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“This one doesn’t have any special powers. Stardust was a morpher who—”
“We’re not shopping for a Stardust clone.” Mother’s faltering tone was at breaking point. “That cloud was always sticking her nose in others’ business and thus would have been too dangerous to have around when we implemented my plan. If she hadn’t left on her own, I’d have forced her to go.” She caught sight of my crumpled expression. “For your sake, of course, Eden dear. She was holding you back from your true potential.”
I tightened my jaw. Stardust hadn’t believed that; she’d maintained the faith that I was a Dreamer simply trapped in a place I didn’t truly belong. Now that she was gone, there was no one left to look for whatever good might still linger within me.
“If Stardust were here—”
“But she’s not,” Mother snapped. “And good riddance.”
I blinked back my sudden swell of tears. After last week’s crying episode, Mother had made it very clear that I was never to display such weakness again or there’d be consequences. I wasn’t exactly sure what those would entail, but I was determined never to find out.
I took several steadying breaths and tried a different argument. “Do I even need a new cloud? I could always use Sparks.”
Mother shook her head. “Certainly not. Blaze needs full use of his cloud.”
“Then perhaps you can teach me to travel without one.” The way she did...as well as Darius.
Mother waved that thought away. “Such training would take far too long, time better spent in discovering how to excavate emotions from dreams. Now stop arguing. You wouldn’t want me to lose my patience, would you?” She gave me a chilling look. I shook my head as I knew I was expected to. “Then stop clinging to your old pet and pick out a new little friend for me to buy you. If you’d just cooperate, I’d have no need to get upset with you. Alright, dear?”
She stroked my hair once before I reluctantly relented and obediently trudged in search of a new cloud, an act that felt like a betrayal to my lost friend.
Cloudy Days was a spacious shop that smelled of rain and approaching storms. Rows of cages showcased cloud pets of various kinds—cirrus, stratus, and the most popular cumulous breeds, which Stardust herself had been.
I slowly wandered the rows, carefully examining each cloud. I made eye contact with each in search of a connection even remotely similar to the one Stardust and I had shared. I found myself lingering amongst the cumulous breeds, wanting a cloud as similar to Stardust as possible, even though I knew nothing could replace all she’d been to me.
As I searched, the clouds distracted me with arguments about why I should buy them—such as excellent navigation skills or experience in giving weaving advice—or in most cases, why Ishouldn’tpurchase them, such as having no special skills, being afraid of heights, or easily getting lost. I wasn’t sure why some clouds would rather remain within their cages than with an owner; I could only assume they felt more secure here, a place they could at least be fed and taken care of, rather than face the unknown future with a Nightmare whom they couldn’t be certain would treat them well. I understood the need to remain in such a state, even if it was still a prison, all too well.
Each case a cloud presented sent a sharp reminder about Stardust’s investigation addiction, along with the biting words I’d spoken to her that had triggered her departure, words that haunted me with burning regret.
I paused in front of a cloud who offered no argument whatsoever, which immediately captured my attention. I examined his tag:Stormy. His appearance fit his name—he was a lovely, almost cheerful shade of grey, almost pale blue, with matching light-blue eyes. He twitched and sniffled but otherwise made no other sound. I reread his tag: his special power was he could make himself invisible. A quiet cloud who possessed the ability of disappearing would help me forget I’d replaced my friend, a small penance for my guilt-ridden heart.
I motioned Mother over to show her. Her smile faltered as she examined the cloud. “He’s rather...unremarkable, Eden dear. Don’t you want a more striking cloud to match your growing powerful self?”
I shook my head. “This is the one.”
Mother sighed. “You’ve always had strange tastes. Very well, I’ll purchase this creature for you.” She examined the price tag. “Luckily, he’s heavily discounted; I guess no one’s wanted him.”
Stormy actually sniffled at that, causing me to feel sorry for the poor thing.
Ten minutes later we left the shop with me carrying Stormy after he’d tediously explained in painstaking detail his fears of flying by himself and floating away if no one was on him to guide him, only to get so worked up he was in no state to carry me, making me privately wonder if this quirk was why he’d been stranded in the cloud shop for so long. Stormy shivered in my arms, so I petted him in hopes of calming him, his soft body rather soothing, although nothing like petting my Stardust.
Mother paused in front of the entrance to the park. “I have something important to take care of. Why don’t you get acquainted with your new friend.”
I frowned. “Can’t I come with you?”
“Certainly not. Now run along.” She shooed me away as if I myself were an annoying pet. With a sigh, I trudged into the weed-infested park.
We hadn’t ventured far when I realized Stormy didn’t seem to want to go on a walk; in fact, he didn’t seem inclined to do anything. Instead he looked shiftily around, twitching for no apparent reason. Every few minutes he’d become invisible, only to reappear several moments later; if it weren’t for his frequent whimpers I’d have thought he’d completely vanished.
Perhaps conversation would put him more at ease. “Invisibility is an interesting power,” I offered.
He paused mid-disappearing. “I find it very useful to hide from scary things.” And with those words he faded completely away, effectively ending our conversation. I bit my lip to suppress the sigh that would likely cause my new cloud to burst into tears. This wasn’t going well.
We settled on the crackling lawn on the shore of a murky pond. Stormy curled beside me, staying invisible for longer and longer periods at a time, and soon I forgot about his presence altogether.
I pulled my knees to my chest and stared out across the pond, fiddling with my dream locket, which felt like a giant weight against my chest. The lilac dream dust filling it glistened in the faint light shining through the grey clouds, reminding me that while some of my magic had been acquired the legal way—night after night of frightening newborn Easton—most had come fromhim, the only one I’d allowed myself to steal from.
Sharp guilt prickled my heart as I thought about the Nightmare I’d been repeatedly trying and failing to forget, the Nightmare who had yet to turn me in for my repeated crimes against him. I forced myself to push all thought of him away and leaned back against the grass, allowing my gaze to wander the nearly abandoned park.
