With her head in the clouds. "The other kids are stupid. They are slimy lumpsuckers", Jessica decided. They were playing hide-and-seeker, and she had found an excellent hiding place behind a hollow tree, when one of the other kids said: "Ok, let's go home". This time she remained silent in her hiding place, because when they had said the same last time and she had shown up, they had laughed and said: "Oh, there you are", and she had lost. This time they were really gone, she realized. But only after sitting behind her tree for more than an hour. Now she was lying on her back in the grass in their garden. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon, and she could see the birds flying around and hear them singing. A single lizard hastily ran over the stone garden path. She could see it just long enough to see that it was brown with a yellow tail. A small beetle clumsily crawled over her hand. She didn't fear beetles or spiders or most other animals. Only beasties she was a little afraid of: you never new what they were going to do next. The beetle had finally crossed her hand. Now Jessica looked up. White clouds were moving along the sky and continuously changed their shape. She followed one cloud. First it was a sheep, then transformed gently into a dog, and then, what was it now? A house? No, it was a boat, with a large white sail. Then she turned her head towards her house. It was a neat white house with a straw roof and windows through which the sun shone in. While she was doing that, she caught a glimpse in the corner of her eye. "What's that?", she thought. It clearly came from above. Then she saw another flickering. It was on the edge of the large cloud she had just studied. "What can it be?", she thought. "A bird? A butterfly? Some object taken up by a bird?" She tried to protect her eyes against the sun to get a better view. Then she saw it: it was a small figure. It had arms and legs, and was even waving at her. She waved back, while she shouted: "Mum, dad, there's someone standing on a cloud!" Helga Grassbeetle was busy in the kitchen when she heard her daughter scream. She couldn't understand it, so she dropped everything and ran outside. She saw her daughter sitting in the middle of the garden, looking up. "What is it, darling?", she asked. "Mum", Jessica said, "there are people on the clouds. I saw one, standing right there, and she waved at me!" She pointed to the cloud. "There are no people on the clouds, Jessica, you must have been dreaming." "But mum, look, there is someone on the clouds. Look, over there". "Jessica, I don't have time for your childish plays. And when the potatoes are burnt, you go to bed without dinner. We've get a guest today". Helga shook her head and went back into the kitchen. Jessica looked again at the cloud, but the little figure was gone. * "The potatoes tasted delicious. Just as they should be", Melchior Pendulum said with his grating voice. HE was antique, from Jessica's point of view. He had gray hair, his hollow cheeks were covered with wrinkles and he wore a pair of spectacles which reflected the light of the candles. He was sitting at the table with a good glass of wine together with Jessica's father, while Jessica helped her mother to bring the dishes back to the kitchen. As always, they were discussing the moon. "I tell you, Melchior, these brown spots that you can see on the moon are artificial. You remember that face we discovered last week? That can't be a coincidental. They have built a city which just looks like their own face. Face city, I call it." "No, Albert", Melchior replied, "you are completely mistaken. Why would 'they' do such a thing? No, there is no one up there, where should they live from? The moon is mainly white, not green, so there aren't any plants." "Why? To show us their pretty face, of course. And your other question is even easier to answer: the moon grass is white." "White grass? That doesn't make any sense. I have never seen white grass, have you? Then why should it be up there? No, the explanation is much easier than that. The moon is just a large ball of steel. A rusty ball of steel. That's why we see those brown spots." "A ball of steel?", Albert exclaimed, "but that's impossible! it would fall down on us, it is much too heavy. And it wouldn't shine." "Grass would?", Melchior asked innocently. "Yes, when it's blossoming, the grass shines with a white light, other wise it is dark, and you can't see it" "No, Albert, I tell you, the moon is a steel ball. But not a massive ball, but a hollow ball. Then it falls down slower, but it falls down indeed. I still have to calculate if it will be rusted away before it hits the earth or not. The shining is somewhat more complicated, but I will try to explain it to you. You see, my friend, the shining is the reflection of the sun against this ball of steel we call moon. You surely know the sun circles around the earth: it rises in the east, passes along the upper side to the west, we call this period they. Then, it returns on the opposite side to the east: the night. Now, in the middle of the earth, there is a hole. When the sun is on the opposite side, it shines through this hole and the light is then reflected by the moon. That's what we see. But there is more. After years of studying the stars, I concluded that the world spins around this hole. At first around the center of it, but gradually around a spot lying closer and closer to it's rim. It took some time before I did believe it myself, but I can prove it." "That's it!", Albert exclaimed, "you're a genius, Melchior It's the reflection of the light of our sun that we see. But I still believe that the moon is floating, and that there is white grass up there." "Jessica, don't listen to their stupid chitchat. You go to bed now!". Helga takes Jessica's arm and drags her out of the room. "Pah, stupid chitchat", Melchior shakes his head. "Jessica, have you ever taken a look through my telescope?", he asked. "No, Mr. Pendulum" "Would you like to?" "Oh yes, thank you". Now she would have a chance to look at the people on the clouds! "Albert, why don't you come over to my place, let's say, in three days? And don't forget to take your wife and Jessica with you." "Oh, thank you Mr. Pendulum, we would love to come. But isn't that too late for little Jessica?", Helga said. "Oh, no, it won't be too late, for such a big girl as she is", Melchior had seen the anger on Jessica's face because of the 'little girl'. "And, please, call me Melchior. "But now I really have to go. I have to finish some calculations. Thank you, Helga, for the delicious dinner, and you, Albert, for the interesting discussion. Until three days then." And he went home. * "Jessica, eat your dinner. We don't have time all day.", Helga said. "Ah, let it go, Helga, can't you see she's excited?" "Excited, for what? To see a raving old man?" "Helga, you don't know how it is to look through that telescope!", her husband replied. Helga sighed, but said nothing, in order to avoid a long monologue about telescopes and moons. She would already have to listen to that all night. "Well, let's go then. Are you all ready?". Melchior lived in a small white house on the other side of the town. It looked quite ordinary, except for the large dome on top of it which covered the whole house. Now the dome was open, and the last rays of light of the sun were shining in. Melchior opened the door. "So, there you are, Albert. Ah, and you brought Helga and Jessica with you. Very good. Come in, please." They followed Melchior through a small vestibule with doors in all directions into the living room. "Sit down and have a glass of wine, while we wait for the sunset" Melchior gestured towards a round wooden table and some chairs. Then he slapped with his hand on his forehead: "Oh, I nearly forget. You surely don't drink wine. Jessica. Let's see what I've got for you." Melchior went out of the room and a short time later stumbling sounds could be heard from the cellar below. Jessica looked around. One wall of the room was covered with leather bound books. On most of them the titles were put in large golden letters. 'Description of the motion of the sun', she deciphered loudly. And 'on the brightness of stars'. Albert laughed. "Yes, Melchior is a learned man, as you can see." Then Melchior returned with two bottles and four glasses. "I found the grape juice for you, Jessica", he said. "And for us: nothing better than a good glass of wine". While they were talking about science and the great scientists of their time, the sun went down and covered the whole room in a beautiful red. "Ladies and Gentleman, the time has come.", Melchior said proudly. They followed Melchior climbing up a stairway to the dome on top of the house. The dome was a large wooden construction with an opening mechanism. It was now open, and in the fading light they could see the first stars appear. In the middle of it was a platform, that could rotate and on it was the telescope. This appeared to be a huge monster of brass tubes and lenses and adjust screws and handles. While Jessica's father already made some preparations to put the telescope into its right position, Melchior gave a detailed explanation how it all worked: "With this handle you can focus, and with this thing here you can make small movements left and right and up and down. For large movements the whole platform has to be moved." To Albert he said: "I have calculated that the moon will rise at 32 degrees and 28 seconds." Now Albert turned a large handle, and with a loud creak a whole system of gears rotated the platform, until a notch in the platform matched exactly the position on the scale that was printed on the wall of the dome. In the mean time the had come up and stood large and bright on the horizon. Melchior stepped on the platform, turned some screws and moved some handles. "Ah, there she is. Isn't she beautiful, our moon?", he exclaimed. Melchior stepped aside for Albert. "Yes, beautiful she is", Albert admitted. "Now, Mrs. Grassbeetle, it's your turn to take a look", Melchior said. "No, no, this is nothing for a simple person like me." "Yes, of course it is. Just step on the platform". "Oh, you're too kind, Mr. Pendulum", Helga said while she hesitantly took place behind the telescope. "When you look through here, you'll see our moon." Helga looked some time, and the said: "Thank you, Mr. Pendulum. The moon is much larger as we think, isn't it?" "Yes, that's very true. Jessica, come here, it's your turn" "Is this really necessary? I mean, she is just a little girl. Look, she will break something!" While Jessica had climbed upon the platform, she had accidentally hit one of the levers, and the telescope had slightly moved. "No, it's all right, nothing has happened. The telescope is only slightly out of position. Jessica, turn this handle until you get the moon into sight". Jessica nodded and moved the handle, while she said: "I'm sorry, Mr. Pendulum." At a certain moment she stopped moving, and only stared through the telescope. "You've found the moon, Jessica?". Albert asked, but Jessica didn't reply; she only stared. Melchior looked along the telescope. "Hey, you're not looking at the moon! Let me see." "Look at THIS", Melchior exclaimed, happy as a child. "Albert, may be you're not so wring after all!". Jessica had focused the telescope on a cloud, and on that cloud was a whole city, complete with houses and streets and little people walking around All in white and gray, of course. "What has that stupid girl done now?", Helga asked, "I told you she's too young for this." "She's just made an important scientific discovery, Mrs. Grassbeetle!" "Oh, well, I'm going inside, if you don't mind. It's getting chilly up here." "Yes, it's a cold night", Albert admitted. While they took a last look through the telescope, Melchior whispered in Jessica's ear: "come tomorrow after school to my house." Then they went down into the warm living room. "Thank you for the wonderful evening, Mr. Pendulum.", Helga Grassbeetle said, "but it's getting late already. Jessica has to go to bed, so perhaps we'd better go." That night, an old man was looking through his telescope, until he fell asleep under the stars. * From now on, Jessica went each afternoon to Melchiors house. There they watched the clouds and talked about how it would be to go there. One day Melchior said: "I have an idea how to get there. I've read somewhere that heated air gets something of the spirit of the sun. Therefore it goes upwards towards it. Quite a strange theory, if you ask me Why should air have a spirit, or the sun? But it seems to work." "I don't know, Melchior. I don't want to go to the sun, I want to the clouds!" "Well, let's go to Lilly Dea. She experiences with all kind of things, she certainly knows more about it." "The crazy woman?", Jessica asked innocently. Melchior laughed. "Yes, she is a little weird now and then. But she is quite a nice person, you'll see." Lilly Dea was a real inventor. She was a thin woman of undefined age. She wore spectacles, and she was always busy with her hands. Right now she was making constructions with small pieces of wood. "What do you think of my inverted pyramidal stacked tree house?", Lilly asked them as soon as they entered her place, pointing at the wooden construction. "You can hang it between four trees, and you can enter the building from the top of the pyramid. The top of my inverted pyramidal stacked tree house is of course on the ground, haha!" "Well, you will need quite strong trees, don't you?", Melchior answered. "Eh, yes, I'll think about that. But don't you want to sit down?" Lilly's house was a chaos of rooms and laboratories that were built at random positions and in random shapes. Most rooms could be entered from another room, but unfortunately not all of them. The interior of the rooms were covered with equipment, and also with all kind of models and constructions, whose purpose not always was very obvious. Between the models and equipment, also some simple furniture could be detected, among them a few chairs and a table. "Lilly, do you know anything about hot air that has the spirit of the sun and goes up?", Melchior asked. "Oh, yes, you bet. Let's see, where do I have it...", she went out of the room, and half an hour later she returned with one of her models. In the mean time, Jessica looked around and wanted to explore a few things, but Melchior warned her: "It's better not to touch those things. You will never know what's going to happen then". "This", Lilly said heavily panting, "is my model of a balloon. When you hold it above the fireplace for a while, it will go up." She demonstrated it. "My first experiments all failed, because I held them too low and they were all burnt. But now I've got the hang of it". "Ah, ju...just what we need", Melchior said. He was very excited: his hands trembled, and he started to stammer. "I..Is it po..possible to build so..something like this to ta..take peo..people up?" "Yes, of course, you only need a huge piece of cloth and a fireplace on board." * The next days, Jessica and Melchior often came to Lilly's place to talk about the construction of the balloon. While thew balloon got into shape, Jessica had a hard time at school. She didn't concentrate and didn't pay much attention. The others children started calling her names: "Crazy Jessie", they called her, and "Jessigaga". Most of the time Jessica didn't hear it, because she was with her thoughts somewhere else, and when she did hear it, she didn't care. "They are stupid", she thought, "they know nothing". When she wasn't with Melchior, she spent her afternoons lying in the grass and looking up to the clouds. Then the balloon finally was ready: it had become a huge patchwork in all possible and impossible colors. With innumerable lines it was attached to a large wooden platform. The platform was surrounded by barrels of lamp oil. These barrels also prevented anything from falling off. In the middle of the platform something was mounted that can be best described as an enormous oil lamp, to provide the heat for the balloon to lift off. It was connected with piping to the oil barrels in order to refill the lamp. At the moment, however, the patchwork cloth was lying on the ground and all the lines were tangled. That night Melchior again went to the Grassbeetles. He went in with shining eyes and a giant smile on his face. Somehow he looked younger, ten years at least. "The balloon is finished?", Albert asked immediately. "Yes, it is finished. If the weather remains like this, I'm going up tomorrow! Don't you want to come with me, Albert?" "No, no, thank you. I would love to, but, you see, I have my work to do here. And", he whispered and leant forward, "I can't leave Helga and Jessica alone." "Well, why don't you take them with you?" "Eh, no, I don't think that would be a good idea." "No, probably not", Melchior agreed. "Besides", Albert added, "Helga wouldn't want to." "Well, the I'll go alone." "Can I come with you?", Jessica asked. "No, silly girl. You have to go school.", her mother answered. "You better listen to your mother, Jessica. She's right, I guess. But you all come tomorrow when I depart, do you?" Melchior asked. " Yes, we certainly will". The next morning not only the Grassbeetles where there, the whole had gathered around the balloon to see the foolish old man depart. The huge oil lamp burnt with a roaring flame, the balloon was full of hot air and quivering to depart. Only a last large cable kept it firmly to the ground. Melchior stood on the platform and waved to the people. Then he gave a signal to Lilly Dea, who stood ready with an axe to cut the cable. And while Lilly swung down the axe, Jessica freed herself from her mothers grasp, run to the balloon and jumped on the platform. "Jessica, come back immediately, you horrible child!", Helga shouted. But it was too late: the balloon was already several meters above the ground and was quickly ascending. The people in the crowd looked up and followed the balloon with their eyes until it was nothing more than a small spot between the clouds. Then they went back to work, shaking their head. How could someone be crazy like that? * Somewhere on a field, a large piece of multi-colored cloth was lying next to a wooden platform. An old man and a little girl were standing near it and looked around. "Where are we?", the little girl asked the old man. "I don't know. We have to find that out first before we can go home." "How long will it take to get home?" "A very long time, I fear.", the old man answered. "But we had a wonderful journey", he continued with shining eyes. "Yes, we had", the little girl agreed. She took the hand of the old man, and with a smile on their face they started their long way home. by Trevon Andarosel