Stories from an Empty Room

Mountain Beyond the Skies

There's a place I dream of going, a place I can call my home. As a kid, I was told to keep looking up to the skies and wait for the clouds to disappear, then I'll see the mountains on the sky.

"Out of breath already?" asked Adrian as he tumbles around, trying to regain balance.
"Might want to look at at yourself there, pal.." I rebutted "..looks like your legs are about to fall off."
He knelt down on the ground before laying flat like an old carpet. He looks like he's about to puke.
Luckily, he didn't. "Hey J, look at the clouds! They're so big!"
I tilted my head upwards and felt the gaze of the sun, piercing through my eyelids.
"No thanks, the sun fucking sucks..." I said.
"Really? You're the one who invited me to go on a jog today and you won't even enjoy the scenery?"
The park wasn't crowded during this time of week, everyone's really busy at work. Only a few elderly people are here, walking their huskies and retrievers.
"Well what was I suppose to do at home? Stare at the ceiling again? I wanted some fresh air, not a hell storm."
"Overreacting a bit much? It's 4p.m and the sun's not even that hot..."
I sat on the bench as I try to catch my breath, it ain't that easy to jog when you're a couch potato.

Leaves are falling from the tree beside me, not long after the wind takes them away before they could even touch the ground. I wonder how often that happens to people, finally taking the fall, only to be swept away by some stupid earthly force.
"Hey, you awake?" he's still breathing heavily, stumbling like a drunken lunatic who got kicked out of the bar while trying to stand upright.
"Yeah, just thinking about things."
A zooming dog ran pass by us, chasing after the ball its owner threw.
I could hear the distant voices of people, "Go get it Bayley! Go!" shouted one of them.
"When are we going home?" asked Adrian.

Home, huh. Where is home? I've got a family, some good friends, even a part time job that I enjoy, but I've never really felt the sensation of being "home."
As a kid, I was always told to keep looking up to the skies and wait for the clouds to disappear, then I'll see the mountains on the sky. I never really understood what it meant, I thought it was a literal mountain back then, but over the years I've grown to understand the concept of idioms.

An old friend before asked me, "Have you ever heard the phrase 'look beyond the clouds, and you'll see the mountains on top?'"
I replied with a nod.
"What do you think is the meaning of it?" she continued.
"I don't really know. Dream big? Aim higher?"
"I thought so too.." she replied "..but then, I remembered what my mother told me before she passed away."
"What did she say?"
"She told me that this world will never be what we want it to be, that it'll always be unfair." she looked up to the sky, and saw that the clouds have disappeared "She said that no matter how hard we try to be the very best, there will always be something or someone better..."
She sighed.
"What does that have to do with clouds and mountains?" I asked.
"Ever been to the summit of a mountain, Jeremiah?" she asked.
I shook my head.
"It's cold, but it's peaceful and serene. You get to see the low lands below like little tiny lego houses, and the clouds trying to reach out for you hand."
At this point, everything is starting to come together for me.
"I guess what the phrase means to me is..." a tear drop slowly slid down from her eyes to her chin.
"You okay?" I asked.
"No matter what happens to me, no matter what the world throws at me, or what it takes away, I have to find peace with it.." she sobs "..or else the clouds will finally pull me back down to the ground."

The clouds were starting to look like feathers.
"Hello? Earth to Jeremiah, you there?" he waved his hand in front of my face."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, fuck off me." I nudged.
"Okay, okay. Sheesh..."
The old lady's still playing fetch with her dog. It may be dark, but they'll probably die around the same time. At least you die with someone you love I guess.
She looks, happy. She looks like she's come to terms with her demons.

She's at the summit.

"Hey, hey!" he shouted while tapping my shoulder "Did you space out again?"
"No. Let's head back, it's getting dark soon."