- Chapter 10 -

Tutu looked down

Tutu looked down. The river, the fields, small settlements, some sprinkled lights. And I was so close to being home. Of course it had not occurred to one of them, that her light weight would make her an easy target for a gust of wind. There she was, up in the clouds, feeling like a personification of a song. The garland of clover still hung around her. The speed of her flight scared her. Where will it carry me? I have to wait until it lets me go. The clouds around her could be mistaken for fog. The air moistened all of her, she became sticky. Helplessness fell over her. No control. Don't panic.

She looked down again, the ground so far away. Then a carnival appeared, but the distance too great to really see detail. Maybe Mirror Boy is down there, if I could just drop right here. But the wind carried her on and on. A few balloons joined her and she managed to reach the ribbon that hung down from a bunch of them. Quickly she knotted the ribbon onto her belt. She felt a touch better. She had heard of balloons traveling for some distance. I have food enough for a long time to come.

It could be worse

She plucked out a few clover trumpets, enjoyed the sweetness. It could be worse, at least I will have a soft landing somewhere. All of the events of the last weeks roared through her head, enough for her to go limp with frustration. But she told herself not to drown in self pity. Can't solve problems with that. Stillness engulfed Tutu. The wind did not tear at her any longer. Softly she drifted through endless sky, now and then a puff of a cloud about. Blinding sun. No longer was she sticky. A lull fell over her, almost peace.

The scenery on the ground changed. Vast regions of forest and mountains appeared. Dark green. Tutu became fascinated. She had never seen mountains but had read stories about them. So she knew if she landed here that that meant weeks of struggle. There are probably no rabbits here to rescue me. I just have to wait. And so she did. Floating along. Drifting off. The balloons pulled her. Their colors merging in front of her eyes, dancing in irregular shapes, overlapping, translucent.

Tutu's Dream: A Nightmare.

With a start she woke up, bright violet sky above, something poking her. She lifted her head, looked around. A very old man with a beaten up cap on his head stood there with his walking staff right on her chest. "Don't roll me down the cliff, please," she pleaded with a monotone, as close as she could come to speech.

"What cliff? And you can speak? Who are you, you little thing you, got a name?"

Briefly she glanced down to her belt, the balloons hung spent on the ribbon. I am on the ground. "Yes, I have a name, and I am proud of it. I am Pink Cotton Candy Tutu Girl, named so by someone very special," she sang.

"You are very formal, my name is Rupert."

"That is a most unusual name for a person like yourself, what is this flag doing on the tip of your nose, and those stars coming out of your pocket."

"You must have fallen down hard, probably a concussion. Let me pick you up and take you to my cabin."

Symbol of waves, stars, sun, seahorses. Divider.