In the Clouds

By Hailey Huntington

A month ago, I wouldn’t have entertained the idea of staying in a foreign national park after operating hours. Now, I was following my sister down a winding trail in the sunset. “Jess! Are you sure about this?”

She didn’t break stride, simply glanced over her shoulder with a smile. “Trust me, Liz.”

My gaze flickered past the railing on my left to the open space beyond. Clouds hung in the air, blanketing the treetops hundreds of feet below. A wave of dizziness passed over me, and I quickly looked up. This time, my focus landed on the breathtaking, massive columns jutting into the air. They’d surrounded us all day, and I was still stunned by them. Trees and other greenery, seeming to defy gravity and logic, clung to the sides of the quartz sandstone formations. Jess and I were currently hiking one of the gigantic columns ourselves. Where exactly we were headed, I didn’t know.

Zhangjiajie National Forest felt like a mythical land. The fog, columns, and lush green trails were awe-inspiring—though the fact that Jess had taken me to the park meant that there was something literally magical here. We’d spent the past month trotting the globe, witnessing the wonder hidden around us. Zhangjiajie was our first stop in China, and we’d spent the entire morning exploring the park, trekking as many trails as we could, and escaping a few run-ins with wild monkeys. But when closing time came around, Jess hadn’t headed back toward the entrance. The once-crowded park was empty, except for us.

“Remind me again why we’re climbing higher and higher in the soon-to-be dark?” One month of globetrotting hadn’t completely erased my rule-following, cautious nature.

“We need to be as high as possible. There’s a lookout spot up ahead.” Jess adjusted her backpack. “Last time I spent a night on the mountain I saw the—” She stopped herself. Jess wouldn’t tell me what we were going to see. “I’ve got blankets and food. We’ll be fine. And it will all be worth it. But we should hurry so we can get settled in at the lookout before twilight.”

Taking a deep breath, I stuffed down my questions and concerns and focused on absorbing the beauty around us. Orange and gold light bathed the park, a contrast to the rich greenery. The clouds swirled in the air.

Soon, we reached a lookout deck. My legs shook slightly as I lowered myself to the ground—muscles burning from hiking and climbing all day. Sitting next to me, Jess pulled two blankets out of her backpack. I wrapped the fuzzy fleece around myself and stared out into the quickly fading light. Anticipation buzzed beneath my nerves.

We waited in silence, the deepening twilight creeping across the world. The sky was a deep blue-purple, though there was still enough light to see. Then, something moved in the distance. My heart skipped a beat. Something flew, weaving through the air. I gasped when it came into view.

It was a dragon, covered in gleaming green scales with yellow fur around its face. Its wingless body moved rhythmically up and down as it soared gracefully around the rock formations.

My breath caught when the dragon turned toward us, coming closer and closer. Pure majesty.

Awe turned to terror when the dragon opened its mouth. Bracing myself, I waited for fire to light up the sky, hoping that the flames wouldn’t come too close. But fire didn’t blaze out of the dragon’s mouth. Rather, white mist seeped into the air.

“Chinese dragons breathe clouds, not fire.” Jess’s murmur was barely audible. I supposed that that explained why the park was regularly covered in fog. My pulse slowed to a regular pace.

Another dragon swooped through the air, this one blue with red fur. We sat perfectly still, quiet observers of wonder. The dragons almost seemed to dance as they flew, ever graceful.

Eventually, the last rays of light slipped away, and the dragons disappeared into the darkness. I leaned backward, resting my head against the rock. A smile crossed my face when I considered Jess’s and my position, nestled on a rock piercing a sky where dragons flew, covered by the clouds.

There really was magic everywhere.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Hailey Huntington loves adventures, and she’s always ready for another one—whether it’s discovering Narnia, traveling across Middle Earth, hiking a mountain in Iceland, or simply going on a walk with her family. Aside from adventures, Hailey also loves board games, music, ice cream, laughter, witty characters, fantasy, emojis, and Jesus—though not in that order. Her stories have been featured in anthologies by Havok and Twenty Hills Publishing.

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