and after all that Welcome Wagon hoopla is over with, I may be approached by the one in charge of Jobs of the Eternal, and I may be asked, “What job would you like to have?” And I bet you wouldn’t think it, but I already know what I will say. Cloud-shaper. You heard me. I want to be the one who fluffs them up to look like giant cotton balls suspended on invisible strings or shreds them into wisps, bits and strands, spreading them across the blue canvass of sky causing people going about their hum-drum lives to look up suddenly and gasp in delight, not believing their eyes, at the lovely serene masterpiece that transcends their understanding. I will shape them into dragons, fish and turtles, maybe some creature no one has ever seen before, something only a child could name. I’ll be the one who sweeps them completely away to reveal the morning sun, and at sunset give the artists a run for their money as I paint in impossible combinations of orange and red and purple.