She threw the ball upward, head tilted back to watch its ascent. As gravity worked its mysterious magic, and the ball started to drop, the little girl winced. Even as her arms instinctively shot out to catch it, she always had the fear it might hit her in the face.

"Marie?" a woman's inquisitive voice asked from the porch door. The girl turned, blue eyes sparkling.

"Mama!" She clutched her ball tighter as she ran to greet her mother.

"What were you doing?"

Marie looked at her mom as if it were obvious, "Trying to catch a cloud, of course. If I hit it, it will stick on the ball and be mine."

Her mother nodded, "Ah. I understand. You should come in for dinner." The tone of her voice said the little girl's words were nonsense.

Marie sighed, scanning the ball a final time. Not a single drop of cloud on the red surface, "Mama, can I ever catch one?"

The woman cocked her head to the side, frowning, "I don't know, Marie. I've never succeeded."

"Then next time, I'll catch one for both of us!" She dropped the ball, rushing forward to hug her mother's skirts.

"I hope so. Now, I mean it when I say dinner," she chuckled, ushering her daughter into the house.