The Sense of Wonder, Part 1: The Ground Below

Laying on a world of clouds, the small figure of a young girl stared up at the endless blue of the sky.

Such a familiar sight.
A seemingly endlessly floor of clouds stretched out and reached from sun to moon. Her home shone with the elegance and grace of a world basking in sunlight by day and reflecting the glow of the moon by night.

Such a familiar sight.
As was her custom, she walked from horizon to horizon, playing a small ocarina. The music that this instrument played would direct and shape the cloud's forms beneath her, bending them to her delicate whims. As was their custom, so the clouds would dance for the young girl, delighted by the soothing call of her music.

Such a familiar sight.
On this day, however, she composed a new song. As she walked and played her song, the ocarina singing with its familiar voice, the clouds rolled beneath her with her music, obeying the subtle prompts of the notes. On and on she played, and ever faithful the clouds danced for her until the moon rose. The clouds lit up with the glow of the moonlight, softly shifting to the ocarina's music all through the night. As her song neared its close, the sun began to rise. With the advent of the sun's light, the clouds broke open in front of her in response to this new song. Upon the opening of the clouds, she caught a glimpse of something wonderful. 

Beneath her home that she was so accustomed to, the rays of the sun reached down further than her imagination had yet ventured, far below to a realm that she had never set eyes on. Filled with wonder, she gazed down and saw for the first time a world of living creatures, each with their own unique traits, unique styles. As her home drifted silently across the sky, she saw creatures that lived in the water, in the air, and on the ground. She saw plants of all sizes, lakes, streams, mountains, and valleys.

Such a distant dream.

Day after day she would float high above and watch with wonder filling her mind and heart. Such a foreign element...
Such a distant dream.

The sun was just beginning to drop below the mountains far off, laying a soft golden shine to the sky and earth. The rays of the sun flickered and shifted as it drifted its way to sleep as it did every night, slowly...slowly.
Finally, she closed her eyes with thoughts of the realm below. Clouds veiled her, softly keeping out the cold as they rolled around her small frame. Now as sleep steadily crept up and took its hold on her, dreams filled her mind with imaginations of setting foot on the ground.
...
Such a distant dream.

~T