“What if you could just think of something happy, and it came come true,” said Richard.
Donny smiled at the thought – dragons, monkeys, cake the size of buildings. While only seven year-olds, the boys shared what each thought was happiest thing they think of. Staring into the cloudy afternoon – they watched their hopes take form in the clouds.
Yet – it came to a halt when it was Marcus’s turn. The boy shook his head, “Imagine all the people sharing the world. No more angry stuff on the TV…I’m tired of it all…they take away the cartoons and it makes mom and dad mad.”
The other boys looked at Marcus as he was not looking up but at the setting sun.
They were dreamers in their own right. They were the future, and yet each held their own destiny within their imagination. Some grounded in reality and the others flew up within the heavens.
A gentle breeze blew across the grass and a single red balloon floated by. All three boys smiled and marveled at the balloon. It looked like it was made of several different shades of color – ever changing in the afternoon light. The magic of infinite imagination, and the coldness of a harsh reality seemed meaningless as the balloon drifted by. It was more than just a balloon to the three. It was an opportunity. It was an adventure. No matter their views – a sense of joy can be found in the simplest things – even in a balloon.
Without words, each boy got up and chased the balloon into the setting sun. It was more than a race to see who got there first – it was three knights chasing after the foul red dragon who destroyed a village. It was the Three Musketeers chasing after the evil Cardinal. It was three fighter pilots giving chase to the infamous the Red Baron.
It was so many things and more.
She watched them from a distance with a smile. There was no cell phones or tablets. It was simple joy. She hated what technology had done to the world. It was simple joy of their emotions that made this moment theirs. Soon – the world would be just like that – simple.
“Soon enough,” she said to the air.
Gideon's Wake 