Sky

Above the world is stretched the sky,
No higher than the soul is high.
- Renascence, Edna St. Vincent Millay

The Heaven Divide Hosted on Zooomr

It is a majestic sight, even from behind the small window of the pitching aircraft. The clouds are seemingly ethereal against the azure sky, yet real enough to coagulate into a boundless continent. It is a sight that could have formed out of the imagination of a young child who is dreaming of wings, learning of heaven.

Surreal Continents Hosted on Zooomr

Then the plane dips. The clouds part. Gradually, the makeshift continent dissipates, leaving behind wispy remnants that are no less breathtaking. You try to peer past them, to spy the first signs of land. But the sky has dominion still, and all you see are dreamy clouds clinging stubbornly to their own Gaia. When the last of them finally fade away, your heart sighs. It will be months before your eyes get a chance to feast on such a sight again.

As the voice of the captain announces landing in ten minutes, Hong Kong draws inexorably closer. The first islands you see are like a little boy's construction model, laid out neatly and almost as if within reach.

Coast Road Hosted on Zooomr

The plane speeds past the islands, bringing you closer to a city you remember as cramped, bustling, chaotic, vibrant, noisy. Alive.