A Piece Of Cloud

'Me my father went to USA during the holiday and he bought me a gift '. Zainab boasted, a serious expression on her face.

Her friends stopped laying their over-the-holiday lies and waited for hers. Zainab's lie had always been elegant.

'It's true. My father went to USA and got for me a present. When they were in the plane,  he opened his window and packed some clouds and he put it inside his bag and he brought it for us and it was very sweet'.

'Heeeyyy' Fatima yelled and jumped. 'Cloud, who can touch cloud? You don't know that that's where God stays?  Did your  father even see God?' She said with a laugh and glanced at Nabila who joined her in the mockery of Zainab.

Zainab scowled. She knew they were not going to believe her. She may have lied that her Uncle has once met the Genie of the lamp and her househelp gave birth to a  half human, half butterfly and that her Grandfather was a great warrior who rode on a unicorn but this time around,  it was true.

Fatima had already told half of the class and they were laughing at her, even Habib, the boy she thought was cute, she was going to prove them wrong, she was going to bring it the next day.

When she told them she'll bring it,  the class quieted down and she saw a flicker of alarm in Fatima's eyes at the possibility of Zainab actually bringing a piece of the cloud but it was soon replaced by smugness.

'Bring it then, let's see'.

The next day, the class were ready to see the cloud,  or the lack of it. While Halima came early to witness the debacle, Zainab came late to gather an audience. She sauntered into the class and sat on her seat minding her own business.

'Madam cloud,  where is it, or did it fly up?'. Fatima asked then looked at her laughing partner before they started a joint howl of laughter.

'Oh! I even forgot' Zainab said coolly while Fatima eyed Nabila, the act was soon going to be undone. 'It's here in my bag' Zainab said then she opened her bag. Fatima frowned.

Zainab brought out a small plastic container and opened it. The whole class gasped.
There, nestled in the container was cloud, a piece of white cloud.

Zainab held it out on her palm, her neck up high, a smug smile plastered on her face, she had delivered the cloud.

'It is cloud' Ayo screamed and as if on cue, the whole class broke into a chatter.  Zainab was indeed holding cloud.

'How does it feel?".

'Sticky. Because it needs to stick to each other. That's why when clouds move and meet other clouds, they stick'.

'Wow!. How does it taste'.

'Very sweet. The clouds are made of heavenly sugar. That's why when rain falls on fruits, they become sweet'.

'Ahhhh! Can I touch it?'.

'Of course'.

'It's like it has spoilt, it's a bit runny'.

'No silly, it's forming rain'.

'Wooow'.

And so, that was how the morning started with the clouds in the class. It was a memorable day and the news soon spread through the village. Zainab became famous as the girl who brought clouds in a container to school much to Fatima's consternation … well, until Hamida went to visit her cousins a year later and learnt that it was just cotton candy, made of earthly sugar.

H.S Dauda
Hansatuu