Castella and Nimb were twins born on a cloud. I know what you’re thinking, “That’s impossible!” but neither one of them was exactly human. They looked human, and appeared identical, but looks can be deceiving. Castella was as sweet and hardworking as she was beautiful, and she was very beautiful. She dressed all in white, and her hair was like cotton.  Nimb was the same until the age of twelve when he dyed his hair and clothes black, and became moody and withdrawn.

By the time they reached their eighteenth birthday, Castella and Nimb were more than ready to live apart. So, they left their parents’ cloud in search of new accommodations. Both found nice white clouds of equal puffiness, but they didn’t last long.

Castella took great pride in her cloud. Everyday, she would mold it into some new shape or object. Sometimes her creations would be specific, and other times they would be vague, but either way Castella brought joy to those on the ground. The “Groundlings” would guess at the cloud’s meaning. Castella’s artistic expression, while fun, was also a necessity. Some water vapor would be discarded during the creative process, and fall to the ground in light sun showers.

Nimb lacked his sister’s talent and initiative. For that reason, his cloud grew bigger and bigger. He thought this was a good thing.

“Look at my cloud,” he said to his sister, “It’s much bigger than yours, and I don’t work half as hard. In fact, I don’t do anything. My home is self-sufficient.” What he didn’t notice was that his cloud was growing as dark as  his attitude. Eventually his cloud burst, and he was only just able to escape plummeting to the ground with a monsoons-worth of droplets. Needless to say, the people on the ground were not pleased with this. Some of them were washed out to sea and lost forever.

Nimb didn’t really notice. He was too busy looking for a new home to learn his lesson. It didn’t take long for his cloud to burst a second and third time. Soon he had no choice but to beg his sister for advice.

“You do this to yourself,” she said, “You spend so much time being angry that you neglect your responsibilities. Because you neglect your responsibilities, your life–home–collapses, and hurts those near you. This, in turn, makes you angrier. If you want to live a long and meaningful life, you need a positive attitude.”

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Written by Alex Schattner (8/6/12)

keywords: fairytale, folktale, folklore, clouds, siblings