Yellow, red, blue, and green fill the sky above. The white ground below reflects the colors of the wind, turning the world into a life-sized rainbow. I am mesmerized by the colors around me. I am an average pebble on the floor of a fish tank watching the steady flow of water ripple among the surface. The numerous pigments speak to me as they dance.
“Do you wish to dance with us, dear girl?”
“Of course.”
“So dance.” The Gods of the wind instruct me as the clouds join in on the dance of the universe.
The colors pass through me with every movement. For a moment, I am blue, and then I am green, and finally a vibrant red. I am never one thing for too long. As I look down at my body, I am a rainbow, a mirage of freedom. A cloud sinks down to me and watches. Out of the center of the cloud, two wispy arms form and take hold of mine. Together we dance.
My laughter fills the atmosphere. I am uninhibited for once in my life. I could not care less about how I must look. I am dancing with a cloud, and all is right with the world. Peonies, roses, and tulips begin to fall from the sky. A faint cheering sound comes from the ground, and the smile on my cheeks grows bigger. The cloud arms spin me around, and a vision of a ballerina flows through my mind.
I am no longer wearing my old jeans with holes in the knees or my sweatshirt with the missing strings; instead I am wearing a sapphire dress and black gloves. As I spin around and around, more flowers fall from the sky. Cherry blossoms, daisies, lilies, peonies, roses, and tulips collect at my feet but do not affect my dancing. The ground’s cheering gets louder in my ears until all I can hear is the overwhelming joy that the dance gives the universe.
I am getting dizzy and a bit nauseated, but it’s not enough to make me stop. I want to remain in this world for as long as I can. The cloud’s arms wrap around me, and we begin to waltz. The summer grass tickles my toes. I do not have to worry about rocks or sharp objects poking me. I trust that I am safe here; I trust that nothing bad can ever happen. My head is now spinning without me. When my eyes open, my dance partner and all of the colors in the wind are being taken back to wherever it is that they came from, like water rushing down a sink that has just been unclogged.
I stare entranced by the sky. Witnessing true magic is nearly impossible, and here is one of the moments where impossible becomes highly improbable. My head spins faster now, the sounds of both the cheering and my laughter have ceased. The grass beneath my feet disappears as the world rotates. The beautiful trees surrounding me float up to the sky, one by one as I watch, helpless. My mind shrieks with pain, and I shut my eyes tightly, hoping to end the torture of my nausea and dizziness.
The world stands still. The wind is gone; my regular clothes have replaced the fancy attire, and I am back in my world. When I open my eyes, the sky is clear, there are no clouds to dance with, and the sky is only black. I am lying on a pile of dirt where grass should be, but never will. There are no flowers at my feet or acting as a bed beneath me. I have returned to the world of black, white, and grey.
I remain lying on the dirt for almost an hour. Crows circle above me; their nasty shrieks to their family leave goosebumps on my skin. While I stare at the blackness, a faint glimpse of blue and red fly across my line of vision. Sitting up, I watch it pass.
“Take me with you,” I whisper as the beauty disappears, leaving me on my own once more.