Livora Gracely

The smallest granddaughter found three balloons.

Nobody knows where they came from.

This was considered unimportant.

The important thing was that they were beautiful.

Yellow.

Blue.

Green.

The granddaughter held all three at once.

Then she slowly began leaving the ground.

At first everyone assumed she was jumping.

Then she continued rising.

Her older sister reacted immediately.

This was fortunate.

Her plan involved grabbing an ankle.

The plan succeeded.

Unfortunately, the older sister also left the ground.

Grandma reacted next.

Years of experience suggested that floating grandchildren required intervention.

She grabbed the older sister.

This was sensible.

For approximately two seconds.

Then Grandma also became airborne.

At this point the situation had become educational.

The family dog noticed.

The dog had no understanding of physics.

The dog did understand that Grandma appeared to be escaping.

It grabbed the hem of her dress.

This created a chain of responsibility.

Granddaughter.

Sister.

Grandma.

Dog.

The arrangement stretched elegantly across the sky.

Several birds adjusted their routes to get a better look.

One squirrel dropped an acorn.

A gardener applauded.

Nobody could explain why.

The floating group drifted gently above the park.

The younger granddaughter waved happily.

The older one was beginning to ask practical questions.

Grandma was inventing answers.

The dog remained committed to its original strategy.

Eventually a breeze carried them back toward the large tree beside the bench.

Everyone landed safely.

The balloons settled.

The excitement ended.

Or so they thought.

Later that evening, the younger granddaughter looked up and frowned.

“We forgot something.”

“What?” asked Grandma.

The little girl pointed at the sky.

All three balloons were gone.

The family searched the entire neighborhood.

Nothing.

The next morning a note arrived.

Attached to it was a single yellow ribbon.

The note read:

Thank you for the ride.

— The Birds

Nobody could prove the birds wrote it.

But nobody could explain the ribbon either.

The dog immediately demanded another investigation.

Grandma wisely hid the remaining balloons. 🎈♥️