The Cloudstep Rungs

The Cloudstep Rungs are a chain of narrow, wooden platforms lashed to the side of a very tall sky-garden tower, where the air is cool, bright, and always moving. Soft moss pads the boards, vine leaves brush at shoulder height, and the rails are wrapped in faded cloth to keep little hands from slipping. Below, pale clouds drift so close they hide the ground for long stretches, and the whole place smells of wet bark, crushed herbs, and rain that has not yet fallen. The tower is climbed by a winding path of steps, ladders, and hanging bridges that sway gently when someone passes. Small birds nest in the beams, and baskets of plum tomatoes, leaf bundles, and drying flowers hang from hooks in tidy rows. Morning is for watering, midday for shade, and late afternoon for listening to the wind slide through the tower like a soft whistle. Sometimes a loose plank creaks, or a ribbon of cloud curls through an open gap, making the Rungs feel both snug and high above the world.