Copyright – Alastair Forbes

Phew, it’s been a busy weekend! This photo prompt came from Alastair’s Photo Fiction Blog.

The rumour is that clouds are nothing more than vapour, but how do you know? When I was a child, growing up in this very village, there was an elderly man living at the end of Curlew Lane. He’d lean over that mossy wall while smoking his pipe, and he used to call me over when I walked by. Usually I’d be on errands for my Ma, but I’d stop and talk to him even though I knew she’d thrash me if I was home late.

He told me ever such interesting things, and seemed so very wise that it was impossible to doubt him. One day, he told me that the clouds I saw were more solid than the wall that separated us. They had to be sturdy, he said, because they supported an army of stone men who were sent to conquer the sun. The king of stone men was so foolish that he sent cloud after cloud of troops to be destroyed by the angry sun.

Still, when the skies are black and thunderous, I wonder if the stone men are going to win.