Layla, Themba and George were enjoying being back at school. They had been at home for some time because of a scary, invisible monster called Coronavirus.
They knew they could protect themselves by wearing their masks, washing their hands often, and keeping some distance between themselves in the classroom and on the playground.
They were happy to be learning, talking to each other, and of course, playing their favourite game...
One day Themba didn’t show up at school.
When he returned the following day, he had a Gloomy Cloud hanging over him. Layla and George noticed that Themba looked sad.
So they tried to cheer him up. George showed him some new magic tricks and Layla drew him some funny pictures of her cat, Missy.
But the Gloomy Cloud stayed, and Themba continued to look sad. It seemed to grow bigger and darker as days went by.
Whenever Layla and George asked Themba why he looked so sad, he became annoyed, and the Gloomy Cloud would grow darker.
Sometimes the cloud would get so big and dark that thunder and lightning would come shooting out of it! When this happened, Themba would snap
at his two friends angrily. Even though he didn’t mean to, his anger would shoot out like lightning bolts!
Layla and George needed to come up with a plan. They decided to write Themba a letter, telling him that they cared about him, and wanted to understand
why a Gloomy Cloud was following him around.
After reading the letter, Themba told Layla and George that he had overheard his parents saying that they were planning to move to another city!
He would miss his two best friends terribly.
Suddenly the Gloomy Cloud burst into
droplets and Themba began to cry.
The grey clouds gathered and covered the three friends.
They all felt very sad.
Layla felt the sadness in the pit of her stomach. She remembered the time her cat, Missy, disappeared for a few days, and how much she cried
George felt the sadness in his chest.
He remembered the time when his mom was sick and had to spend some time in hospital. No matter how hard he tried, his magic tricks couldn’t make her feel any better.
Feeling this heartache together, the three friends realised that they had all had Gloomy Clouds hanging over them before. It was normal to feel sad sometimes – especially when you’re
missing someone. They needed to find ways of keeping the Gloomy Cloud from staying for too long.
Layla, Themba and George asked themselves… What would
our superheroes do?
Suddenly the Super 3 had some amazing
realisations!
Gloomy Clouds would come and go,
and the friends might feel sad from time to time, but they each had ways to make
them disappear faster.
Layla was Cat Fantastic, and like any cat, she could get away from the Gloomy Cloud by finding a sunny spot where she felt warm and happy. Her spot of sunshine
was painting, drawing and hanging out
with her two best friends.
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George was The Amazing Mr. Trix.
Performing his magic tricks for others gave them joy. Whenever they smiled, he smiled too. Doing something kind for others could make the Gloomy Cloud disappear.
Themba was The Brickslayer. He realised
that being brave meant speaking up!
Talking about your sad feelings with loved
ones could fight off the Gloomy Cloud.
They also had a super-secret weapon...
Loved ones to shelter them and stand by their side, no matter how gloomy the clouds became.
Knowing that Themba would be moving to another city made all three friends feel sad, but through talking about their feelings, they were able to accept it. Layla, Themba and George knew that no matter the distance and
no matter how the world changed,
friendship always remained.
The End.
Super 3 and the Gloomy Cloud, Book 3.
