The Sheep Made of Mist

Chapter 1: When the Lamps Went Low

The day had been long, and now it was folding itself up like a blanket. In ⟨home⟩, the lamps were low, and ⟨Character 1⟩ and ⟨Character 2⟩ were listening to the house settle.

First there was ⟨Character 1⟩, a ⟨age⟩-year-old ⟨role⟩ who was born in ⟨birthplace⟩, now lives in ⟨home⟩, and loves ⟨favourite thing⟩. Tonight they were already half asleep, the way you are when the day has been full and kind.

There was also ⟨Character 2⟩, a ⟨age⟩-year-old ⟨role⟩ who was born in ⟨birthplace⟩, now lives in ⟨home⟩, and loves ⟨favourite thing⟩. They said, very softly, "Can you hear that?"

The glass had gone soft with light. The moon shining up through the clouds from below rested there, and the soft creak of the balloon basket seemed to be asking, very gently, to come in.

⟨Character 1⟩ opened the window just a little. The air smelled of fresh laundry and warm milk. "Just for a moment," they whispered, and the moment agreed to be a long one.

Chapter 2: How the Journey Began

And so a hot-air balloon the colour of a peach that bumped gently against the window. ⟨Character 2⟩ went first, and the others followed, tucking blankets around their knees.

The journey was smooth and very slow. Below them passed a rainbow folded up for the night, and above them geese flying home in a loose letter V, and nobody felt the need to say anything at all.

Waiting at the edge of the Cloud Meadows was Wisp, a sheep made entirely of mist. Wisp's voice was fluffy and slow, like a pillow would sound if it could talk. "You came," said Wisp. "I was hoping you would."

⟨Character 1⟩ walked beside Wisp and listened to the soft creak of the balloon basket. Each step felt softer than the one before, as if the ground were made of pillows.

⟨Character 2⟩ walked a little behind, counting the lights. They lost count at eleven, which is a very good number to lose count at.

Chapter 3: A Small Kindness

Not everything in the Cloud Meadows was asleep. From just off the path came a tiny, anxious sound, like a question nobody had answered.

It was a small raindrop. It was afraid to fall because it did not know where it would land. ⟨Character 1⟩ knelt down so as not to seem too tall, and said, "Hello. We can help, if you like."

"Follow me," said ⟨Character 2⟩, who have a knack for finding things. They went slowly, so that a small raindrop could keep up.

They walked together, a small raindrop in the middle, until the path opened and there, waiting, was its family. There was a great deal of quiet rejoicing, which is the best kind.

Wisp nodded slowly. "Kindness is the quietest magic," it said, "and it works best after dark." ⟨Character 1⟩ thought about that for a long time.

Chapter 4: A Rest Along the Way

"Let's rest here," said Wisp, and they did. The ground was soft and the air smelled of fresh laundry and warm milk.

⟨Character 2⟩ began to count soft things. One: a flock of sleepy cloud-sheep. Two: the sound of the soft creak of the balloon basket. Three: their own slow breathing. By four, they had forgotten what counting was for.

⟨Character 1⟩ lay nearby, not quite asleep, listening to the balloon rose and sank, rose and sank, like a chest breathing slowly. It was a very good sound to listen to. It did not want anything from anyone.

Chapter 5: The Quiet Gift

At last they came to the very heart of the Cloud Meadows. Here even the soft creak of the balloon basket was softer, as if it were tiptoeing.

⟨Character 2⟩ saw it first: a pillow stuffed with the quietest cloud in the kingdom. "Is it for us?" they asked. "It is for anyone who is quiet enough to find it," said Wisp.

⟨Character 1⟩ asked if they could stay. "You can take it with you," said Wisp kindly. "That is the point of it. Clouds are only rivers that have learned to float."

They sat with it for a while. Around them the balloon rose and sank, rose and sank, like a chest breathing slowly. Nobody wanted to be anywhere else, and nobody had to be.

Chapter 6: Back to the Pillow

"It is time," said Wisp, in a voice fluffy and slow, like a pillow would sound if it could talk. Nobody minded. The best part of going somewhere is the part where you come home sleepy.

⟨Character 2⟩ closed their eyes, just to see what it felt like. It felt like fresh laundry and warm milk, and like floating, and like being exactly where they should be.

⟨Character 2⟩ was already asleep, one hand still holding the edge of the blanket. ⟨Character 1⟩ tucked it in a little closer, the way you do.

The window clicked shut by itself. The room was just as they had left it, except that it was now full of the particular quiet that follows a very good night.

The balloon rose and sank, rose and sank, like a chest breathing slowly. And ⟨Character 1⟩ and ⟨Character 2⟩ slept. And slept. And slept. Goodnight.