Whispers and Echoes

4,263. That’s how many balloons it took to lift Collin, his bed, and supplies from the back lawn.

Obtaining the balloons hadn’t been the problem, but rather the 85 helium tanks he’d need to fill them. Luckily, the lady at the party store took pity on him, offering to fill them with the store’s industrial-sized ones.

“Must be one hell of a birthday party.” She shot a glance at the mountain of balloons peeking out from behind the house as she loaded the spent tanks back into the van.

“A going away party,” Collin corrected.

That night, he untethered the bed and floated off, to escape to a new life and taste the sky.

McKenzie Richardson lives in Milwaukee, WI. Her work has been featured in various anthologies such as Mutate, Electromagnetism, and Doomsday, as well as online publications. Her first novel, Heartstrings, was published in 2018. McKenzie also runs a crafting blog: http://www.craft-cycle.com For more updates on her writing, you can follow her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mckenzielrichardson/ | Wattpad

Selected by the editor as a featured submission, May 2020

Originally posted on the site: 26/08/2019