Was this sudden-bursting glory only the sun rising behind storm clouds?
She could see the clouds moving while they were being colored.

The universal gray surrendered under some magic paint brush.

The rifts widened, and the gloom of the pale-gray world seemed to vanish.

Beyond the billowy, rolling, creamy edges of clouds, white and pink, shone the soft exquisite fresh blue sky.

And a blaze of fire, a burst of molten gold, sheered up from behind the rim of cloud and suddenly poured a sea of sunlight from east to west.