The Skybound Seeker

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What is THIS PLACE?
(He looks down at his bare FEET, standing WEIGHTLESSLY on the soft, PILLOWY CLOUDS. His TOES sink slightly into their ETHEREAL surface, but they hold him STEADY, as if EXPECTING him to be there.)
It FEELS like a DREAM, but it’s TOO REAL. The CLOUDS are COOL and SOFT, and this BALLOON…
(He GLANCES at the GIANT EYE floating ABOVE him, TETHERED to his SMALL HAND by a THIN STRING.)
This BALLOON FEELS ALIVE, like it’s WATCHING ME as much as I’m WATCHING IT. What does it WANT me to SEE?
(He takes a TENTATIVE STEP FORWARD, the CLOUDS SHIFTING SILENTLY beneath him, carrying him into the INFINITE EXPANSE.)
What is BEYOND THIS? BEYOND the CLOUDS, the SKY, the STARS? Is there an EDGE to it ALL, or does it GO ON FOREVER? If it DOES, how can I ever KNOW my PLACE in it?
(He PAUSES, TILTING his HEAD UPWARD, staring into the UNBLINKING GAZE of the EYE.)
Do YOU SEE IT? Do YOU KNOW the ANSWER? Is that WHY YOU’RE HERE, FLOATING ABOVE ME like some SILENT GUIDE?
(His VOICE CRACKS SLIGHTLY, but the EYE remains IMPASSIVE, offering NO WORDS, only its STEADY GAZE.)
Maybe YOU DON’T KNOW EITHER. Maybe YOU’RE just as LOST as I AM.
(The CHILD’S BROW FURROWS, and he HUGS the STRING TIGHTLY against his CHEST.)
And what about ME? WHY am I HERE, on these CLOUDS, with YOU? Is THIS where I BELONG, or is there SOMEWHERE ELSE I’m SUPPOSED to be? SOMEWHERE MORE REAL, MORE GROUNDED? Or is THIS REAL, and EVERYTHING ELSE was just… a DREAM?
(He CLOSES HIS EYES, LISTENING to the FAINT WHISPER of the WIND around him.)
They SAY there’s MEANING in EVERYTHING, but what does that even MEAN? Do I have to FIND IT? Or is it ALREADY HERE, HIDING in the CLOUDS, WAITING for ME to SEE IT?
(He OPENS his EYES and LOOKS into the ENDLESS HORIZON. The CLOUDS STRETCH ON FOREVER, GLOWING faintly with HUES of PINK and GOLD. He GRIPS the STRING TIGHTER, feeling its TENSION in his HAND.)
What if I LET GO? Would YOU FLOAT AWAY, taking all YOUR SECRETS with YOU? Or would YOU STAY, WATCHING ME from a DISTANCE? And if YOU’RE GONE, what’s LEFT? Just ME and the CLOUDS… and my QUESTIONS.
(A DEEP SIGH ESCAPES his LIPS as he LOWERS his GAZE to the HORIZON.)
What’s the POINT of ASKING if NO ONE ANSWERS? What’s the POINT of WALKING if I DON’T KNOW where I’m GOING? But MAYBE… MAYBE the POINT is to KEEP ASKING, to KEEP WALKING. To KEEP HOLDING ON, even when I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHY.
(He takes ANOTHER STEP FORWARD, then ANOTHER, the BALLOON TRAILING LIGHTLY BEHIND him. A FAINT SMILE FLICKERS across his FACE, a MIX of DETERMINATION and QUIET ACCEPTANCE.)
I’ll KEEP GOING, even if I DON’T KNOW where this PATH LEADS. Because MAYBE the MEANING isn’t in the ANSWERS. MAYBE it’s in the JOURNEY ITSELF.