A Day in the Clouds (Chapter 21) - The Hours Between 0100 and 0200 (Part 2 of 2)

in #fiction7 years ago (edited)

This is a continuation of the Steemit-exclusive, original novel A Day in the Clouds. Be sure to check out the previous chapters to catch up with the story. Enjoy!


<< Chapter 21 (Part 1)


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The multi-talented @verbal-d (who, by the way, edited this chapter) has bestowed ... wait, you know what? Let's shake things up a bit. This time, read the chapter as is first. Take it all in and enjoy! :D

It was already nighttime when I located where my family was. They huddled together around a campfire. It was a cold night, far colder than the top of the Andes.

    "Hello there," I greeted, as I walked toward the empty space in the huddle." Have you guys already eaten? I saw when I passed the town square, they had prepared a—"

    "Prepared what son?" my father asked.

I was speechless. As soon as the flames illuminated my surrounding, I was surprised at what I saw. It was something that I couldn't have prepared for. Its authenticity was something I continued to question. The faces of my family ... resembled that of the giants!

My mouth was left agape. The sight knocked me back from my seat. I rubbed my eyes, hoping that it was a trick of the flames, but, to my horror, I quickly realized that it wasn't.

    "Son," my father continued. "What were you saying? What was prepared in the town square?"

    "W-Who are you guys?" I asked, trembling. The voices were of my family's, but the faces were of my captors. But, they weren't gigantic. They were of the same proportion as me, as with my family. It was like a twisted joke that went on for far too long that it lost its hilarity.

    "What are you talking about?" my mother, who looked strikingly like Mamie, inquired. "I told you not to exhaust yourself during your practice flights."

    "He must've inhaled too much cloud," my older sister teased. She looked remarkably like Teten, but slightly smaller. "Learn to breathe out whatever you take in, Ledd."

My grandmother looked at me silently as she was caressing my little brother. The two of them looked exactly the same as Lowla and Eddie.

    "Are you alright?" my father probed, walking towards me. He put his hand across my forehead, then furrowed his eyebrows. "Well, you're not burning up, so I'm not quite sure what ... What is going on with you, son?"

    "N-Nothing," I stuttered. "I, uh ... I think I inhaled too much cloud that's why I'm light-headed, like Teten said. I mean, wait, no! Like what my older sister said, yeah. My older sister."

    "Here, relax, son," my mother requested. She sat beside me, grabbed me by my chin and rested my head on her chest. Her chin sat lightly on the side of my head, as she hummed a soothing tune, right before she placed her lips on it. "I'll send healing viento your way."

    "N-No there's ... There's no need for that, I'm fine. I ... I'm perfectly alright."

The embrace was warm and familiar. If only I didn't see the giants' faces on my family, I would've been totally at ease.

    "Are you sure?" my father asked worriedly. He walked behind me and rested both of his hands on my shoulders. "If you're going through something, whatever it is, you know that you can confide in us, right?"

    "Y-Yes, I ... I know. It's just that ... I'm alright, but I don't ... I'm not quite sure what's happening to me. It must be exhaustion like mother said. Maybe I should just ... sleep this off."

    "What were you saying earlier though?" my sister inquired. "About the town square."

    "Oh, well ... They have this big feast set up there. Strung up lights, big banquet, like a full-on fiesta."

    "It's for the Festival of Whispers." my mother exclaimed. "Don't you remember?"

    "Festival of ... Was that today?"

    "Oh Bathala, it is!" my mother followed. She stood up and wrested control of my little brother. "I've lost track of time. I thought they wouldn't be ready for hours."

My father helped my grandmother up, and my sister woke my sleeping grandfather. The campfire wood crackled, and the flame started to dim. They unfurled their wings and set their sights toward the town center.

    "Let's go," my father urged.

    "I-I ... I'll catch up," I replied. "I just ... I just need to get some air."

    "Are you sure? I'm more than willing to keep you company."

    "No, you go right ahead. I don't want to keep you from the feast."

With the wave of their fingers, they lifted themselves up. They kicked off a gust of wind, extinguishing the campfire. My little brother rested his head on our mother's right shoulder, and he looked at me as they departed.

I sat alone in the dark, with only my thoughts to accompany me. This was not the encounter that I had expected, but strangely, I felt at ease when I was around them. I spent a few moments silently contemplating why it was so.

Did they always look like that? How was I so certain that they were my family? More importantly, who were the supposed giants I was comparing their faces to?

Lying on my back, I pulled back my hair with both of my hands and I let out an exasperated sigh. Thoughts raced in every direction, conflicting and colliding with one another. Who were those giants that I was referring to? Who were those people huddled around the campfire?

Was this an illusion of my old life that resulted from the giants' mind manipulation? Or, was my whole time in the prison just an elaborate nightmare?

I know that my family was real, how else could I have been born? My friends were all real, I could remember all our conversations even back when we were infants. However, the giants ... The giants felt real as well. The other prisoners Teten, Ayesa ... They were all real. I remember them all.

Were the visions of the prison a foreshadowing of things to come. Or, was I, in fact, living in the future after I've liberated the prison? No, it couldn't be. My village, I remember the giants razing my village during the ... No, it couldn't be!

I sprung to my feet just as soon as I heard a loud grumble from the distance. Faint memories started to become more concrete. The giants had caught us off-guard while we were celebrating the festival. Was I just recalling events from my past or was I reliving it? It couldn't be. Could it?

Did I find myself sent back in time to right the wrongs of the past? Was I sent back to the very start of the Great War? Perhaps this was the effect of my prolonged use of the fown.

There were more questions and thoughts that raced through my mind. But, at that moment, only one thing mattered. I unfurled my wings, and kicked myself off the ground. Perching on the highest branch I could find, I focused on where I needed to go. I steadied my balance before I made a beeline towards the town square. Now that I've found my target, the only thing left for me to do was to leap with all the might I could muster.


Instead of listening to Sliver's Edge, take a listen to another one of @verbal-d's tracks immediately after reading, and get pumped for the next chapter.

If it needs to be said, go on and vote for @verbal-d's latest entries. You can also check out his alternate account @peacemaker for more diverse content. While you're at it, take the time to support these posts from other spectacular Steemians:

If you have any posts you want to advertise, feel free to leave your thoughts about the chapter on the comments section here, then sneak in a link to the post you want to promote. I love giving support back, so I'm more than willing to showcase other people's posts :D

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<< Chapter 21 (Part 1)


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Ah now, see, to me it makes perfect sense. In his dreams, his deep knowingness, which his condition stops him from accessing while awake, can finally communicate with him. It's trying to let him know that the giants are really his family. Great twist, my friend!

Right on the money, my friend!! Let's not spoil it for Ledd though, shhh.. I really want him to realize that on his own so that there won't be any pushback haha! Makes you question who Ledd's real enemy is.. I wonder if that will be answered in the next chapter hmm.. I don't .. I don't know. Do I? Will it be answered!? Dun dun dunnnn we shall see. We shall see :D

Thanks for stopping by, my friend. Ever so perceptive! ;)

We shall see indeed. From a literary perspective, it could go either way...

It's good to know that I could still throw a curve ball even to the most eagle-eyed of readers haha! I guess my approach of writing events that I don't even anticipate myself helped here.

Nice to be able to surprise even yourself.

Haha yeah, it's like I map about everything that I would anticipate, then I would try to think of things that I won't normally right but is still plausible and fits well with the story. Lots of experimentation for sure. Everything written here is deliberate.

My friend, I loved this chapter. Also I touch me very closely, because I live very close to the Andes mountain range. And my mother lives a few meters from the pre-Andes mountain range. It is one of my places in the world. I hope you ever have the opportunity to visit me and have a good "asado" by the river. I leave you a picture of my mother.
18057848_1588527097854731_706328257202817620_n.jpg

Have a great sunday my friend!

Oh, man, that looks so majestic!! :O I can't believe it's the exact mountain range where this chapter occurred in! If only this made it to morning time SILVER LININGs this would definitely be the background!

My eyes welled up when I saw the peaks, thank you for that, my friend. And yes, I'm very much looking forward to sharing some carne asada with you in the future, amigo!

Yeah! When I read "Los Andes" I almost fell out of the chair, because if I go outside I can see that mountain range. And from where my mother lives, it is in full pre-mountain range.

The "Asado" of Argentina is something that you have to eat before you die, so when you come you will eat that delight.

Yeah! That's fate in action right there. Of all the places in the world, heck I could've just invented a fictional mountain range, it had to be the Andes! What are the odds!? :D

I've already listed that in my bucket list, and my stomach is already looking forward to eating that, my friend :D

Fantastic work, @my jedau!

Man, the family resembling the giants faces part ran chills down my spine. The world of dreams can be every bit as terrifying as it can be glorious. It's a helter-skelter ride for our poor Ledd but utterly intriguing at the same time.

Again, great descriptions by yourself really make the reader feel they are travelling with Ledd himself and experiencing everything he does. Awe-inspiring stuff! Just goes to show what an expert you are in the world of literature. Excellent part, awesome @jedau! :)

I'm just glad that I'm able to send chills down your spine, brother! Everything you just said to me, I could say the same about you! I'm glad we're able to mirror each other like this. Warms my heart to find a literary (and literally) kindred spirit!

I don't want to say too much because I don't want to give anything away, but this and the next chapter are my favorites of the series, so I'm glad that some people agree with it. Thanks for stopping by, brother!

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Again? Wow! I'm on a roll :D Nice touch on the notifications.

Wow, this was so cool. It's exactly the way dreams are, the way they jumble things together, him seeing the faces of his parents in this life on the faces of his parents from the life he longs for. I have to tell you that it makes me feel so sad for him, as I imagine what it would be like to remember a past life of people I loved fiercely and so vividly that the life I'm living now would seem like a bad dream, that I was ripped away from the people and places of my heart.
Beautifully executed, I loved every bit of this.
So thoughtful of you to include others and links to their stories at the end of yours, what an excellent idea.

Right? Haha! You like it? :) This and the next are probably tied as my favorite chapters in this series. It's so strange that they happened to be dream sequences. I guess because I was given room to just run wild with it. These two chapters really felt like they were a story within a story, and since I wrote this for NaNoWriMo, it was a nice break from the tiring marathon that is a serial story haha

I included Chapter One of Reborn, I hope you don't mind. I want people to start from the beginning and not just read the latest without any context. You know, if I could I would totally just reference all my friends' stories every time. I've done it quite a few times, I don't know if you remember. I just don't want it to be sort of a regular thin because others might just ignore it thinking it's the same thing over and over again.

Thanks for the kind words, sister! I always look forward to reading your comments about the chapters :D

I'm always impressed by the volume of your work. And cheers to the mentions of other people's posts. You're one of those that we are all rooting for. All the best to you jedau :)

Aww, man, that's so nice of you to say :') Thank you, man! I really appreciate that! I hope you enjoyed reading, I really did gave every chapter of this story my all. I really like giving people their due, and I really enjoy supporting people who return the support :D

Indeed. I always vote for your work. Sorry I no comment more often. I have respect for fellow artists, especially writers. I liked the dialogue in this one, it's like a good one act play.

Thanks, man. I appreciate it! I wish you would comment, even just to say that you voted so I would know :) Thanks for the kind words. This and the next chapter are my favorite ones of the series. It feels great for my effort to be appreciated :D

You've got talent. Very descriptive writing and a compelling storyline. I liked it. :)

Thank you for that kind compliment, @stephmckenzie! I hope you get the chance to read from the beginning. Even though it's 21 chapters in, it's not that long. Since it's linear, it would really help if you knew the whole story. Excited to hear your thoughts if ever you find the time to read everything :D

Congratulations for another brilliant work my dear friend @jedau, erradias por poros the talent that you possess, what a pleasure it has given me to know you, you will be a big man and fill me with pride, heberte known in this instance.
Thank you so much for this beautiful gift, have a beautiful day.

Awww that's so nice, my friend! Thank you for the kind words, and for the taking the time to leave them here. I really appreciate you always taking the time to stop by. Warms my heart to no end :D

Ahh the confused looks and explaining I had to do when I noticed more feed items and reloaded the page and exclaimed out loud (because I was in the middle of talking to myself anyway) YAY MORE DAY IN THE CLOUDS XD well the kids are used to me having extended conversations with myself, my inlaws are still getting used to it XD

Ledd must be hella confused if he's failing to remember his older sister's name XD And it's really cool how confusing it is for everyone (both Ledd and the reader) whether Ledd has just experienced a prophetic dream or has been sent back in time by the unexpectedly powerful fown or if the prison time was an incredibly realistic dream. The entire chapter is like one giant cliffhanger, just as you think you're going to get some answers MORE QUESTIONS and then we have to sit around waiting impatiently for the next round XD How did you even manage to make the entire chapter a cliffhanger seriously usually it's like the last paragraph, that's some mad writing skills right there XP

Not that I haven't liked any of the preceding chapters but I really like this one in particular for that overarching feeling of sheer confusion while still managing to keep everything comprehensible. Did that make any sense? XD

What the!! I knew I replied to this! I don't know where it went! :O Man, I'm not sure how this got lost in everything, this has got to be one of the top comments that the story as a whole has received!!

I guess you know more about it by now, but yeah haha is it a memory, a dream or was the whole prison in fact the dream, hallucination or prophetic vision? Who knows? Do I even know? Wait, I already did that bit haha!

You have to admit, fowns are quite powerful. They have the power to make people forget their surroundings, but also have the ability to communicate long distances. It's such a strange device whose origins have been lost in time.

Shoot... I keep trying to remember what I replied before, but it's turning out less impassioned than the original. I'm sorry about that, my friend :( I remember commenting about what you said regarding a giant cliffhanger. Yes, I did see what you did there :D I took special care in crafting a cliffhanger of a chapter, so I'm glad that someone noticed that. Ever so perceptive, you!

If I were to rank all the chapters, this has got to be my 2nd favorite. But, in terms of experimentation, I have to admit this is battling for the top spot. Thank you for commenting on this, definitely one of the top comments for the entire series like I mentioned earlier. I apologize if it seemed like I totally ignored it!!

No wuckers, might have been in a tab that you closed accidentally or something, or maybe it got answered and something's glitched in the back end (unlikely I know but anything is possible) and we didn't notice because our conversations tend to span completely different threads XD

It was an awesome chapter :)

Couldn't have been. I remember hitting the submit button on it. If it was just an accidentally closed tab, it should've still been in the drafts. I think I got the gist of it though. I wouldn't have noticed that if I didn't check the evenness of the comments on my posts hahaha!

Oh how curious o_O

I find it amusing that you check the even-ness of your post comments, guess that's one way to make sure you've answered everyone XD You do have extended conversations with other people right, I'm not the only one that destroys the neatness with inane rambling? :D

Oh no no no. The beauty of my comments section lies in the fact that all comments feel like posts unto itself. I feel so honored to know people who converse like crazy haha! I wouldn't have it any other way :D

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