A Galaxy of Short-Stories

Hot Air Balloon

Leah was ten years old, and like most ten year olds, she had a long list of things she wanted for Christmas. But unlike most ten year olds, she wasn't going to make it to the next Christmas. Leah had stage 3 leukemia, and things were not looking up. The doctors had tried everything they possibly could, but to no avail. They had taken the parents aside during her last visit after examining her blood tests once more, and they told them that from the looks of it, Leah didn't have much more time left. So, they kindly urged them to make the most of her last week or so and to let her live out her wildest dreams, one of which was to experience the joy of going up in a hot air balloon. With that in mind, the parents set out on a mission to make that possible.

Leah had a twin brother named Jay. He loved his sister to pieces and hated to see her in pain. Despite his youthful ignorance, his instincts told him he wasn't going to have much time with his beloved sister, so he made the most of their time together. He ditched his friends to hang out with her whenever he noticed the slightest change in her behavior—due to the mood swings that came along with her feeling fatigued and feverish all the time. It really took a toll on her. Jay realized that and tried to make her feel as normal as she possibly could. However, during the transition between stage two and three, she had an enlarged spleen, so she couldn't run around outside or anything a ten year old would normally do in the summer. Jay didn't mind, though. He stayed inside with her playing silly games, telling stories they made up, and singing songs.

One song, though, was repeated a myriad of times because it was Leah's absolute favorite song she hummed all day long, every single day of the week. It was "Hot Air Balloon" by Owl City. It reminded her of her adventures with her brother they always journeyed through each day, as each day was an adventure. Jay made sure of that. It is one of the main reasons she loved the song so much. Not to mention, it spoke about a hot air balloon, which was her favorite fantasy of all the stories they could have made up. What she didn't realize was the song would become her story. Just as it starts out, so does this unforgettable day.

We wrote a prelude

To our own fairy tale

And bought a parachute

At a church rummage sale

And with a mean sewing machine

And miles of thread

We sewed the day above L.A.

In navy and red

After the results came back from the doctors, information only given to the parents at the time, Jay spent with Leah, having a blast to keep her mind preoccupied. Together they began a new adventure, a new story, by gathering a bunch of navy blue and red sheets donated by the church down the street and attempted to pin them together to create a parachute. They jumped off the steps of the porch, pretending to catch flight and soar over the city they imagined resided below them. The only problem was Leah's nose started to bleed again for the fourth time that morning, so they had to take a break for a little while. But being kids, they didn't sit still for long. Soon after, Leah and Jay were in the kitchen, ready to have another adventure.

We roamed a racetrack

Through your mom's kitchen chairs

And fought the shadows

Back down your dark basement stairs

Later, they had set up an obstacle course using the kitchen chairs. They sped through it, or at least, as fast as they could go due to Leah's physical limitations of getting short of breath quickly and easily. Jay never let her win, but he never left her behind. Continuing with their race through the chairs, their mother had interrupted to call Jay away to tell him something important, something exciting. A few minutes passed and Jay was sent back to his oblivious sister with a huge grin on his face. Leah gave him a questioning look, but Jay shrugged it off and said, "Just wanted to know if we locked the door back." With that, they went back to playing. However, Jay had a better game: to explore the forbidden basement. He grabbed his sister's arm and pulled her along with him down the basement stairs.