The Key to the Sun - Fin

The wind was furious, howling and whipping the clouds into a dark gray fury, as it soared up, up through the air. The sky hid nervously behind the clouds watching the wind, waiting for it to calm.

An angry cloud saw a small boy swirling, spinning, round and round, and up and up on the wind towards the sky. It looked as if the boy were trying to swim through the air after a small glowing key. The cloud glared angrily down and readied a lightning bolt to fling at the small intruder. When the wind sped by smashing the cloud directly in the nose.

The cloud promptly began to weep and all across the sky clouds began to blubber and squall as the wind lay about him with unabashed energy.

It began to rain.

Some clouds didn't cry but instead, in a fury, began to fling lightning bolts at the wind. The wind began to scream as he surged about trying to escape the clouds fury.

The sky watched with growing anger as the clouds and wind battled furiously around him.

Oco found himself sitting, dazed and dizzy, on the back of a weeping cloud. He looked about himself and nervously out at the storm raging around him. He saw the key to the sun sinking slowly over the edge of the cloud and quickly crawled over and snatched it up. At the edge of the cloud he looked down at the rain soaked forest below him and at the area around him. Then he saw it. The soaring tree, swaying amidst the clouds and raging storm.

He knew that's where he needed to go to reach the sky. Here he couldn't see the sky. There were to many clouds glowering around him. Oco's eyes narrowed in determination and clutching the key tightly in one hand. He made a running jump for the nearest cloud. He landed on the next cloud with a soft 'thwump' and crawled through the soggy fluff to the top to pick his next jump. He was interrupted when the cloud, realizing it had a passenger began to buck and roil turning and knocking Oco off his feet and rolling him off the edge into open air.

Oco let out a startled cry and flung the key, now a glowing grappling hook, at the cloud, still clutching one end of the glowing light like rope in his hand. It connected and gripped the roiling cloud halting his fall. The cloud sparked in anger as it attempted to shake the small boy from its folds. Oco tried to climb the rope but could only manage to hold on as the angry cloud continued to roil.

The sky had had enough, pushing the squabbling clouds out of its way just in time to make out a small boy clinging to the edge of a roiling cloud by a glowing grapple...the key, the key to the sun. In sudden excitement and urgency the sky pushed forward. Shoving even harder at the clouds it took a deep breathe and thundered. "Stop!"

Thunder boomed across the sky.

The clouds stopped, startled. The wind stopped its screaming race across the sky and looked at the sky questioningly. "What is it?"

The sky swept aside some offending clouds and pointed. "Look. It's a boy, and he has the key, the key to the sun."

The wind calmed.

Oco looked around in surprise. The clouds still glowered but they were still. He quickly climbed the rope and looked towards the soaring tree. The clouds lay about, swept across the sky in an easy path to the tree. Oco ran.

The sky watched. The wind held its breath. They both stared at the little boy running across the surprised clouds. When the boy reached the tree. He stopped before jumping onto one of the trees massive branches and began to climb. The wind nudged the sky. "Go, go get the key. And don't drop it this time."

At the top of the tree the clouds parted to reveal the soft blue sky behind. Oco looked at the key in his hand wondering what to do next. The sky stepped down onto the top of the tree.
Oco jumped, startled and nearly fell as a man in flowing blue and white robes stepped out of thin air onto the tree top next to him. His robes seemed to blend and fade into the blue of the sky behind him and his eyes and face were as clear and soft as a new morning.

Oco felt himself relax before this peaceful yet mysterious figure. He noticed that the blue man had a hand held out, waiting. Oco looked at the key, which was again the glowing orb of liquid light as when he had first found it. He reached out slowly and set it gently in the outstretched hand. The man bowed smoothly and stepped back into the air, fading. "What a relief."

The wind sighed.

Oco's hat end trailed in the softly blowing breeze. His hair peeking from beneath his hat rim as it tried to catch a glimpse of what was going on.

The sky reached out to the horizon and with the key to the sun, he unlocked and swung open the doors.

The sun slowly stepped out into the sky. At first only thin shafts of light danced forth from behind the opening doors, but slowly in regal splendor the sun stretched and its shining rays broke forth spreading across the sky in refracting brilliance. The clouds tears were gently wiped away as blushes of red, pink and soft oranges caressed their cheeks. Their gray frowns were changed to white wonderment at the beauty of the waking sun.

Far below birds began to sing.

White light, broke into a thousand colors as the sun yawned and opened its eyes. it smiled and flung its blanket from its shoulders. A rainbow, bouncing off clouds and rolling down to the earth below.

Oco's eye's shone with the beauty of the rising sun and breathed in wonder at the rainbow, so close he could almost touch it. He laughed as the wind playfully tugged at his clothes and then gasped in horror as the wind suddenly shoved him from the soaring tree out into the open air but his rising scream turned again to laughter as he landed, with a bounce and a skip, on the rainbow. Oco went sliding down towards the forest below and home.

The sun beamed. "Good Morning."