The Cloud Reader

A LESSON

I listened with a kind of awe as the tiny man just spoke and treated me like an old friend. There was a calmness about him and a faint haziness to his image, almost like he had no edge to his form. My eyes blinked and I realized that I was experiencing a conversation that seemed way beyond my age; my mind felt as though it was full of new intelligence and the words to express it. I started when I heard him speak.

"Molly Howe? You seem to be a long way away."

"I- I was just. I suddenly felt like I have always known you." I blushed and looked over at him. "Sounds really dumb doesn't it?"

Hector Nublado smiled but didn't answer. "Do you see those clouds up there?" He pointed a leathery finger and I followed it with my eyes, nodding. "The wispy ones are called cirrus, that's a Latin word for curl of hair. Like your hair, Molly Howe. Way back at the beginning of the nineteenth century a man named Luke Howard proposed a system for identifying clouds as they appear to observers on the ground. Have you ever thought about names for clouds, Molly Howe?

I shook my head then blurted, "Oh, sure. Thunderclouds." He smiled and nodded, amused at my response, I guessed.

"Would you like to learn a little about clouds, Molly Howe?"

I just wanted to know about my dad but this strange little man seemed so patient and nice I didn't want to be rude, so I agreed.

"Very well. Look up there, above those I mentioned before. Those are called cumulus. That means, heap in Latin." He looked at me with bright intelligent eyes. "Do you understand?" I nodded and repeated the names, to his apparent pleasure. "There are two more, not out today, but they are, stratus, this means layer and nimbus, which is also Latin, for rain.

All these clouds have fixed places in the sky and are named based on their height above the ground. They are high, middle, low and vertical." He paused and considered me again. "Do you want me to tell you these things or do you wish you could just get up and ride your bike away?"

I blushed deeply and shook my head at his intense stare. "I do want to know, really. Please, Mister Nublado."

"You are more interested in what I can tell you about your problem, aren't you?" My blush returned, brighter than ever. "That's fine, Molly Howe. I prefer honesty."

He sat silently for so long I thought we were finished and I started to apologize and stood to leave.

"Where are you going, Molly Howe?"

"I thought- I mean I thought you didn't . . ."

"Do you want to learn about the clouds?" I said yes and sat back down beside him.

"Very well. This will sound very technical but they are just words and you seem like a very bright young lady who can understand without too much difficulty." His leathery hand patted mine and then it pointed back up to the sky; the touch was oddly feathery.

"The high clouds I mentioned are generally above 6000 meters and are thin because at high altitudes the air is thin and cold. Their names often include the prefix cirro. Remember the word, cirrus? They are almost entirely composed of ice crystals. Middle clouds, begin with alto, that means high in Latin and are between 2000 meters and 6000 meters above the ground.

I know that seems confusing. Why not call the high clouds, alto too? It is to differentiate their position and structure. Middle clouds are usually composed of a mixture of water droplets and ice crystals. Low clouds, below 2000 meters, are almost always composed of water droplets."

"But I've seen clouds that go really high in the sky and are still kind of close to the ground."

The smile and the nod again. Those are vertical development clouds. They are taller than they are wide and you are right, they start around 2000 meters or lower, while their tops may extend above the top of the troposphere."

"The trophy sphere?"

"Troposphere. That's the area between six and twelve miles above the earth, depending on whether you are at the equator or at the poles." He saw the blank expression of information overload and sat back for a moment, observing her.

"Clouds go that high?"

"Indeed."

"Do you remember what I have told you so far?"

"Some of it," I said softly.

Hector stared kindly at her for a moment. "I think that's enough cloud talk for today, Molly Howe. Maybe you could come again and I will continue a little further."

"I don't think I can remember all that without writing it down."

"Don't worry, you will remember the important parts and if you forget you can ask again or look it up yourself."

We sat quietly watching the sky and suddenly I jumped up, looking at my watch. "Oh dear, I'm late. My mom will be frantic. I didn't think I would be so long."

"I haven't read the clouds for you yet, Molly Howe."

"I know but I can't stay. My mom. Can I come back. Mister-"

"You may call me Hector, Molly Howe. Come any time . . . any time there are clouds." His smile seemed to light up the shadows on the porch and his voice echoed as though it came from another place. I thanked him and hurried down to my bike, climbing on and pedaling as fast as I could all the way home.

Being grounded for a week was totally unfair and no fun since I had to listen to Brian's constant teasing but mom finally relented, making me promise not to do something like that again. She was not pleased to hear that I had visited some strange man and spent almost two and a half hours sitting next to him on his porch.

The topic we discussed did not interest her at all and mom definitely did not believe in fortunetellers; none of my careful explanations saved me from a week's grounding. She went to the hospital every night after work to see dad while I stayed and looked after horrible Brian. Dad was about the same but mom was getting worse. When she came home she would go to her room and cry for a while then see us off to bed. Each time I asked what was going to happen she would get that thin-lipped look and tell me not to worry and to behave myself. I thought I was.

My first day of freedom I met Carrie at the corner plaza and told her about my visit to Hector Nublado and all the stuff he told me about clouds. I tried to describe him but all I could remember was a soft, hazy image of a tiny man with intense eyes and a smile.

"What did he say about your dad?"

"Why would he say anything about my dad?"

"C'mon, Molly, that's why you went and you know it."

"He didn't say because I didn't ask."

"So what now, are you going back?"

"Mom would kill me."

"She doesn't even have to know, just don't be late."

"Well that's just the same as lying, Carrie." I started walking toward the end of the plaza.

"You're not lying if it never comes up. Of course it would come up if he told you something real important, wouldn't it? I know you, Molly, you would just have to tell."

We stopped talking and just walked together for a while looking in store windows and pointing out neat stuff we'd like to have. When we reached the end I checked my watch and decided that I'd better head home, risking another grounding was not on. Carrie tried once more to get me to go back to Hector's before sighing loudly and waving goodbye.

I had to admit, going back to Hector's was very tempting and after he told me all about the cloud stuff, I had to wonder if maybe he could see things others couldn't. I'd asked my teacher about some of the things he told me and she just gave me strange look and suggested I study the topics we were taking in class.