WIND

The winds massaged the treetops. They whirled around in the grass. The flowers swayed and danced to their tune.

I looked up at the sky. I was made dizzy by the racing of the clouds, but I couldn't help but dream. That was where I belonged. Up above, drifting with the currents. Playing in the clouds and glorying in the sun.

I heard my sister call me from the house. I was planted until she called again, and then I moved my feet toward the porch. She opened the door to me. She took my hand and led me to the table. There were sweet potatoes, buttered, with salt in a pile beside them. I sat in front of one and waited for my sister to say grace.

The orange flesh dissolved in my mouth. It tasted like the breeze. My sister talked about the work her husband was doing today. The scant man always left before I was awake, but I liked to listen to him when he returned. He worked in a factory, and he always had a story to share.

It was night. The frogs and crickets sang. The wind still drummed the trees. My sister and her husband listened to the radio. I laid on my bed and I stared out the window. I saw the moon and I let it bathe me with light. I felt a sting in my heart.

I curled out of my sheets like a cocoon. The clouds faced the sun so that my bedroom was shaded. I found my sister sitting beside me, napping.

I crawled out of the window and I flew up. The sky was more beautiful from here. I watched my sister stir.

The light rested on my face. I glided over the trees, and I followed the waves of grass. I dipped down to smell a yellow flower. I hummed as I ran my hand through a cloud.

I splashed in a lake and the ripples tickled my feet. I watched the fishes dart. I was hungry, so I wondered where I might eat. I searched above the clouds, but there was nothing save the birds and the sunlight.

I swam in the sky until I was weak. The hunger ate at my mind. I fell to the ground, and I wasn't able to lift myself up. I rolled onto my back to gaze up at the sun. I begged it for sustenance. I closed my eyes, if just for one moment.

Written by Sophie Kirschner