulness and decided it would be rude of me to refuse her kindness. Everyone says that plugging your nose helps lessen the effect of the taste, but that is a downright lie, so I decided not to bother with the action. Closing my eyes, I downed the mostly liquid in one gulp and forced myself to suppress a shudder.

“Thank you Aria, what is it?” I asked, hanging the empty vial to her.

“It’s to lessen the pain. You were greatly damaged in the fall.” I smiled, even more thankful now than I was before.

“Where were you last night when I couldn’t sleep?” The question was serious, but my tone was slightly joking.

“Lead Menas instructed me not to give you anything for your pain.”

“Then why are you giving it to me now?” The corner of her mouth tilted upwards slightly and her eyes lightened deviously.

“He said not to give you anything last night, but he said nothing about this morning.” My smile grew immensely, and I wanted to jump up and crush her in a hug.

“I knew there was a reason I liked you.”

Her mouth became neutral and she turned quickly, moving away from me at the sound of someone approaching the flap of the tent. She slipped the vial into the pocket of her backless dress, and kneeled down on the hard floor, grabbing a wooden spoon and stirring something inside of a black cauldron. Through the entrance stepped none other than the incarnation beauty herself and I turned on the charm.

“Hey there gorgeous. Come to see how I’m feeling?” Her face remained expressionless.

“Lead Menas wishes you to come with me.”

“Solana!” Aria exclaimed. “He can barely sit up. How can he possibly be expected to walk?” Solana looked at the woman solidly.

“If you are so worried about the Siren, then you can help him walk.” The tension was suffocating, and I carefully sat up and turned my body so I could place my legs on the ground.

“Thank you for your concern, Aria, but I am fine to walk on my own.”

I used my arms to push myself off of the place where I now sat, and my legs almost betrayed me. They wobbled and sent a piercing pain up towards my abdomen, which I ignored. Aria had put herself in danger of being punished by the Lead when she gave the pain potion, and I didn’t want her to risk herself further. Once I was steady on my feet, I noticed that both Aria and the beauty had their heads turned sharply away and blushes adorning their cheeks. It was then I remembered that I was still naked.

“Gorgeous, do you have clothes for me?”

“Wrap yourself in the sheet, Siren; your clothes are torn.” I snapped my fingers dramatically and tie the sheet around my waist like a skirt.

“Darn. That was my favorite SHINee T-shirt; I would totally turn for just about any of them. Mmm,” I moaned, flittering my eyelids, “delicious Asian men.” I promptly pretended to drool, an act that must have looked fairly amusing because Aria laughed lowly, covering the sound with a forced cough. Solana moved to leave and I assumed I was supposed to follow.

“She is such a spoilsport,” I whispered in Aria’s direction, a fake lisp completing the drama of my statement.

The world outside the tent I’m sure was much more happy and lively on a regular day, but as we walked through the tent lined forest the patrons all stopped what they were doing to stare at the mysterious naked boy. Some looked upon me with disgust, others with fear and caution. The majority of the people, though, seemed to be unquenchably curious. For fun, as well as for practicality, I decided to feed their curiosity. Along the side of our path, there was a group of older women mending holes in colored garments–probably belonging to a family member or friend. I limped over to them–all of whom eyed me with wonder and vigilance. I shot them the most earnest smile I could muster at the moment, and spoke to them.

“I’m sorry to bother you, but do any of you ladies have any thread and a needle they can spare?” One of the women leaned to the side and looked around me. I turned slightly, to see that she was checking to see who was looking. Solana’s back was to us, her body still walking ahead.

“Here you go, dear,” said the woman as she handed me a long, thick needle and a stick with black thread covering it completely. I folded a part of the sheet and tied it to make an impromptu pocket to carry and hide the items.

“Thank you so much,” I said, and I bowed with my hands over my heart, mimicking Arian’s curtsey the day previous. What I must have done was correct for their culture because they smiled genuinely and told me it was no trouble at all. I began to hobble back to the goddess, who was far ahead of me now.

“Wait up!” I called to her, “I’m injured, remember? You can’t expect me to walk as quickly as an able-bodied woman such as yourself,” I said matter-of-factly. She stopped for a moment, allowing me to catch up, and then continued the way.

“Where are we going anyway?”

“To Lead Menas,” I rolled my eyes, mumbling sarcastically below my breath,

“Oh my gosh, what a surprise.” Solana either didn’t hear me, or ignored me.

“I brought the boy,” she said to the four men–Menas being the only I recognized–awaiting our arrival. We were in a nearly empty tent that was a little ways away from the rest of the village.

“Leave us, Solana,” said Menas. She curtseyed the way Aria had, and left me alone with the hungry wolves.