The clouds were impatient as May drew to a close.  The multiple defeats at the hands of the sun in the month of April rankled.  It was time they made a move, the clouds felt. This time they were not going to be beaten. Oh, no, no no, definitely not. They had come better prepared, better equipped.

The clouds chuckled looking with satisfaction at their moisture filled swollen bellies.  The sun stood no chance this time and would have to crown them undisputed rulers of the sky. The prayers of the people were also with them now. Not that it did the clouds any good in their quest of lording the skies.

The clouds knew that their success depended solely on their own concerted efforts which was why they paid scant attention to the chants coming from puny humans on the earth below. Instead, they studied the sun for weaknesses, looked at the earth to corroborate facts, listened keenly to the wind to find which way it blew.

One could never tell when it came to the wind. One day the wind would side with the sun and push them, the clouds, far away, or scatter them mercilessly into bits here and there. The clouds then had to start from scratch, pick up pieces from all over the vast sky and knit themselves together into one huge whole.

The same wind, they knew  could just as easily ditch the sun on a whim, and like a shepherd bringing his flock together, gather them all together and take them to their destination in no time at all.  Faster and faster the wind would blow. Wheeeee…. What a ride that was.

Then the wind would start blowing cool on them. That was when the clouds knew for sure the wind had changed sides and was now with them.  Ahh, the power of ruling the vast skies when that happened! The clouds couldn’t wait for June to come for their dreams to be realized. And when finally June came and the wind was their ally, they poured and poured for all they were worth, giving it every ounce they had. 

The clouds could literally hear the plants and animals (including humans) sigh in relief, at least those that lived in the parts below the portion of the sky they had claimed for themselves. That was not too bad, having only part of sky considering even the sun, powerful though it was, could only shine on one half of the earth leaving the other in total darkness.

All through June, the clouds made hay while the sun shone. That was not how the clouds would have put it, but then it was not they who made the idioms. Trust humans to mess things up. What they did was rain, rain and rain. They not only rained on parades but also on hills, valleys, coasts, roads, ditches, rivers, streams, sea, plants, trees, grass, roofs… in short everywhere.

The clouds were happy. They had the sky to themselves. The sun was in gaol and only let out briefly with guards to watch every move. No one recognized the weakened visage anymore. The fickle humans, as fickle as the wind or worse, who had prayed for the clouds to save them from the terrible heat, were already chanting for the sun to return in his splendor to the sky.

The clouds ignored them. They cared not what the humans wished or what they prayed for. The clouds had their own path to follow and they did so with single minded purpose. June was drawing to a close. Then would come July. And August. And if they were lucky they could even rain on till Diwali and make a damp squib of all those firecrackers.

The wind was with them right now, but for how long would this alliance last? They knew in their hearts it wouldn’t be too long. The wind was a changeling and could change their course before they were ready, or blow too hard and send them sailing to distant places unexpectedly. It also depended on how quick the sun recouped and influenced the wind to change sides. Sigh.

For now the clouds are happy to rule the sky. And of course for putting the sun in it’s place.  It is a longstanding feud between them, this supremacy over the skies and is not going to end anytime soon. So the clouds relax. What the morrow brings can be dealt with in the morrow.

©Shail Mohan 2016

Daily Prompt: Clouds