Above The Clouds

Gabrielle always wanted to dance above the clouds. She would lie on her front lawn everyday after school, stare at the clouds floating above, and dreamt about dancing across their tops.

People of the town would often walk by when Gabrielle would be on the lawn and  exclaim, “Stop your silly dreaming, girl! You need to focus on real goals and get to work.” None of what the people would say phased Gabrielle. She kept her eyes and heart to the clouds.

Allen, a boy who lived down the street from Gabrielle, and who also loved her very much, would walk by everyday and admire how she would keep her eyes focused no matter what others said. He would get upset when he heard the townsfolk tell Gabrielle not follow her dreams. Everyday, Allen looked for different way to help Gabrielle get above the clouds. He promised himself that he would do whatever he could to make Gabrielle happy.

One day, Allen got his first brilliant idea. He was going to make the biggest ladder and bring it over to Gabrielle’s house. He thought that if they could get to the roof, they could definitely reach the clouds.

Gabrielle was sitting on the front porch steps when she heard Allen’s labored breathing and the sound of a clanky ladder being dragged in the dirt. Allen propped the ladder up on the side of the house and invited Gabrielle up to the roof. “I think we can get you up to the clouds if we get above your house,” he said.

They both scaled the ladder and climbed on the roof. When they reached the top, they both realized that the clouds were far above the house. They were too far to touch, let alone dance above.

Allen went home that night and began thinking of other ways to get Gabrielle closer to the clouds. The next morning, he woke up with an epiphany. “I’ve got it!” he shouted. He ran outside to his family’s trampoline, folded it up, and dragged it over to Gabrielle’s house.

Upon his arrival to Gabrielle’s house, Allen was met with a very happy Gabrielle. She was amazed that he was trying so hard to make her dreams come true. They both unfolded the trampoline, set it up in the front yard, and started to jump. Oh did they jump. And jump. And jump.

Allen tried to launch Gabrielle like a rocket into the clouds. Although the two had so much fun jumping, eventually, they both understood that the clouds were once again too high to reach.

Gabrielle jumped off the trampoline, kissed Allen on the cheek, and said “thank you so much love, but I don’t think we can jump on top of the clouds this way.” Allen was distraught. He packed up the trampoline and returned home.

A couple weeks went by, and Allen brainstormed long and hard about the best way to get Gabrielle up to the clouds. Gazing out his window he saw his little brother and sister playing with their kite. “That’s it!” he shouted. Allen ran to his garage and began to make the biggest and baddest kite he could imagine. After hours of working on the kite, Allen ran off to Gabrielle’s house.

When Allen reached the fence to Gabrielle’s house, she was sitting outside with her father. “What are you doing with such a big kite, Allen?” Gabrielle’s father asked. “I built it to fly your daughter up to the clouds, sir,” he responded. This warmed Gabrielle’s heart, but made her father rather upset.

“You kids need to stop these silly games and focus on school,” Gabrielle’s father explained. “You’re not going to get anywhere building kites or jumping on trampolines. Only with hard work and studying will you ever achieve your dreams,” he added.

Gabrielle and Allen both nodded seeming to agree, then ran off to the open fields and hills at the end of their street. Gabrielle climbed on the kite while Allen began to run with the line. Slowly, Gabrielle started to lift off the ground. Next, she was 20 feet in the air. Then above the tree tops. She was higher up than ever before. But sudden gusts of wind brought her and the kite down, crashing into the nearby pond.

Sopping wet, Gabrielle crawled out of the pond with a look on her face that Allen had never seen. Tears rolling down her cheeks, she looked at Allen and said, “I love everything you’ve done for me, but maybe my father is right. Maybe this will never work. I think we both need to stop this and just focus on school and hard work.” Hearing these words broke Allen’s heart.

They both went back to their houses with the heaviest hearts.

Months passed, the two no longer tried any of their antics, and they were completely focused on their studies. Gabrielle no longer looked up to the clouds. Her eyes were to fixed on her textbooks. Allen no longer woke up with his amazing ideas.

One cold winter morning, Allen was walking to school and noticed something that amazed him He gasped, and began to sprint to Gabrielle’s house. He was finally going to get her above the clouds.

When he arrived at Gabrielle’s house, her father met him at the fence. “Where’s Gabrielle? I need to show her something!” Allen shouted. “She’s gone off to the train station to go to nursing school. She’s chasing her dreams now, Allen. You leave her alone!” he snapped.

Allen ran as fast as he could to the train station. When he arrived, he found Gabrielle sitting on a bench reading one of her textbooks. “GABRIELLE!” he yelled from across the room. “You have to come with me! Please! I am finally going to get you to dance above the clouds,” he added.

“Allen, that dream isn’t realistic. This is realistic,” she said as she pointed to her book.

She then saw the spark in Allen’s eye that she used to have when she looked up at the clouds. “Ok Allen, I have a little time before my train. Let’s go see what you were thinking,” she said.

They rushed back into town, back to the neighborhood, and back down their street. Allen turned to Gabrielle and asked, “Can you close your eyes and trust me?” She nodded in agreement and closed her eyes. He led her just a little ways, then she could feel that they were on a flatter plain. Allen grabbed Gabrielle’s hand and whispered in her ear, “Can I have this dance?” The two held each other close and began to twirl and dance slowly.

After a short while of dancing, Allen told Gabrielle to open her eyes and look below her feet. When Gabrielle opened her eyes and looked down, she noticed that Allen had brought her out to the pond where she had crashed months before. The same pond where she lost her dream of dancing above the clouds.

This time, however, the pond was frozen. The surface of the frozen pond reflected the clouds above. She looked up at Allen with the warmest heart and whispered, “You did it! You made my dreams come true! I’m dancing above the clouds”

The two danced above the clouds on the frozen lake until night came. Holding each other the whole time, realizing that their dreams had finally come true.

The End