The Little Boy and the Magic Clouds
By: Jocelyn Soriano
Tags: Children, Childrens Books, Fiction, Creative Writing, Short Story

The little boy and the firefly were trying to decide where to go next when they saw something that really caught their attention. While from far away, they thought they were heading for a group of trees, they quickly realized they were gazing at something else. For instead of trees, there were green clouds gathered, some merely an inch above the ground, some as low as a bush, and some as high as real trees would be!

“Are these real?” the boy asked.

“I–I think so,” the firefly replied as he flew in and out of the clouds.

“They look like cotton candies!” the boy exclaimed as he tried to touch the clouds. “They feel different though.”

Walking through the clouds reminded the boy of a dream he once had. In his dream, however, he flew above the clouds. Here, he could only run and jump and walk around as he tried to kick the clouds around him. It wasn’t easy though. His feet would often just go through the clouds and they would barely move at all. Sometimes, his momentum would be enough to move the clouds as though a gust of wind has just blown them away.

The little boy and the firefly had a lot of fun while playing with the clouds. Soon they discovered they could somehow make all kinds of shapes using the clouds. They made clouds that looked like cats, birds, dogs, pigs, and even elephants!

As they played and ran along however, they soon saw a different type of cloud. Instead of being green, these clouds were yellow. Instead of being as thin as cotton candies, they were almost as thick as wool.

In the middle of these clouds, the little boy and the firefly saw something like a man. Well, what seemed like a man. They couldn’t see his head though, because it was covered by a cloud. What’s odd however was not that his head couldn’t be seen; what’s odd was that his arms and legs were so thin they almost looked liked the bones of a skeleton still wearing its skin.

“Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” the little boy asked.

“Uh–huh,” the firefly replied.

The little boy and the firefly quietly sat in front of the man as they tried to observe him better. To their surprise, however, the man suddenly moved his head out of the cloud and saw them both!

“Who are you?” asked the thin man.

“Well, he is Ben. And I’m–I’m afraid I can’t tell you who I am because I have no name,” the boy said.

“No name? Well, Mr. No Name, would you like to eat?”

When the boy nodded, the man said, “If you want some food, just put your hand inside the yellow cloud nearest you. Imagine any food you like and then pull out your hand from the cloud.”

“Really? That’s all?” asked the boy.

“Why, yes! How much more difficult should it be?” the man said as he put his head back inside the cloud.

“Well, here goes nothing,” said the boy. He looked for a suitable cloud and pulled one near him. As instructed, he put his hand inside the cloud and tried to imagine something he wanted to eat. “Give me fried chicken!” Not knowing whether it worked or not, he pulled out his hand from the cloud and he saw that he held a very crispy and juicy fried chicken. For a while, tears could be seen gleaming in his eyes, for there, right before him was a chicken the looked so much like the ones his mother used to cook for him.

“It’s true!” the firefly rejoiced and quickly imitated what the boy did. He tried to imagine the most delectable nectar he could think of and pulled out the most scrumptious food he has ever tasted in his life.

The boy and the firefly imagined all the food they could possibly think about and had a real feast that day. There were chocolate cakes and strawberry cakes. There were apples and oranges and bananas. There were all kinds of bread and cheese. There were eggs and bacon and sausages. The cloud never ran out of food!

“I’m full, I mean really full,” said the boy as he happily rubbed his belly.

“Same here,” said the firefly who grew so heavy he almost couldn’t fly.

“Full already?” the thin man suddenly spoke again from behind the yellow cloud.

“Yes, thank you,” said the boy. “I’ve never eaten so much in my whole life!”

“Would you like some more?” asked the man, now moving his head out of the cloud again.

“I’m afraid I can’t,” refused the boy. “Even if I still want to, my stomach can’t take it anymore.”

“My, that’s where we’re different!” exclaimed the man. “You see, I’m really good at eating. I never get full.”

“Really? Even after you eat all day?” asked the boy.

“Even after you eat all night?” asked the firefly.

The thin man nodded. “Even after I eat all day and all night.”

“That’s amazing!” the boy and the firefly exclaimed.

“I’m really glad we’ve met you today,” said the boy. “Because of you and your yellow clouds, I remembered how it felt like to be full again. And I remembered the fried chicken Mom used to cook for me.”

“You’re welcome,” the man replied.

“Is it possible though, if we could take even a small cloud with us so we could always have food wherever we go?” the boy asked.

“I’m so sorry, little boy. But you cannot take the yellow clouds away with you. They would only vanish when they come too far. But if you wish, you could stay here and eat any kind of food you want.”

“Oh, I see,” the boy replied, rather disappointed at the thought. “It’s really tempting to stay and never go hungry again, but I think I still need to find out what I’m good at doing.”

“But don’t you want to be good at eating like me?” asked the man. “If you stay, you could become like me. Wouldn’t you like to eat more and more food each day?”

“Really?” it was the firefly who replied.

“Thank you again,” the boy said. “But I can’t imagine how life would be like if I couldn’t do anything but eat all day and all night. I’m so sorry, but don’t you also want to do something else?”

To this, the thin man wasn’t able to reply so quickly. For a long time, he tried to convince himself that he was content. For a long time, he tried to ignore another kind of hunger within him, a hunger that could never be satisfied no matter how much he ate.

“I’d like to show you something,” the man said at last as he tried to lift his shirt up.

The boy and the firefly gasped. They couldn’t believe what they just saw: instead of a stomach, there was a large hole in the middle of the man’s body, a hole big enough for both of your hands to pass through!

“I can’t get full because I lost my stomach. No matter how much I ate, I’m still hungry. I was always eating, but I was never satisfied.”

“I’m so sorry,” was all that the boy could say.

“It’s alright,” the man said. “I forgot why I could never be full. You reminded me of what I lack. Sometimes, it’s the right place to begin.”

“Begin what?” the boy asked.

“The right place to begin looking for what you need to find.”