Tasavvur, January 2026
This enchanting fairy tale explores the meeting of two dreamers from vastly different worlds during an unprecedented cosmic event. The story begins with the narrator explaining that since the beginning of time, the four winds have never all slept at once—they take turns resting while the others hold the sky apart from the earth. But on this particular night, all four winds fall asleep simultaneously.
The first protagonist is a princeling from the sky kingdoms, ethereal beings made of air who live in cloud castles suspended by the winds. Unlike his peers who care nothing for the world below, this prince is a dreamer obsessed with the solid, grounded existence of earthbound creatures. He imagines their joys—walking without accounting for the moon’s pull, seeing mountains that won’t blow away, holding loved ones close. While lying on a cliff edge, he sighs so deeply that he pushes himself off, and with the winds asleep, he falls toward earth for the first time in sky-being history.
The second protagonist is Tinker, a clever young woman who has devoted herself to achieving flight. She has studied bird wings, experimented with parachutes and spinning reeds, and created countless contraptions. Tonight, she has crafted her finest work yet—wings made from treated leaves and bamboo. She runs toward a cliff edge, intending to leap and finally soar. Unfortunately, she has no way of knowing that on this one night, there will be no wind to catch her wings.
Both fall simultaneously—the prince descending joyfully toward his dream, Tinker plummeting in terror. The prince, despite his tutors’ mockery, proves quick-minded and observant. He notices Tinker’s distress and wraps around her, speaking to her in a language she somehow understands. Though he lacks the strength to make her fly, he summons enough force to slow her descent, saving her from the worst of the impact. They crash through branches and land in a heap, her wings broken but her bones mostly intact.
The two dreamers connect immediately, sharing their contrasting worlds at breathless speed. But their meeting must be brief—the winds are beginning to wake. The prince realizes that once the winds fully rouse, ashamed of their neglect, they will blow so fiercely he’ll never be able to return home.
Tinker, whose wisdom lies in solving problems rather than dwelling on sadness, quickly devises a solution. She dismantles her broken wings and constructs a simple hot air lantern from leaves, bamboo, and wax. She explains to the prince how fire creates rising air and how birds ride thermal columns upward. Understanding her design, the prince climbs into the lantern. Tinker lights it, and he rises—warmed by fire, bouncing inside his vessel, ascending back toward his home in the clouds. She watches him become a speck of orange light, then blinks away a tear.
The story concludes as the four winds wake in sequence, restoring order to the world, while Tinker is left with new problems to solve and a brief, magical encounter that will shape her future endeavors.
Krushna Dande is a writer and artist living in New Delhi. He is a graduate of the Clarion West Writers Workshop 2025 and has been awarded the AC Bose Grant for Speculative Literature. He enjoys carrying a sketchbook and a lump of clay every day for drawing with friends and strangers. He enjoys the way an idea falls from the sky, still warm from the lathe. He enjoys reading, twitchy and marionette-like, in an unfamiliar language. He enjoys being awash in music until birds stir in the blue dawn. He is writing a novel that he very much hopes you will one day read.