How clouds lost their color
When Goddess Ecovia painted her egg with life, she also colored the magnificent realm of clouds with vibrant colors. The skies would be a wonderland of gardens where trees, shrubs, and bushes wrapped their roots around the billows of clouds to feed on them. Their leaves, delicate flowers, and plumpy fruits would seasonally rain down with grace on Ecovia’s Egg below. It was a feast for the eyes and the nose, with a dazzling display of colors and a fragrant scent of mystery.
Cruising the skies in one of these gardens was Floriela, the angel of flowers. She was a dazzling beauty, wearing a dress of petals from her heavenly blossoms, fastened with a belt of thorny vines. Like an excited girl in a toy shop, she dolled her flowers in different shades, brushing their petals and arranging them in the dollhouse of their shrubs. Her golden hair sparkled with pollen in the sunny afternoon as she danced to the tunes of the mellifluous birds.
After playing with her flowers for a while, Floriela lay down on the fluffy grass of the clouds, gazing at Ecovia’s Egg. No matter where she looked, she saw Dendriela’s lush forests rolling across the land like a sea of green, while her gardens were scattered in patches here and there. She wistfully sighed for more space for her delicate flowers.
In her jealousy, Floriela decided to find a way to get rid of Dendriela’s big and bulky trees. She asked around her weeds, hoping one of them could do the job. Her search landed her in the ashy, volcanic soils to meet with Haetta, the underworld boss of her weed family.
“Sorry, Angel Flo’rela, I can’t help you,” Haetta apologized in her typical thuggish accent. “I’ve whacked many-a-plants, but-a never a mighty tree. You should try the Bladegrass family down in the marshes. They might be up for it.”
Taking her suggestion, Floriela traveled west to the swampy littoral marshlands and met with Viridis, the leader of the Bladegrass family. They were thinner than Haetta but more aggressive in spreading their territory. However, they were hesitant to take on the task too.
“We might be able to choke a tree or two, but an entire forest is impossible for small weeds like us,’ Viridis said, twirling a switchblade made from his blade of grass. The forest is like a monastery where the trees meditate day and night like monks, growing bigger and bulkier with every passing day. But if you insist, I can send some of my brothers with you.”
Floriela was stumped. “Now, what should I do?” she asked herself. She wondered if she could prepare a potion to give her weeds the power to topple the trees. But she was afraid they would abuse it. The last thing she wanted to do was upset Mother Naturella.
Floriela heard of another weed that dwelled on the icy peak of Mount Genevieve. She was determined to find them. So she began her long and arduous journey up the steep mountain slopes.
Dark clouds hung above and poured snow and hail, hiding the sun from ever shining through. Floriela’s knees buckled beneath her as the freezing cold ravaged her body. Her vibrant, colorful self faded as she began wilting, unable to blossom. Her jealousy and greed had driven her to endure it for so long, but now she could take no more.
As Floriela’s vision began to blur, Chasitia, the angel of the skies, appeared before her. Her white hair billowed like her clouds, and her veil of mist clung to her like a second skin. It was in her nature to do the right thing, so she spread her arms wide, opening the clouds like a curtain. The rays of the sun poured through, providing Floriela with the warmth she needed.
“Are you okay?” Chasitia asked in concern, assisting her in sipping some warm water melted in the sun.
Looking into her icy-blue eyes, Floriela weakly stuttered, “I-I am still shi-shivering from the co-cold, but I will be f-fine now, thanks to you. How did you find me here?”
“Geoella created me from the cloud above us,” Chasitia replied. “I’ve always lived here. But what made a delicate thing like you wander so high up a mountain?”
“I was looking for we-eds, um—” Floriela hesitated. She knew she couldn’t tell the truth, so she lied, “I wanted to decorate the blank canvas of white snow with my colorful flowers.”
Floriela’s alluring beauty had always enchanted Chasitia. She could not help but feel sorry for her. Trusting her words of good intentions, she naively handed her a vial. “This elixir will allow you to blossom in the harshest colds anywhere in Ecovia.”
With a mere sip, Floriela immediately felt revitalized. Her chills disappeared as the cold no longer affected her. “Thank you, Angel Chasitia,” she smiled. “You are very kind.”
Taking Chasitia’s leave, Floriela returned south to the swampy littoral marshlands. She was giddy with delight because she believed she had found the solution to her problem. Instead of using the elixir for its intended purpose, she planned to alter it.
Floriela emptied the silvery elixir from the vial into a chalice of petals. She took the glittering pollen of her darkest flowers, mixed it with the sticky sap of the trees, and muddied it with the feathers of the wandering birds. The result was a gurgling dark purple sludge that darkened everything it touched.
Careful not to get anything on herself, Floriela poured the adulterated elixir into the sources of water that fed the nearby forest. She had hoped the trees would be consumed by a desire for the frozen north, but instead, the forest was merely accursed.
The tall, slender trees turned black and bulky, sprouting hypnotic mushrooms on their crackled bark. The berries on the bushes turned poisonous, and some plants even turned carnivorous. The animals and birds surviving on the forest produce became wild and aggressive, and an army of insects haunted the damp soil. Anyone venturing into the forest was never seen again. Yet, its malevolent pull drew unwitting souls into its dark embrace.
Realizing she had accidentally created a poison, Floriela fled the scene and returned to the Garden of Orenzo, her home in the center of the mainland.
Mother Naturella visited the forest to investigate and detected Chasitia’s elixir.
“It was my elixir, but I didn’t curse the forest!” Chasitia grumpily protested. “I gave it to someone who needed my help. They misused it. I pride myself on being pure and virtuous.”
“I know you did not commit the crime,” Mother Naturella acknowledged. “But in all innocence, you have sinned.”
“Pardon!” Chasitia cried. “Are you suggesting helping is wrong? That compassion is a sin?”
“Your eagerness to help was your undoing,” Mother Naturella explained. “You irresponsibly handed over something that could be a weapon in the wrong hands.”
“But I had no reason to doubt her!” Chasitia weakly argued.
“That was your mistake. You believed someone’s words too easily in your innocence. Did they even ask for help?”
“No, but—!” Chasitia objected with a tear in her eye. “This is not fair!”
“Take this as a lesson. Don’t let your heart rule your head,” Mother Naturella said wisely. “Helping others is a noble act, but it’s important to do so wisely.”
Chasitia realized that Mother Naturella was right. Her guilt and self-reproach overwhelmed her, turning her icy-blue eyes stormy gray. Darkness tainted her pure white self, and she began to see the vices of the world. She exploded in a raging storm, condemning her skies to the wickedness of dark clouds.
“Tell me who did this?” Mother Naturella asked. “You don’t have to suffer in silence.”
“I won’t tattle on anyone,” Chasitia said, storming away. “If the sinner doesn’t confess, I’ll punish them myself.”
Meanwhile, Dendriela, the angel of trees, and Pomola, the angel of fruits, visited the Garden of Orenzo. They wanted to talk to their sister, Floriela, and see if their suspicions were true.
“It was you, right?” Dendriela asked. “You were the one who got the forest accursed?”
Floriela’s thin, tender neck drooped with guilt. “I-I wanted my gardens to be as abundant as your forest,” she sobbed, her voice trembling. “And I-I-I did something foolish.”
“If you wanted more land, you could have asked me instead,” Dendriela softly reproached. “I would have happily spared some.”
“I am sorry,” Floriela apologized. “It was wrong of me to act on my jealousy.”
“Cheer up, little bud,” Dendriela ruffled her sister’s golden hair. “As much as it pains me to see my forest accursed, I cannot stay mad at my dainty sister.”
Just then, a dark, ominous cloud loomed overhead, obscuring the sun and dropping the temperature. They had never seen skies so gloomy before. The wind picked up, and fog enveloped their surroundings, reducing the visibility to a mere few feet.
“Your saintliness to pardon your sister is admirable, Dendriela,” came Chasitia’s voice as the mist parted, revealing her slight silhouette. “But Floriela’s sin cannot be absolved by your forgiveness or her repentance.”
“What brings you to these gardens, Angel Chasitia?” Dendriela asked as Floriela cowered behind her tall figure.
Chasitia’s eyes narrowed as she glared into Floriela’s fuchsia and green ombre eyes. “Confess your crime to Mother Naturella,” she demanded, “and beg for a merciful punishment.”
“Please calm down, Angel Chasitia,” short and plumpy Pomola mediated, her motherly instincts kicking in. “Her confession won’t lift the curse from Dendriela’s forest or free your skies from the wickedness of dark clouds. Find it in your heart to forgive her this once.”
Chasitia ignored Pomola’s words and continued to address Floriela, “With my elixir, you could have blossomed across the snowy regions from mountain peaks to arctic poles and dominated the mainland as you had wished. Alas, you chose to misuse it instead.”
“You-you’re right!” Floriela stuttered in realization. Greedy with the thought of the missed opportunity, she peeked from behind her sister’s shade and pleaded, “Let me fix my mistake. Give me your elixir again, and I can make an antidote for the curse.”
“Quiet!” Chasitia shouted. “I’m not stupid. I won’t fall for your manipulative lies again. If you don’t confess to Mother Naturella, I will banish your flowers from my realm of clouds.”
“No!” Floriela screamed.
“You can’t alter Ecovia’s Egg on your whims,” Pomola stepped forward in objection. “Floriela has already admitted her mistake. She will not bow to your blustering threats.”
“I know you’re angry with her, but we all make mistakes,” Dendriela tried to cool the situation. “Sometimes we have to be understanding and forgiving to coexist.”
Chasitia’s patience was wearing thin with the three of them. Floriela had stepped out from behind Dendriela’s shade, emboldened by her sisters’ support. She defiantly met her glare, not afraid of her anymore.
Realizing that she would never own up to her crime to Mother Naturella, Chasitia snapped her fingers. A fork of lightning suddenly split the sky, and the deafening roar of thunder swept over Ecovia’s Egg. The plants growing on the clouds began losing their hold over the billow and rained down on the planet below.
“Timber!” Chasitia yelled, alerting the wildlife to stay clear of her clouds.
The hulking trees crashed on land with a jolting thud, creating craters. Those that fell into the seas floated helplessly, their roots reaching up for help. Gravity tore the leaves from the branches and shredded the petals from their stems, sending a colorful blizzard of flora fluttering to the ground. Fruits exploded upon impact, splattering their sweet, juicy blood everywhere.
Floriela and Pomola cried, squealing insults at Chasitia as they tried to save their flowers and fruits. Even Dendriela, who was usually calm and cool, was nettled. She watched quietly, trembling with fury, knowing she couldn’t undo Chasitia’s ruthless act.
“Floriela sinned by acting on her jealousy, and a sin cannot go unpunished,” Chasitia declared the judgment. “So, I banish her and her flowers from my clouds forever. Her sisters, Dendriela and Pomola, are also banished because they support her sin.”
Mother Naturella was upset with the drastic change in Ecovia’s Egg. Despite knowing everything, she wanted a confession from the daughter angels of Botanella. She asked them why Chasitia banished them and even offered to persuade Chasitia to reopen her clouds to the plants. However, Floriela did not confess her crime. Even Dendriela and Pomola remained silent, not wanting to tell on their sister and break their sisterly bond.
Since they chose to endure Chasitia’s punishment, the clouds remained barren and lost their color forever.
THE END
