Episode 2: Dream of Walking Above the Clouds

The moment he put his first steps on the silver cloud stairs, Hajin took a deep breath. The feeling under the soles of my feet was not cold or wet water droplets. It was soft and elastic, as if you were stepping on a freshly baked warm roll cake, and the faint scent of vanilla and the sweet scent of strawberry syrup rose from your toes.

“Huh…? It’s not cold at all! I’m not wet and my feet aren’t sinking!” Hajin opened his eyes wide and jumped lightly in place. Then, the cloud stairs gently rose like a trampoline and lightly bounced Hajin's body up.

“Hehe, of course! This is not an ordinary rain cloud, but a ‘dream cloud’ made from the sweet sleep of children around the world.” Bonnie held Hajin's hand and ran up the stairs ahead of her. Every time Bonnie's little velvet feet stepped on a cloud, the clear and cheerful xylophone sound of pong, pong, pong echoed across the night sky, drawing a silver trail. As I climbed the stairs, the view of downtown Seoul below became increasingly distant. The neon signs of the buildings and car lights were no longer a bleak concrete gray city, but twinkled in a cozy and peaceful manner, like a group of warm candles scattered on a black carpet.

And when he finally crossed the last cloud staircase, the boy stopped dead in his tracks at the sight that unfolded before Hajin's eyes. “Wow…! Bonnie, what is all that…?” It was a gigantic ‘Kingdom of Sky Clouds’ that stretched out endlessly. Underfoot, not only pure white, fleecy clouds, but also colorful clouds colored in soft pastel pink, mint green, lavender purple, and brilliant gold formed gentle hills and ridges. Cute palaces and spiers that looked like they were made of cotton candy rose above the cloud hill, and overhead, a huge rainbow-colored aurora was dancing, gently wrapping the entire sky like a soft curtain.

The air was filled with the scent of freshly baked cream puffs and sweet cotton candy. On the other side of the sky, winged silver whales were swimming gracefully among the rainbow aurora, singing low harmonies. “Welcome, Hajin! This is the ‘Fluffy Cloud Kingdom’, the first gateway to the dream world!” Bonnie spun around in a circle, spreading her arms wide. The hem of his blue jacket fluttered in the wind, and the anchor buttons on his chest gave off a soft amber glow.

“I really can’t believe it... such a beautiful world was hidden above the clouds in the night sky. It feels like all the memories of being upset at school during the day have been erased like a lie.” “Right? But this isn’t the end. Look, do you know where that delicious smell is coming from?” Beyond the cloud hill Bonnie pointed to was a small bakery-shaped cloud hut with pink smoke billowing out of a marshmallow chimney. In front of the hut, the chef, a round polar bear with large white fur, wearing a large baker's hat, was humming and kneading dough.

“Oh my, who is this? We see that the Commander-in-Chief has brought a little guest for the first time in a while!” The polar bear chef spotted Hajin and Bonnie and approached them holding a large wooden spatula. His belly fat looked as soft as freshly fermented glutinous rice cake.

“Hello, Uncle Pudong!” Bonnie greeted politely. “Hahaha, welcome, baby! I am ‘Uncle Pudong’, the head pastry chef of this cloud kingdom. The special gift to be given to the first guest to Dreamland tonight has been completed just in time!” Uncle Podong held out a tray with his large paw. On the tray were stacks of seven-colored 'stardust macaroons' with the colors of the rainbow aurora and warm 'cloud cream puff bread'.

“Wow… it’s really pretty. Can I eat it?” Hajin swallowed his saliva and asked. “Of course! These macarons are baked with a piece of the warmest memory in the world. Go ahead and take a bite.” Hajin carefully picked up the brightest yellow macaron and put it into his mouth. Crispy- crispy. The moment the filling, which was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, touched the tip of his tongue, the flavor of sweet strawberry jam and butter spread throughout Hajin's mouth. And strangely enough, a memory from my childhood emerged like a vivid image in my head.

It was a warm spring sunny afternoon when I was five years old, when my grandmother sat Hajin on her lap on the floor and fed him hand-mashed strawberries sprinkled with sugar with a spoon. The warm warmth of my grandmother's wrinkled hands, her sweet laughter, and the way she wiped the strawberry off my mouth and patted my head while saying, 'May your puppy grow up healthy and healthy' spread through the blood vessels of my entire body.

“……It tastes like grandma’s strawberries.” A clear light of emotion appeared in Hajin's eyes. Uncle Podong laughed and patted Hajin’s head with his big cotton ball-like paw. “Isn’t it delicious? That memory is the strongest force that protects your soul. No matter how mischievous your friends on earth make fun of you and upset you, as long as you have this dazzling treasure of love in your heart, you will be richer and happier than anyone else in the world.”

“Uncle Podong is right, Hajin.” Bonnie chewed her macaron and nodded vigorously. Bonnie's cheeks became bulging like a squirrel's. “And Uncle Pudong, please look at this anchor button on my chest. Thanks to Hajin’s tears, I woke up perfectly tonight!” Uncle Podong bent down to look closely at the brass anchor button in the center of Bonnie's navy blue jacket, and then let out an exclamation.

“Oh! This is the ‘anchor button of eternity’ created by the heavenly craftsman who spins starry thread! This button begins to beat golden only when it is filled with the sincere tears of a loved one. Boy, the magic that your grandmother cast on this doll is not a simple fairy tale. That anchor button is the compass of your soul that will keep you from getting lost no matter where you are in the world or what harsh storm you face.” While listening to Uncle Podong's explanation, Hajin felt his heart swell.

'Grandma has loved me so deeply since I was born. But today at school, I was hurt by a few mischievous words from kids and almost blamed Bonnie... … .' Hajin hugged Bonnie tightly with both hands. Bonnie giggled, nuzzling her soft nose against Hajin's cheek.

“Hajin, should we go down past the cloud hill? Do you know what’s at the end of that rainbow aurora?” “What is it, Bonnie?” “It’s the ‘Milky Way Lake,’ where all the starlight in the world melts and flows! We have to take the secret ship that awaits us there.”

“Yeah! Let’s go, Bonnie!” Hajin waved brightly to Uncle Podong and expressed his gratitude. “Uncle Podong, the macarons were really delicious! Thank you!” “Yes, Hajin! Whenever you feel lonely, remember this cloud kingdom. Be careful!” Hajin and Bonnie began to slide down the cloudy slope covered with long rainbow-colored aurora, as if they were going down a slide.

“Wow! It’s cool!” When I reached the end of the slide, the dazzling white ‘cloud dandelion flower field’ was wide open. Huge clouds of dandelions filled with silver spore seeds were dancing in the night breeze. Hajin approached and picked up a large dandelion seed with his lips and blew on it, and tens of thousands of silver seeds flew into the air, emitting soft light like fireflies.

“Bonnie, look at that! The seeds are flying around and making little constellations in the sky!” “Hehe, each dandelion seed contains a small wish. Hajin, the seed you picked will definitely give you the courage to laugh well with your friends tomorrow.”

“Yes, tomorrow I won’t be intimidated even if my friends make fun of me. Because I have Bonnie, the most precious person in the world, and I have such wonderful friends from the Cloud Kingdom!” Hajin's voice contained a bold and clear power that was not found during the day. The two held hands again and walked along the silver path. From the bottom of the hill in the distance, the sound of gentle waves and the clear sound of clear glass beads colliding began to be heard. The blue waves of the Milky Way Lake were preparing to welcome the two adventurers.

As the two people walked along the silver path, a small sobbing sound was heard from under the shade of the pink cotton candy tree. As Ha-jin, curious, walked through the grass, he saw Rumi, a thumb-sized baby shooting star fairy with sparkling stardust wings, with her wet wings curled up and tears dripping down her face.

“Oh my, little fairy! Why are you crying here alone?”

When Hajin bent his knees and asked sweetly, the fairy Rumi raised her head in surprise. "I should fly to the Milky Way Lake and go to the Constellation Ball... but my wings got wet in the clouds and wind, so I couldn't fly. I fell behind alone and got lost..."

Without hesitation, Ha-jin took out from her pocket the handkerchief that her mother had neatly ironed for her every morning. Then, he carefully wiped the dew from the baby fairy's wings with a soft cotton cloth. "Well, your wings are fluffy now, right? We're on our way to the Milky Way Lake. If you don't mind, why don't you sit on Bonnie's shoulder and come with us?"

A bright, starry smile spread across Rumi’s face. “Really? Thank you, sweet human boy!”

The fairy flew up and landed gently on the lapel of Bonnie's blue jacket. Ha-jin was learning with a new joy that she had never known in the school classroom that helping others was such a rewarding and warm thing. The cheerful laughter of the three friends spread as beautifully as silver drops across the silver cloud hill.