Rising majestically through the mist, we entered the empty
space above the clouds, it was a different world. Miles and miles of fluffiness,
making you want to get out of the aeroplane and roll around in its comfort.
Here I was snuggled in seat 40A, the very back corner of the
aeroplane and nothing else to do whilst squished in this awkward position but
to watch out of the window. I hadn’t
flown for 5 years and forgot about the one thing that makes this tremendously
different to any other modes of travel. It’s the only opportunity most of us
get to see the world from a different viewpoint and perspective. I was going to take it all in.
I started to examine the clouds and noticed the different
shapes and type, but what soon became obvious to me, was that the clouds were
on different levels. I could see that if I peeked through the gap of one
particular cloud I could see another cloud sailing by underneath. Then I
started thinking about how far way were these clouds and to what distance did
they disappear down. That’s when my mind seemed to take over and start
imagining little flying cherubs (Valentines Day very soon) bouncing through the
clouds, dipping and diving and weaving in and out.
I rubbed my eyes, to get rid of the ridiculous mental picture
I had in my head and settled down for a sleep.
But I need to research, I need to Google “clouds” I knew
nothing about them apart from some of their names, cumulus, cirrus.
I slept, I dreamed of clouds, of inventors altering cloud formations,
making them rain where they have never rained before, blowing them away from
flooded areas and messing up the world. My little country would be a far better
place without the rain, but how far do you go, what happens when the reservoirs
dry up and we all have to go without drinking water. The mind boggles.
I woke up with a start; the cabin crew were on their rounds
with drinks. I ordered a bottle of ice chilled water for my dry throat.
Still clouds out there , this time not just layers of clouds
, we now had some quite interesting formations jutting upwards, they looked
like old building relics , you know crumbling old castles or ancient space stations
(yes my mind is wandering again).
We had shifted direction and I now could see the sun
glinting in the left of my window. The sun that was on its way down was starting
to turn the world above the clouds into a colourful array of shiny pinks and reds.
The colours nestled into the folds of the clouds, like nothing I had seen
before (had I seen this before?). There seemed to be a world within the clouds,
within which they were glowing a musty dusky pink. I wanted to go and see what
was happening down there.
And as the sun went down, we were moving faster and faster
towards out destination. I watched this phenomenon with delight, the reds and
pinks blended with the darkening sky and merged with the clouds to bring me a spectacular
display.
And as if by magic we reached England and yes the clouds
dispersed and the show was over. Until next time I fly.
