Clouds

Yesterday night, I left home to take a walk. I spent time looking up at clouds.

I arrived on the school field, late at night, and laid down on the cold grass, right in the exact center of the field.

It was around 7:30 p.m. - the sky was a mix of blue, pink, and orange. The most perfect time of the day to take some time to relax.

I put on my headphones and played a few of my favorite relaxing songs in a small playlist, and began to stare at the clouds. I don't know exactly how long I stayed there, but the sky turned from that pink and orange into a deep, dark blue.

I looked at the clouds shift, slowly, bit by bit. I admired how pretty they were, especially in the modern metropolis of Beijing. As I had spent almost my entire life, over 13 years in this city, I had never spent this much time admiring the clouds.

Clouds shifted, changed shape, while the sky slowly dimmed as the sun set. Listening to beautiful melodies, and the occasional cycling sounds as my friends passed in the distance, made the night ever so much better.

I felt the true beauty of the sky.

I felt how large the world was. My body, against the cold grass, felt how small I was on the mere school field compared to the clouds above, and the sheer scale of our world.

I felt, calm. For once in my life, I forgot about my surroundings. Whatever was around me - cars, people, streetlights, buildings, felt like nothing.

I felt... free.