The Cloud Giant

Setting myself a challenge to write for 20 minutes, every day (ish). I’m not allowed to edit anything, unless it’s a typo. It might not always be fiction, nor might it be any good. I also cannot guarantee that it will continue past this post, but *sings wrong lyrics off-key* I’ll do it myyyy waaaay.

Today’s words are sponsored by the clouds I saw on my flight home from Edinburgh, probably somewhere high above France or The Netherlands.

Anna clambered up the mountain, clinging to rough granite all the way. The cold wind howled in her ears and whipped her cheeks, the kind of wind that makes it difficult to breathe. If she could just get to the next ledge, she would surely be able to find the path again. 

By swinging her leg up and onto the ledge, Anna was able to heave herself onto a small platform – no more than a foot wide. Carefully, she managed to stand up and edge along the platform towards the South side of the Black Mountain. She was above the clouds now, and could see the sun to the West – a welcome pool of warmth dabbing at her cheeks. 

She could see a rather odd-shaped cloud not too far in the distance. It looked almost like a man, but with an impossibly long neck, a round pot belly and large ears. An amused smirk flashed across her face, as she watched the comical cloud change shape as if it were rolling over. But her smile faltered, and her eyes narrowed. The cloud was morphing quickly, rolling around and wriggling. None of the other clouds this high up were moving at all. She watched in awe as the clouds fell apart, revealing a long, stretching arm and then, quite suddenly, up sat a rather tired giant. 

He rubbed his eyes and yawned, stretching some more. The strands of cotton clouds fell off him like old cobwebs. He stretched his neck, moving his head this way and that and sat for quite some time, looking straight ahead at the Black Mountain. 

Pressing her back tight against the rock, Anna shuffled along the ridge, trying to inch away from view. “How well could giants see?” she thought, panicking. “Could it just be the lack of oxygen?” suggested the rational side of her brain, trying to calm her down.