A tethered red balloon tied to the back of a Pennsylvania porch bounced in the air. It could not fly freely or soar in the sky.
Airplanes and birds flew through the heavens, but the balloon never reached such heights. Even umbrellas ripped from people’s hands on windy days soared higher than the balloon.
Carolina, the little girl in the home, just celebrated her seventh birthday. When it came time for chocolate cake on the back porch, all her friends gathered round and sang "Happy Birthday to you . . ."
Next to the tethered red balloon, she blew out the candles on the cake, making good wishes. Several other colorful balloons had lost air and sunk to the floor. They would never take off into the heavens.
"Oh, I think I'll pop your red balloon," her mischievous cousin said, picking his nose and rolling his eyes back-and-forth. “It’s still floating in the air.”
"Don't you dare! It's the balloon my mom bought me from the county fair," Carolina said, untying the balloon. She considered letting it fly to the heavens.
Her cousin jumped up and down, trying to reach the end of the string on the balloon, but he was too short to catch it.
"I want to burst your favorite balloon!" her troublemaking cousin said, whining. "Now I can't even reach it!"
“You have dozens to pop,” Carolina said. “Leave me alone!”
Carolina jumped from the picnic table and held the string attached to the balloon. She ascended into the sky with her red balloon, climbing to the clouds and beyond with the butterflies. She always believed balloons knew how to lift people when wishes were strong enough.
"Come on!" she called to her friends and family. "Find a balloon and come with me. It's everybody's birthday!"
As her cousin dove to pop the other balloons, her friends and family filled new balloons with helium. Then, they took off before her cousin could sabotage their flights. She watched them grab the balloon strings and set off into the sky.
She had always wondered what it felt like to soar like the birds.
"Up, up, up and away!" Carolina said, staring at her cousin, who was still picking his nose. She wiggled her toes and kicked off her dark blue Mary Jane shoes.
“Ouch!” her clumsy cousin yelled as the shoes landed on his head.
Her cousin never left the earth, but her balloon carried her higher and higher. All she could see was blue sky and fields of flowers. Her red balloon pulsed gently above her, glowing against the sky as if it carried a secret only she knew.
And in that moment, she knew the sky belonged to anyone brave enough to let go.
Copyright 2015 Jennifer Waters
LOGLINE
A seven-year-old girl escapes a troublesome cousin and discovers her own courage when a magical red balloon lifts her into the sky, teaching her that freedom belongs to anyone brave enough to let go.
PITCH
On her seventh birthday, Carolina’s favorite red balloon is tied to the back porch, longing to rise but held down—just like Carolina herself. When her mischievous cousin threatens to pop it, Carolina unties the balloon to protect it. But as she reaches for it, something extraordinary happens: the balloon lifts her off the ground and carries her into the sky. While her cousin scrambles below trying to sabotage the remaining balloons, Carolina calls out to her friends and family to join her. One by one, they fill new balloons with helium and rise beside her, escaping his antics and discovering their own sense of wonder. As Carolina floats higher—past butterflies, birds, and the shrinking world below—she realizes she’s experiencing the freedom she always imagined. With her glowing red balloon guiding her upward, Carolina finally understands that the sky belongs to anyone brave enough to let go.
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