The Tale of the Cotton Tree

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It was a few weeks later when she finally broke down and cried. Showers of rain fell and she gradually decreased in size.

Her body had less and less white matter as the rain ensued, and she found that her black heart had started to weigh her down. With less and less white fluff to hold her up, she dropped and dropped closer to the ground, with the black heart dragging her down each step.

And so came the time when she finally touched land. She was just a thin layer of mist around a black black object. She lay on the ground, devoid of hope, ready to close her eyes for eternity.

Just at that moment , a flower nearby turned to her and said, "Thank you."

She jerked awake. What? Why would a flower thank her for no reason at all?

"You truly are our saviour. We had the most severe drought we'd ever had this year, and your rain broke the deadly dry spell for us." The flower said solemnly. "If you hadn't came, all the life on this grassland would have died."

A chorus of gratitude followed, with each and every plant and insect and animal thanking the cloud.

The flower bent his five red petals towards the cloud and nodded.

The cloud finally smiled. It was her first smile in many years. "I'm glad that I helped." Then she frowned at the ground. "I am sorry but I don't seem to be able to float anymore. Seems that I will have to stay here forever..."

"I see," said the flower quietly. "We are sorry for your loss of mobility, but please do know that you are always welcome here in memory your deeds."

Another chorus of approval. "Such good people...," she thought. Then the cloud finally realised --- she had found her place to stay! She shed her last layer of white fluff in tears of gratitude, forming dew drops on the nearby vegetation, and settled into her new home.