Clouds On Eden

Clouds On Eden: Chapter 1

Phantasmal walls opened up around him as he woke. He found himself standing atop a cloudy block of air. The walls echoed like marble steps would do as he called out while analyzing the ghost-like room. Platforms for his walking materialized in front of him as his mind commanded them too. "Hello!" Hello, His voice bounced off the walls. Further and further away, the deeper he delved into the room, the further his voice ran. A light broke in from the sky blue light above him, and it called out to him. "Fee-Gal-Khoo" He blinked.

The boy awoke gasping for air while a fleeting sense of doom trickled down his spine, "Woah!" He whispered between labored breaths. Another night robbed of sleep, he thought as he rubbed an itch out of his eye. He sat up in his bed, looking out of the small circle framed window to his right. The birds were chirping, and the villagers were busy tilling the fields. A draft carried in the scents of the day from outside the window; the smells of the sun and morning dew were strong. He slept in longer than he had thought. Isis, his younger sister, could have been awake already..

"Isis!" He called out, taking his time out of bed. No response. He grabbed his shorts and slid them on one leg at a time. "You still sleeping?" He thought while pulling a shirt off of his door rack. A draft from the corridor swept past him as he pulled the door open. A light crept out from underneath Isis' room door. "Isis you up?" He called out again as he tip-toed his way to her room, taking care to avoid any unnecessary noise. He knocked on her door in warning before slowly pushing it open. The room was empty. She had done her bed neatly and there didn't seem to be a single item out of place, except her journal, she must have been writing in it before she left. It was open, resting on her pillow, almost as if to invite him to read it. But his conscious wasn't going to allow him to. Well, that and the fear of his little sister's wrath.

"Maybe the kitchen." He decided as he closed the door and moved down the corridor. "Isis, did you make breakfast!" He shouted out to the common area, which was just around the corner of Isis' room. The room was quite a simple room really. It held just enough space for a table and a couple chairs. There was no running water, but they did have a small well, and furnace in the space adjacent to it. A plate had been left on the table with half a sandwich. "Nice, breakfast." The room was empty. She must have made breakfast and left. He walked over to the jam filled loaf and took some rather large bites. There had been a letter under the sandwich, it read:

Asad, I went out to pick daisies I should be back by the time you wake up. Don't worry though! I'll be fine! -Love Isis


"Shit." He thought as he dropped the note and rushed out the door, clapping the breadcrumbs off his hands and heading out for the first time that day.

The rays of the sun were fierce that day, and the clouds seemed agitated. The way they formed as if to bully the sun, a bad omen if Ma ever taught him any. He shielded his eyes as he looked around; he was trying to spot Isis. His neighbor locked eye contact with before twisting her head in a smug fashion. "Rude," Asad thought to himself. Thus was their life. Most villagers treated Isis and him like bad omens. Like they were devils. He walked out onto the dirt path with hopes he would be back later rather than sooner. Isis had always made his days interesting. He let out a sigh and hit the road. "Where do I have to go again?" He asked himself to jog his memory. "Oh yeah, the daisy field." He took a deep breath and began his journey.

Isis loved the daisy field. With a perfect view of the ocean, watching the waves crash on the rocks by the shoreline was perfectly easy. More importantly, it's where Ma's tree was planted. Isis wasn't allowed to go alone, but that never stopped her. She simply loved the night critters and the smell of the daisies too much. While footing it inland, he tried to make small gestures with some of his not-so-friendly neighbors who had been tending to their gardens. They appeared either too busy, or they held something against him. Asad however, was focused on the smell of manure. "It's just poo" Ma always said to him. "It's just poo." Embracing the smell of poo, he walked over to the only friendly neighbor he knew, crossing the green garden to his home. "Hey Mr. Alger, have you seen Isis today? Aydin asked. Mr. Alger lived just a few homes down from his. Out of all the farmlanders, he was the kindest. "Oh! If it isn't Asad!" The old man was always so happy, you could tell by the little smile wrinkles to the side of his eye. "She went off to the inland village a few hours ago, boy. I wanted to stop her but you know how she can be!" He chuckled as he relieved an itch on his baldhead. "Yeah, unfortunately, she just doesn't listen." Aydin laughed along with him before they both arrived at an awkward silence. Who want's to talk to an outcast in public anyway. "Well, thanks anyways Mr. Alger!" He said, waving goodbye as he walked away.