When the Cloud Came Down for a Nap

Nemi went out to find her watering can.

She found a cloud instead.

It had come down among the lavender and was folding itself into a very tired heap.

'Are you lost?' she asked.

The cloud gave a sigh like leaves being turned.

'A nap,' it whispered.

That seemed a reasonable thing to want.

Nemi brushed the bench with her sleeve.

The cloud drifted onto it.

In a moment it was dripping through the slats.

'Oh,' said Nemi. 'Not that sort of tired.'

The stone wall looked broad and comfortable.

But the sun had warmed it.

The cloud grew thinner at the edges.

Nemi waved it toward the shade.

Beneath the rose arch, the cloud caught on every twig.

Not painfully. Untidily.

Little wisps stayed behind when it moved.

Nemi waited for them to catch up.

She brought a garden cushion.

The cloud hovered over it and shook itself.

The cushion grew damp.

Nemi took it away before it became a very small pond.

Nemi sat on the path.

The cloud drifted beside her.

She stopped offering things for a while.

A dragonfly skimmed past, low and blue.

The cloud leaned after the dragonfly.

Beyond the lavender, the little pool lay in shadow.

A cool shimmer rose from it.

Nemi stood up slowly.

She moved the watering can from the pool's edge.

The cloud spread itself above the water.

No slats. No warm stones. No twigs.

Its edges went very still.

Nemi sat beside the pool.

When a leaf floated underneath the cloud, she let it pass.

When a bee came, she watched it go.

There was almost nothing she needed to do.

After a while, the cloud lifted.

It was rounder now, and rather pink in the light.

'Thank you,' it whispered.

It climbed over the rose arch without leaving a wisp behind.

The pool was empty of cloud.

A few bright drops remained on the lavender.

Nemi found her watering can exactly where she had put it.

She left the place beside the pool clear.