Link to original post on /r/WritingPrompts
“Hey, you should get up.” Melody kneeled beside her daughter, touching a hand to her arm and tugging gently. When no response came from the child, she tugged a little harder. “Lizzie, it’s time.”
Lizzie let out a quiet groan, then opened her eyes. She sat up immediately. “Oh no! I fell asleep!”
“It’s all right,” Melody chuckled. “You didn’t miss much. Mostly clouds. But we’re nearing the Moving Mountains and I knew you didn’t want to miss them.”
Standing up carefully, Lizzie looked over the edge of the basket of the hot air ballon. “I don’t see them yet. But I love the clouds.” She smiled that smile Melody loved more than anything in the world, full of wonder and excitement.
“It’s just a bit farther. Are you hungry?”
“Not really.” Lizzie’s eyes stayed glued to the fluffy white clouds below them. There were thin clouds above them as well, creating a feeling of floating between two soft blankets. The setting sun was starting to peek out beyond the furthest clouds.
Melody watched Lizzie watching the clouds below. She wished she could look at this landscape with brand new eyes and experience the childhood glee she saw in Lizzie’s face. As it was, she’d already flown these skies more times than she could count. There was always work for someone with a fast form of transportation. Now, it was Lizzie’s turn to experience the wonder that these lands and skies had to offer; and if she wanted, learn how to pilot a balloon herself. Lizzie leaned over the edge of the basket a bit farther, unafraid, and Melody knew she had it in her if she wanted to.
“There they are!” Lizzie shouted, pointing into the distance.
Melody turned to look. They appeared to be typical hills and mountains at first, but after staring for a few seconds you could see it. At their base, each mountain had an overhang, and the leathery gray head of a turtle stuck out from underneath. Two arms stuck out of the mountain-shell to either side. They waded through the fluffy clouds, unfathomably tall. Hardy, tough trees grew out of their shells.
“They’re so big!” Lizzie’s eyes were wide with awe. “Where are they going?” she asked.
“They’re moving south, to follow the sun as winter approaches. Majestic, aren’t they?”
“Yeah…” she sighed, trailing off dreamily. She turned to look at Melody. “Can we ride one? Please?”
Melody laughed. “It’s not safe, there isn’t a good place to land.”
Lizzie started to pout.
“How about we get closer?”
“Yes!”
“Would you like to try it yourself?”
A big grin spread across the girl’s face. “Yes!”
Melody pointed to the valve under the balloon. “See this valve? Open it just a little bit, and then immediately close it again. It will let some hot air escape. Don’t let out too much or we’ll hit the turtles.”
“Ok,” Lizzie said, her jaw set and her eyes serious. She reached up to the valve and tried turning it to the right. Nothing happened. She turned it to the left, and a whoosh of air made her yelp. She turned it back to the right, and the sound of the air stopped. “Whoa,” she said. “Did I do it right?”
Melody smiled. “Yes you did, very good job.” Lizzie backed away from the valve, still looking very interested, and Melody proceeded to let the balloon drop gently so that they ended up about twenty feet above the tallest of the trees on the turtles’ shoulders. Lizzie turned to look over the side of the basket again.
“Whoa, we’re so close!” Lizzie said. She was quiet for a moment. “What is that booming noise?”
“It’s the sound of their feet moving along the ground, miles below us.”
They both listened and watched for a while.
“I want to stay here forever,” Lizzie said.
Tears sprung to Melody’s eyes. “I’m so happy you’re enjoying this, honey. Would you like me to teach you how to fly this, so you can fly it yourself?”
“I’d love that!” she said. “Do we have enough time?”
The reminder of her terminal illness was a gut-punch. Her tears made wet streaks down her cheeks. She put her arm around Lizzie’s shoulder, squeezing.
When she trusted herself to speak again, she said, “I’ll make sure we do.”