"What exactly are you doing up there?" someone commented from below and Aileana jolted out of her visions to see a woman who is halfway up the wall. She climbed deftly like a cat and perched herself beside Aileana.
"Nothing, just admiring the end of the cloud."
"So I can safely assume you're new here," the girl who was about the same age as her comments, fanning out her sleek black hair that fluttered in the winds like a curtain of silk.
"Yes. Do you come here often?" Aileana asked.
"I stay nearby," the girl said, her beautiful doe eyes scrunching up a little in a smile. The moonlight beautifully complemented her glowing skin.
"That's beautiful. You can enjoy the view then."
"Not for long," she sighed, before turning to the sea. The edges were now being coloured in kyanite blue, edged with light amethyst.
"Meaning?" Aileana frowned her brows in confusion.
"Do you have a home?" the girl turned her head slightly to her.
"Yes, but I don't have a job to pay the rent," Aileana sighed.
"Me too and that's why we lost a roof over our head. We stay in a tent now," the kohl-lined eyes turned sad.
"You mean there are more of you?"
"Forty-six people exactly. They impoverished us because we don't have anything to contribute to the modern cloud civilization. I hate this wall you know?" she banged her fist against the wall in emphasis. "I wished I could just drop off."
"Incidentally I was imagining this very thing before you turned up."
"You wouldn't have been successful, lady. Believe me. Nobody can jump down from here," the girl now hoisted herself up and hovered her hands in the air, slightly tilting forward. And her hands touched an invisible barrier. It lit up in a million tiny grids of pale blue around her palm and began blinking.
"Damn! That's..."
"An alarm will sound at the cloud-rangers' station if I touch it for some more time," she drew back her hand and grinned, "Basically this cloud is a prison. But it's good for wayward youngsters who'd try to harm themselves in a stupid frenzy of emotions."
"Well, you've got a point there, friend," Aileana extended her hands, "Aileana."
"Miyoko," she shook hands, "I'm glad to meet you."
A silence fell between them as they looked at the fading colours of the sky as the orange globe seemed to yawn over the surface of the sea that was now steel blue.
"But I found a way around this barrier. This can be deactivated from a control centre and believe me, our men have got it rigged. We have a control remote now." Miyoko murmured, out of the blue.
"And why is that?"
"Because we're planning to escape the cloud. You're welcome to join us."
"Escape how?" Aileana's voice faltered.
"Can you see land?" she pointed at a spot in the distance.
Sure enough in the mellow light of the dawn, a green speck was dotting the sea surface.
"That's India. That's our port to anchor."
"You can't just drop off a cloud. We're too high!"
"You're wrong there. This malfunctioned monsoon cloud is an alto cloud precisely at six thousand and forty meters. The Everest Park and its surrounding peaks are at seven thousand and more. If we can just dock our aerial ship for some hours, we could easily get off," Miyoko informed in a matter of fact way.
"So why doesn't this cloud clash with other mountains if it is so low?"
"Because it's propelled away by the controllers." Miyoko took out her phone and dialled a number, muttering something in her native language. Aileana could only make out 'India' in the jumble of words.
"See. I told them and now..."
Miyoko's words were lost in the groaning of huge engines. Aileana watched in awe as their view shifted to a few degrees until they were facing India now. The land seemed to be coming at them faster suddenly.
"Are those..."
"They're the engines you don't hear when you're down on the road. Now in one hour flat, we'll be ready to escape the cloud before the city wakes up."
"But the earth is polluted by radiations. You could die there," Aileana waved her hands frantically in the air.
"You know what? We deserve to lead a free life and survive lavishly. If that means living a few years less than the average or dying of cancer, we all are ready to face it," there was a determination burning behind the brown irises, " And knowing how much of a fraud the government is, I doubt they told the truth about the radiation levels. Higher altitudes like the top mountain ranges are spared a bit from the radiations, though not from the global warming that melted it."
"How do you know such things?" Aileana was baffled.
"Because I'm a geologist and a seismologist. On the clouds, there's no scope to study tectonics and weather. It's all gone now. My years of hard work and education. Drowned in the aftermath of the war."
Aileana had never heard such bitterness in anyone.
Together they climbed down until they were on solid grounds.
"Come, let me show you where we stayed," Miyoko took her hands and dragged her along a narrow side lane to a small space where ten temporary tents were stashed together in a patchwork of coloured tarps and canvas. The place smelt of sweat and human bodies and the unmistakable stench of trash.
"That's so horrible. Nobody should have to live like this," Aileana exclaimed.
"We survived for three months. This will be your future if you can't pay the rent too," Miyoko cocked her head to one side.
"But I'm not ready and I don't have my stuff..."
"We can't wait for you to go back and come here. We're leaving in a large stolen CloudBus. There'll be a ten minutes window where the wall and shield will be down. Ten minutes before the headquarters might try to intervene."
"But..."
"This is an onetime chance. It's your choice."
The words of Miyoko seemed to hit her heart.
"Hey, look at me," Miyoko's voice was now soft. 'Do you have anyone on the cloud?"
"Family?"
Aileana shook her head.
"Friends?"
Two faces flashed before Aileana's eyes but she brushed them off.
"Not really."
"Then, what's holding you back?
"Give me half an hour. I need to think," Aileana stammered.
"Sure. If you change your mind, you know where to find us."
Aileana nodded before abruptly breaking away from Miyoko's touch. It was a permanent choice. She was doing well at school and may someday get a job. Was she ready to risk that future? Her head spun as she walked the streets aimlessly.
The pink hue of the dawn, kissed the top of the silent buildings, as if showing a new ray of hope. Aileana, however, was plainly confused and conflicted as she wandered further away from the edge.