The Cloud Over the Blanket

Chapter 1: A Shadow on the Blanket

The red checked blanket settles over the sunlit grass, and the picnic basket gives off a warm honey smell.

⟨Character 1⟩: ⟨Character 3⟩, you cannot eat berry tarts and climb at the same time. Put one back in the basket, or come down from that branch. ⟨Character 2⟩ is already trying to open the lemonade with his nose, and I have not even set out the plates. You know the rule: no tarts until the blanket is flat and the sandwiches are out.

⟨Character 3⟩: But the tarts are the best part. I can hold one in my teeth and still see the whole meadow. This branch is not even high, just a little wobbly, and I promise not to drop a single crumb. ⟨Character 2⟩ will not get my share, even if he makes his sad eyes.

⟨Character 2⟩: Woof!

⟨Character 1⟩: ⟨Character 2⟩, what are you barking at? The sky is clear except for one small grey cloud. Oh, it is right above our blanket, not moving at all, and its shadow is falling right on the red squares. That is odd. It is much too small to shade a whole picnic.

⟨Character 3⟩: Look, its edge is glowing like a warm red spark. What is that called? I have seen it in the fire at home. Is it a kind of bee that glows, or a little light? The cloud is not sad, it is just sitting there. Maybe it wants to be near our food. But the glow is pretty, like a tiny warm light under its grey belly.

⟨Character 1⟩: We already moved under the oak tree, and it followed us. We moved to the big rock, and it followed us again. Now we are back on the blanket because there is nowhere else flat enough for a picnic. That warm red spark is called an ember. It is the little red fire left after the flames go quiet. Little cloud, what do you want? Why do you keep following us?

⟨Character 3⟩: It will not say. It just let one soft drop fall on ⟨Character 2⟩’s ear, like a sigh. Maybe it does not know how to tell us. Or maybe it is too shy. The drop was warm, not cold like rain. ⟨Character 2⟩ shook his head and now his ear is flopping even more. I think the cloud is still listening. Let’s wait a little, and maybe it will show us what it wants.

Chapter 2: The Invitation

The big rock is warm in the late afternoon sun, and the grey cloud still waits above the red blanket. A few dandelion seeds drift by, and ⟨Character 2⟩ watches them with his one floppy ear up.

⟨Character 1⟩: I opened the umbrella and held it over the blanket, but the cloud lowered itself until it was right under the umbrella with us. It is not trying to stay dry. It wants to be near us, even if it means being where the rain is. The umbrella is useless, because the cloud simply moves closer. I am putting it away. It looked almost pleased with itself, if a cloud can look pleased.

⟨Character 3⟩: I sang my best rain-away song, the one that goes, oh little cloud, please go away, come again another day. It listened for a moment, then it stayed. ⟨Character 2⟩ tried hiding his biscuit behind his back, but the cloud sent one soft drop onto his nose, and ⟨Character 2⟩ is sure it is after our food. The drop made him sneeze, and then he barked twice. The cloud did not move, but it made a soft sighing sound.

⟨Character 1⟩: ⟨Character 2⟩ thinks it wants biscuits, and you think it wants the blanket spot. But look at its edge when the wind parts it. There is a glow there, like an ember. That is not a trick for stealing food. A cloud that glows warm is not angry. When I said that, the cloud drooped a little, as if it heard us. That glow made me feel something warm inside, but I wasn’t sure what.

⟨Character 3⟩: What is an ember? Is it the little red spark left in a fire after the flames have gone quiet? Because if the cloud has an ember inside, then it is warm and small and maybe a little lonely. Perhaps nobody has ever invited it to sit down with them. That would make anyone feel left out. I have felt like that before, when I was not picked for the reading group. It does not answer, but its edge flickers.

⟨Character 1⟩: Yes, an ember is exactly that, the warm red spark left in a fire after the big flames are gone. It glows softly and keeps some heat. You have given me an idea, ⟨Character 3⟩. Someone has to be the one to ask. I hope this is the right thing. I am standing on the stump now, and I am looking up at the cloud. Raincloud, will you come to our picnic?

Chapter 3: Ember Stays

The red blanket is warm under the setting sun, and the little grey cloud settles into one corner like a soft pillow. ⟨Character 2⟩ sniffs at its shadow, then lies down with a sigh.

⟨Character 1⟩: Good, it understood. It is not a rainstorm anymore, just a friend coming to sit with us. ⟨Character 3⟩, will you draw a chalk circle around its place, like we do for our plates? Make it big enough so the cloud knows that whole corner belongs to it. I will set out one berry tart and a cup of lemonade on a plate right in the middle of the circle. It seems to be listening, because it has stopped drizzling completely.

⟨Character 3⟩: I have my chalk stub. A circle with a wavy edge, because the cloud is wavy. There, done. It is like a name tag, but without the name. Now it can see that this spot was made just for it. Do you think it drinks lemonade? It is leaning close to the cup, and the lemonade is turning into a cool mist that smells like lemons and rain. It is giving us shade, too.

⟨Character 1⟩: A small kindness is never wasted. We asked it to join us, and now it is cooling the whole blanket. Look at ⟨Character 2⟩: he is curled right against the cloud’s shadow, and his floppy ear is resting on the red squares. The cloud is not cold at all, it is warm, like a blanket that has been in the sun. I think it likes being included.

⟨Character 3⟩: Then its name is Ember, because its belly still glows like the ember you told me about. The warm red spark that stays after a fire. Ember the raincloud, who only wanted to be asked to a picnic. I never thought a cloud could look happy, but this one does. Its edges are pink now, and it is rumbling softly, like it is purring.

⟨Character 1⟩: Ember is a perfect name. Now we can eat slowly, and listen to that low rumble. There goes a dandelion seed, floating right over the cloud’s back. The sun is dipping low, and Ember’s edge is glowing again, just once more, like a goodnight lamp. I think it is time to lie down. ⟨Character 2⟩ is already asleep, and I am getting sleepy too.

⟨Character 3⟩: I am lying down too, right next to Ember’s shadow. The sky is warm grey, and the air smells like wet grass and lemon. The cloud is as soft as a pillow, but we do not touch it, we just sleep beside it. Goodnight, ⟨Character 1⟩. Goodnight, ⟨Character 2⟩. Goodnight, Ember. The four of us are all here, and nothing is missing.