Love Clouds by Kalai Selvi Arivalagan (i can read books .TXT) 📕

Every dark cloud has a silver lining

Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky. - Rabindranath Tagore

Panting for breath Saranya ran on the steps that led to the railway platform no.1 to board the Metro.  

“Is there any one chasing you?”  Some people who were walking along with her questioned with concern.  But, deaf to all queries she ran and ran till she reached the entrance leading to the platform.   She could feel her thumping heart beats that made her feel breathless and she gasped for fresh air.  

Escalators are handy to reach the platform within seconds.  After reading numerous stories about freaky accidents that happened now and then on the escalators forced her to take the steps.  

Her accompanying colleagues always preferred to use escalators.  Though they tried their best to coax her and bring her along with them,  she bluntly refused and always took the steps to reach the platform.

Before they glided through the escalator to the platform, Saranya reached the place where they usually wait for the 6:20 pm train.

Unlike the bus stop lined with puddles of water, the sheltered platform stretched along dry and dimly lit.  Except during the busy office hours, the platform looked isolated and unsafe.  Some of the incidents that happened in the broad day light in the lonely stretch of platforms made people wait in groups.

During October and November, evenings get dark quickly. The chill evening breeze made her feel cold.  The train arrived in the next five minutes.  Though there were empty seats,  she always preferred to stand and watch at the evening lights that blinked in the mist.  

Saranya looked at the dimly lit clouds sailing across the sky. The moon slowly rising from her horizon brightened the evening sky with cool light.

There at a distance, she could see a cloud distinct with a silver lining. Within minutes everything changed.  Paleness stretched across the sky and the fluffy clouds that were visible just a few seconds ago disappeared from her sight.

“What does that dark cloud with a silver lining predict for me?”  For the past two days, places around Chennai received heavy rain.  But there was no rain in Chennai.  

Look around you..  You feel everyone is happy and you are the only one going through  problems without an end.  You are kept on your toes constantly solving one problem after another.  Life makes you feel you live in hell and except death there is no escape.  If you think so, you are not correct.  Everyone's life has a silver lining just like the dark clouds that look beautiful with the silvery edges that make them look enticing.  Moments in life may be chasing you hither and thither.  Yet, every moment brings along with it some experience that will get embedded deeply in your memory cells.  

Saranya traveled back to her days at school and college.  She hardly remembered any thing that made her feel upset or unhappy.  Even the toughest  moments didn't look hard to break or any problem that is not easy to solve.   

Saranya's thoughts were interrupted suddenly.

“I remember reading an article on clouds, yesterday.”  Swetha tilted her tab for better reading.   

Clouds sometimes take on shapes and forms of all matter of things, some obscure and others quite clear. The images you see in the clouds can foretell what’s to come. They can also give an indication of your current state of mind.

Angels:  Indicates spiritual insights and guidance in the offing. Pay extra attention to your intuition and insights.

Baby: Babies are symbols of ‘new beginnings’; indicates a new phase or fresh start in life; indicates the undertaking of a new, important project.

Ballerina: indicates  more fun and frivolity in your life. Get set to enjoy.

Buildings: indicates how we feel about ourselves.  High-rise buildings may a new job prospect or career change or promotion.

Cats: indicates  your intuition is heightened at this time, so pay attention to your inner-voice.

Child/children: implies a happy, fun time ahead for you.  indicate a happy disposition and a joy of the simple things in life.

Circles: suggests an engagement or marriage in the offing. can also imply the completion of a cycle or important project. eg. ‘coming full circle’.

Crocodile: warns of deceptions and/or danger in the near future.

Dancers: implies happy, fun times to come.  more than one dancer suggests a gathering and/or celebration.

Deer: indicates that you need to stand up for yourself more.

Dog: suggests the company of loyal friends and faithful companions.

Dove: may be foretelling of ‘love’ and positive relationships. represents love, purity and honesty, a message of an impeding engagement or marriage.

Dragon:  the ultimate power symbol indicates that you are in a position of power and will soon find success.

Duck: differing meanings depending upon circumstances.  suggests a journey or travel over water in the near future.  suggests important decisions to be made regarding emotions and relationships.

Eagle: suggests personal power and the opportunity to fulfil goals. Success is in the offing.

Feathers: feathers in clouds suggests that its time to have faith and trust in yourself and your own abilities. time to tackle and overcome personal obstacles.

Horse: indicates steadfastness and freedom. suggests that you stick to your dreams and follow your heart in order to bring your wishes to fruition.

Leopard: implies that you have the tenacity, wisdom and courage to overcome all obstacles in your life.

People:  indicates ‘you’ the individual. implies a growing independence.  two people suggests a happy union, an engagement or marriage proposal. Three or more people seen in the clouds tells of social gatherings and celebrations.

“So, interesting.”  With a smile, she looked at Swetha.

“Next Sunday, we will be going to the planetarium for star gazing.  Will you join us?”  Saranya accepted it with a broad smile.

“Are you in Cloud Nine?”  someone chuckled.

“Clouds lit by a full Moon is a sight of great beauty.  The high, streaked ice-crystal clouds, such as Cirrus, look glorious in the moonlight. Thin enough to let the light through with ease, they seem even more delicate and lace-like with a dark backdrop than they do during the day. But the best night clouds have to be Altocumulus – particularly those with gaps between their clumps, a variety known as ‘perlucidus’. If the Altocumulus layer is not too thick, the clumps of cloud develop a striking silvery glow, which is interspersed with inky rivers of the starry sky beyond.”

“Sometimes the droplets of the Altocumulus cloud can diffract the moonlight to produce a fragmented ring of reddish colours, around a blue-white disc of light, which is known as a ‘corona’. As different clouds drift in the wind across the face of the Moon, these colours jump nearer or further from it, shifting position depending on the size of the cloud droplets”.

“Nothing beats a clear starry night when the Moon is less than full. But when it is shining at its brightest, the drifting schools of iridescent, silvery clouds are enough to make even astronomers, usually frustrated by the obstacle of clouds, put down their telescopes and admire the spectacle.”

Memories as Passing Clouds

A Cloud withdrew from the Sky

Superior Glory be

But that Cloud and its Auxiliaries

Are forever lost to me

Had I but further scanned

Had I secured the Glow

In an Hermetic Memory

It had availed me now.

Never to pass the Angel

With a glance and a Bow

Till I am firm in Heaven

Is my intention now.

Emily Dickinson

Star gazing is an amazing experience for it made her realize how stars played a role in her life bringing unexpected twists and happenings.  Waiting for your turn to gaze into the vast dark sky and look at the star that twinkles millions of kilometres away brought a tingling sense on her spine.

"Where is my star?"  She searched for her favorite Venus planet.  Venus twinkled bright and seemed to smile at her.

Publication Date: 11-21-2016

All Rights Reserved

Dedication:
Clouds that drift through the sky