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Defeated, I scrambled to the ground—then a sudden rustle stopped me cold. I jerked towards the noise. The path outside the village lay abandoned. Shadows stirred in the branches of the surrounding forest, their dark limbs stretching towards the sky, devoid of any intruders. Perhaps the noise had only been my imagination…and yet the usual symphony of twittering birds had ceased, leaving only thick silence; the woods weren’t usually so quiet.
Suddenly, I felt it: a heated gaze scrutinizing me. I’d been watched before, but this was different from the gossipy stares of the villagers; this gaze seemed hostile. The back of my neck prickled. Heart hammering, I frantically searched the trees.
My breath caught. High up in the branches—hidden in the thick shadows—a pair of emerald green eyes appeared, watching me. I stumbled back, but before I could react the eyes disappeared. Immediately, the prickling sensation cloaking me vanished, leaving behind only a trail of goosebumps.
As if mysteriously vanishing eyes weren’t strange enough, suddenly a high-pitched giggle drifted from above, but upon investigation nothing unusual filled the cloudy sky—except…I shielded my eyes against the sun and squinted. A cloud had twisted from its cotton-candy shape to form a perfect five-pointed star, which quivered as I watched. I rubbed my eyes and the star-shaped cloud disappeared, replaced with a regular cumulus.
Before I had time to question what I’d seen, a shadow suddenly enfolded my senses and something squishy crashed into me. The force knocked me over. Transparent hues of multicolored vapor entirely surrounded my face before the thing moved and two large rainbow-colored eyes blinked down at me.
“Oh no, I just squashed a Mortal. This won’t look good on my detective application. I need to hide the body before the Council discovers my crime.” The colorful blob’s gaze darted towards the edge of the forest and lingered at the base of an evergreen. “Too obvious a gravesite, but I’m pressed for time. It’ll have to do.”
The back of my head throbbed. I groaned. Hesitantly, the thing poked me with an airy touch and sighed with relief when I flinched.
“Thank goodness it’s still alive. Disaster averted.” It circled me gracefully as it inspected me. “Why isn’t it moving? Is it broken? I didn’t know Mortals were so fragile. Perhaps I should fetch my glue.”
I struggled and hoisted myself up. The thing stared at me intently, as if expecting me to shatter at any moment. It—she?—appeared to be a cloud, yet she was unlike any cloud I’d ever seen in the sky. This one was straight out of a child’s drawing: fat, puffy, multi-colored, and coated with sparkles.
“Are you a cloud?”
A dimple appeared where her cheek might be as she smiled. “Of course. Why, did you think I was a shadow?” She shuddered at the thought. “There’s no need to be rude. Running into you was an accident, and since you’re not dead, there’s no harm done.”
This was so surreal. Had I stumbled inside a dream? I pinched my arm.Ow. Still here, which meant there really was a cloud swirling around like a tornado muttering to herself about false accusations.
“I didn’t mean to upset you. I’ve just never met a cloud before.”
She stopped spinning and beamed, her eyes sparkly. “Am I really your first? What an honor. This calls for a formal introduction. My name’s Stardust. What's yours?”
“I’m Eden.”
“Ooh, pretty.” Her entire body ruffled as she giggled. “This is so exciting. I’ve never met a Mortal before.” Her eyes widened. “Wait…can you see me?”
I nodded, but apparently it was the wrong response. She gasped and zipped into the forest to duck out of sight behind an evergreen.
“What’s wrong?”
“Mortals shouldn’t be able to see clouds,” she explained from behind the tree.
“But I can see you.”
Stardust peeked around the trunk. “But you’re notsupposedto, so I’m not coming out until I’m invisible again.”
I waited for a moment, but when she didn’t reappear I crept over and peered behind the tree. Stardust floated a foot off the ground, her eyes squeezed shut, dead leaves and pine needles strewn across her in a hasty attempt at camouflage.
“Can you still see me?”
“Definitely.”
Deflated, she plopped to the ground. “How strange. I’ve wandered Earth gazillions of times and no one has ever seen me before. There must be something wrong with you, because obviously there’s nothing wrong with me.” A whiff of pine filled the air as she shook off the leaves and needles covering her and studied me. “What exactly are you?”
It was a question that haunted me everyday. Someone who practiced magic and saw others’ dreams without having her own was definitely abnormal.
“Hello? Aren’t you going to answer? Are you a Mortal or a Weaver?”
“Mortal,” I said automatically. I wasn’t sure what a Weaver was, but it was certainly something bad.
“You can’t be. Mortals are inferior and don’t have the ability to see magical things.” Stardust studied me closely, her gaze lingering on my hair and eyes. “Lilac hair, violet eyes, the ability to see me…you’re definitely a Weaver, and therefore you must have magic.”
“Shh, not so loud.” My gaze darted towards the wall separating us from the bustling market. “You can’t say that word; somebody might hear you.”
