In The Clouds

This is a short story I finished this week, and just wanted to share. Wondering if anyone had any thoughts on it, since I'm new here. I hope you enjoy it.


“I wish that I could save the world.”

It would seem that she was being irrational, but this was all she knew, Audrey.

“Yeah?” I knew this was all she needed to start. She jumped up from the blanket we had spread out on the front porch of the Yearling mansion, where we had been lying all afternoon.

“Think about it- we’d just need to recruit people. We could travel, live off of donations. We’d start right here, in the States.”

I put my hands behind my head and watched her as she climbed onto the chipped and peeling white railing. Her green dress waved in the breeze, her dark brown hair flowed around her. She balanced easily as she walked across the wood, stopped when she reached the first pillar.

“There’s a lot of hungry and homeless people here, Audrey. There are people already trying to help.”

She shook her head. “Not enough people. Most people just want to make themselves look good by helping. Soup kitchens and homeless shelters- they’re all ran by people that want to look good. I want to actually care about helping others. Everyone should.”

“Yes, but not everyone does.” I rolled over onto my side, resting on my elbow. “You can’t force people to give up time and money to help others.”

“I think they should be forced!" she exclaimed, looking offended. "Especially the rich people. They don themselves with diamonds and rubies and pearls so easily, driving their expensive cars and throwing those extravagant parties. What about the people that can’t even afford a pair of shoes? Or breakfast in the morning? What about the single moms with three kids that lost their jobs and houses?” She threw her hands into the air, as if frustrated with the very idea of people not caring about one another.

“Why not single dads? They need help, too.” I winked at her, and she put down her arms and gave me a knowing smile.

“You know what I mean, Jack.” She wrapped her arms around the pillar and crossed one leg after the other around it, until she was on the other side. She spread her arms out, balancing as she continued on. “We could get the needy to help us, too. They could work with us. We’d provide a place to sleep, and food to eat, and they would just have to work in the kitchens, or sorting clothing, or distributing the canned food!”

“Sounds great. When do we start?” I continued to gaze up at her, inspired by her out of the blue speech.

“I wish tomorrow.” Her face fell at the realization that she probably wouldn't be starting it the next day.

“Well, until you can actually do that, start slowly.”

She put her hands on her hips and looked down at me. “How should I do that?”

I reached my hands up towards her, clasping and unclasping my hands. “You could start by helping me up. I feel so old!”

Audrey laughed, then gracefully jumped off the railing and pulled me to my feet. “You’re not old. You’re only 19!”

“19 going on 50! You see the hard work I do during the day.” I brushed my carpenter pants off and straightened my blue-checkered button-up shirt. Audrey helped by untucking my shirt in the back.

“Sure I have. I’ve seen you eat sandwiches, and scratch your head, and wander around the work site. That is hard work.” She smiled again. It was dazzling, with her hair blowing around her face, and her green tank dress billowing, and her emerald eyes full of laughter.

"Hey now, you try to pack away three sandwiches! It makes for a hard afternoon! Bet you couldn’t eat just one!” I patted my stomach, and she laughed at me.

“Not stuffed with everything you put on it! Onions and peanut butter.” Audrey made a face at me with her tongue sticking out.

“I make do with what I have, ok? Besides, they complement each other well.”

She danced down the steps and skipped down the path, which was long overdue for weeding. I followed her down the path, watching her feet tap the stones delicately as she farther ahead of me. She stopped at the end, and looked up at the grand old Victorian house. It had once been a buttercup yellow, but years had faded it down to a sickly looking white, and there were large sections that were peeling off. It had been empty since I could remember.

“Can you imagine what this must have looked like when it was just built?” she asked dreamily. “Probably like a fantasy. I wonder who lived here.”

“I can imagine how hard it must have been to built, that’s for sure. Even the one stories we work on take a lot out of me.” I walked slowly towards her, scuffing the toe of my work boots as I went.

“I wonder if they were rich? I mean, what if they just inherited the house, but couldn’t afford the maintenance? Maybe the girls were dancers.” She did a pirouette before hopping onto the lawn, which was mostly yellowed grass and weeds. “The lawn must have been so lovely back then.” She spread her arms out and twirled in a circle, as if imagining the yard being covered with thick green grass.

“Where do you get your imagination, Audrey?” I grinned at her as she danced her way across the yard. I really didn’t get it. Her father was a podiatrist, and her mother stayed at home, taking care of neighbor kids and her own. Both were very down-to-earth and straightforward; not imaginative at all.

“Mom says I’m just a silly girl. Dad says I get it from his mom, Grandma Weathers. She was a writer and a painter, but died when my dad was still in high school. I’ve seen some pictures of her, though. She was very pretty.”

You must take after her, I thought to myself. Audrey finally collapsed on the lawn and lay back, staring up at the sky. It was almost azure, so deep in color. The clouds were full and shapely across the sky, hiding the sun in short intervals. I joined her in the grass, sitting beside her. I picked at the dried grass, dragging a piece over my boots. When I looked over at her, she had her eyes closed. That usually meant she was deep in thought or dreaming up another wild plan, like saving the rain forests.

I lay back with her, and stared up at the clouds, waiting for her to break the silence. Even though she was fanatical and zealous, I loved her. Her ideas were sometimes outrageous, but she believed in the impossible, and it made me believe in it, too.

“What do you see?” Audrey asked suddenly. I realized she was looking up at the clouds as well.

“I see,” I started, but paused. What did I see? I saw the shape of two heads. I saw their noses; I saw long hair on one, and the eyes on the other. I saw two mouths, and the necks were twisting, as if towards each other.

“Yes?” she pushed me on. “And what else?”

I see me and you, lying here, and I see me leaning over to kiss you. And I see you kissing me back. I smiled, and turned my face towards her.

“I see us.”

“Us?”

I nodded, pointing, trying to outline the heads before they drifted away. “There, the one with the wisps behind it is you, with your wild hair. And me, with the big nose.”

She giggled. “Your nose isn’t big.

“And that is us, looking down as we’re looking up.”

I could tell she was waiting for me to say more, but I didn’t. I was content, and I was sure.

I was sure one day, I would lean over Audrey, and kiss her so deeply that maybe I’d be contaminated with some of her passion and imagination, and we could create our own dream world. And we’d start by fixing the Yearling mansion, and then save the world, just like she wanted.