A couple weeks ago, I was on something of an Owl City kick. No rhyme or reason for it. I just listened to a lot of Owl City. In so doing, I came across his cover of “99 Red Balloons”. It’s frightfully short (I do wish it was longer!), but it was just a lovely melody and the lyrics are bittersweet. After having listened to it on loop a few times, I got a very distinct mental image. I wish I could draw it, but I’m afraid I won’t do it justice. Maybe one day, I’ll work up the courage to do so.
In the meantime, though, I did write a little bit of a story. A flash-fiction, really. And for once, not fanfiction or sci-fi!
Originally, the story’s title was “The Hundredth Balloon”, which I knew was pretty lame, so I asked some online friends for help. One who is more or less obsessed with WWI offered the current title, which referred to the communication balloons they’d send up to tell troops to open fire. This works perfectly, I think, both with the story and the meaning behind the song.
She gave it to me, the day I was deployed, to bring back to her when I returned from the war.
Click here to read it!
PS: Also, because I’m curious, what do you envision the characters to look like as you read this?
le Jam Cannery 