Angels and Blueberries
by Tara Campbell
“Why is the sky blue?” you ask.
Well, it all depends on who’s answering.
If you ask a grown-up, you’ll probably get an answer about light, and how it bounces off air particles, and how certain wavelengths (i.e. colors) get absorbed, and certain colors (i.e. wavelengths) get kicked back out, and those certain colors/wavelengths (i.e. blue) are the ones that you and I can see.
If you ask a scientist, you’ll likely get an even more confusing but way more convincing version of that answer.
But if you ask a writer, you’ll get a different answer every time.
One answer, for example, lies with the special properties of blue fingerpaint. Whenever children use blue paint, tiny particles of it dissolve from their hands into the air and color it blue. Over time the pigment fades, but as long as there is fingerpainting, there will always be blue sky.
Another answer is related to the blue-eyed creatures at the North and South Poles. They are always looking up into the sky, and the blue of their eyes reflects back for the whole world to see. You’ve probably never heard of these polar creatures because they know how to hide from satellites and explorers. The reflection of their eyes is all we’ll ever see of them.
But the answer I think is true right now concerns angels and blueberries.
You see, blueberries are the angels’ favorite food. There’s nothing they like more; and berries are healthy, so it’s a happy coincidence. The only problem is, angels are sloppy eaters, and they eat pretty much all day. Of course they do other things like play the harp and sing and keep little babies from getting into the bleach under the sink. But they still have lots of time to munch on blueberries—they live forever, after all—so little bits of blueberry wind up all over the sky.
Even worse, some angels don’t like the blueberry skins, so they peel each berry before eating it and toss the skins to the side. This doesn’t make them blatant litterers, mind you—they know they’ll get around to picking up the skins, just not at that very moment.
So as the day goes on, the angels eat more and more berries; and as the sun goes down, its light reflects through the berry pulp and juice, creating wonderful reds and oranges and yellows. And still the angels eat, and the sky grows darker and darker with blue skins and bits of berry. The angels keep on munching until, with the exception of little gaps for the moon and stars, no light can get to the Earth at all. In fact, there’s not even enough room for the moon most of the time, which is why you only see the whole thing once a month.
In the middle of the night God finally has enough, and she tells the angels they have to start cleaning up their mess. Of course they start right away, but it’s a big mess and it takes a while. And as they clean, you can see a little bits of light start to penetrate the layer of blueberry waste. Dawn begins as they wipe and scrub, and daylight breaks when they finally clear away enough blueberries for the sun to shine on the Earth again.
The one problem is that blueberry skins stain, and the angels can’t scrub the traces away completely. Some days they do better, and the sky is light blue. But on very sunny days you can see the full extent of the staining and the sky is a rich, dark blue. But God isn’t that concerned about the stains. She actually thinks they’re pretty, and the renters down on the surface don’t mind, and she’s not planning on moving anytime soon, so it’s not like she has to worry about resale value. What matters to her is that the angels did their best.
Now, you may wonder what would happen if the angels ever got tired of blueberries. What would happen if they switched to raspberries? Would the sky eventually wind up purple? If they started eating bananas, would the yellow peels turn the blue sky green? Or if they developed a fondness for lemons, would the juice bleach the color out forever? And if that happened, would your grandchildren ever believe the sky had once been blue?
Or would they just think you were a silly writer telling stories about angels and blueberries?
support the author: TaraCampbell.com
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August 31st, 2016 at 1:56 pm
[…] while you’re laughing. It’s expertly done, and beautifully rendered. And the imagination here! Read this, and make of it what you will (and if you don’t know what to make of it, well, isn’t that […]
September 1st, 2016 at 6:16 am
Great comment!
And one of my favorite stories of the Complex Fairy Tales work. Thnx, and surf-on through again real soon…
–eatstuf: monitor, co-editor, defenestrationism.net
November 22nd, 2017 at 5:45 am
[…] “Angels and Blueberries” by Tara […]
July 5th, 2019 at 9:54 am
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July 7th, 2019 at 3:35 am
I loved this post! I reaԀ your blog fairly ߋften ɑnd you’re always c᧐ming
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August 25th, 2019 at 1:35 am
[…] ever popular Angels and Blueberries— written by our New Co-editor extraordinaire Tara Campbell for Defenestrationism.net ‘s […]
September 3rd, 2019 at 6:38 pm
I loved the story. Very creative. Except that God is not a woman.
April 13th, 2020 at 9:11 am
My husband and i have been quite cheerful when Edward could complete his basic research via the ideas he discovered using your web page. It’s not at all simplistic to just possibly be making a gift of steps which people today have been selling. And we see we now have the writer to appreciate for this. The illustrations you have made, the simple site navigation, the friendships your site help to instill – it’s got mostly excellent, and it’s really assisting our son and our family believe that that matter is thrilling, and that’s very essential. Many thanks for all!
June 17th, 2020 at 9:31 am
Very Creative and Fun ! Loved your work
June 17th, 2020 at 9:35 am
Loved the work . In quarintine me and my wife have been reading.a lot !! Loved this work….. BUY ASTRO MERCHHHH
July 5th, 2020 at 4:40 am
Awwnn,this is lovely and pleasant to read
September 24th, 2020 at 12:33 am
[…] Story: Angels and Blueberries by Tara […]
November 1st, 2020 at 6:57 pm
[…] pleased to say that one of Tara’s own stories has been trending all this month– “Angels and Blueberries“, first published in our Defenestrationism.net exclusive collaborative work, Complex Fairy […]
November 20th, 2020 at 3:59 pm
[…] Read “Angels and Blueberries” by Tara Campbell. After, research the difference between an “origin myth” & a “creation […]
November 23rd, 2020 at 1:01 pm
Oh, it’s already been LIT.
January 18th, 2021 at 12:24 pm
SETTING:Heaven CHARACTERS: Grown-up-who explained that the light is the reason why the sky is blue. Scientist- who can give you more confusing explanation about the light but more convincing. Writer-who has different answer every time. Angel-who made the sky blue by eating lots of blueberries. God-who ordered the angels to clean their mess. CONFLICT: man VS. itself- because angels are sloppy eaters and they can’t control themselves eating blueberries resulting for them to mess the sky PLOT:EXPOSITION- “why is the sky blue?” Well, it all depends on who:s answering, if you ask a grown-up, you’II probably get an answer about light, if you ask a scientist, you’ll likely get an even more confusing but way more convincing version of that answer. but if you ask a writer, you’ll get a different answer every time. RISING ACTION – but the answer i think is true right now concerns angels and blueberries. are the angels favorite food. The only problem is, angels are sloppy eaters, and they eat pretty much all day. even worse, some angels don’t like the blueberry skins, so they peel each berry before eating it and toss the skins to the side. CLIMAX – the angels eat more and more berries; the sky grows darker and darker whit blue skins and bit of berry. FALLING ACTION – in the middle of the night good finally has enough. and she tells the angels they have to start cleaning up their mess. of course they start right away, but it;s a big mess and it takes a while RESOLUTION – god isn t that concerned about the stains. she actually thinks they’re pretty. what matter to her is that the angels did their best. POINT OF VIEW: Second person POV – because the narrator speaks directly to the reader and rarely using the pronoun “you” THEMEM: wholesome, Beautiful Disaster
February 1st, 2021 at 10:58 am
Hello
February 2nd, 2021 at 1:23 am
lovely story. inspired me to write something of my own today. thank you for creating this <3
November 11th, 2021 at 10:38 pm
Lovely story. Inspired me to write something of my own today
December 31st, 2021 at 8:03 am
[…] Tara Campbell’s “Angels and Blueberries“ […]
June 1st, 2022 at 11:28 pm
now when asked about the reasons for sky to be blue, my answer would be “angels and blueberry”. such a lovely story it is <3
July 18th, 2023 at 12:58 pm
Wow! Just wow! This is just wow…
September 16th, 2023 at 10:02 pm
I was sitting in a cafe looking up flash fiction. Just learned about it a couple days ago in my fiction class. After reading 3-4 paragraphs tears were in my eyes. The line with finger painting made me so grateful for my childhood. I had to step away and go outside LOLLL ik so dramatic but I felt so happy reading that line. I’ve never felt so happy reading anything. also love The green sky medals back into the coloring box. Very touching work. My heart feels so light reading this!
November 8th, 2023 at 10:39 pm
[…] Full text here. […]
February 21st, 2024 at 8:03 am
Thаnks for finally talking abⲟut > Angels and BlueЬerries
| Ɗefenestrationism.net < Liked it!
March 28th, 2024 at 8:29 am
This is beautifully done.
Bravo!
Floyd
May 14th, 2024 at 7:14 am
Such a beautiful story even in today’s year, what could be the inspiration behind writing it?