I could hardly keep from running, so eager was I to see how the children felt about my new ‘invention.’ Arian hurried along at my side and had to hitch up her dress to keep up. We soon reached the park south of the music hall and I wasn’t disappointed. The children scurried about playing a game of tag, and among them were Kean and Lia.

Lia noticed me first and her friendly face brightened. She raced over and I tucked a hand behind my back before she grabbed the other one. “Have you come to play with us?”

“Don’t you have enough players?” I wondered as the other children, seeing me, hurried to join us.

Kean shook his head. “That isn’t it. None of the other adults will play with us.”

“Or cook us sweets!” another chimed in.

“Do you have brownies?” one of them asked.

I could hardly contain myself as I shook my head. “No, but I have something that will last longer than brownies.”

Lia’s eyes widened into pools of curiosity. “What is it?”

I drew out my hidden hand and opened my fingers to reveal the deflated balloon. “This.”

The children huddled close and stared in wonder and confusion at the object.

“What is it?” Kean asked me.

“It’s called a balloon,” I told him as I extracted myself from the friendly Lia and grasped the mouth. “You blow it up like this.”

I applied my mouth to the stem and blew. The children had the same enthusiastic reaction as Arian as they all screamed and scuttled back. Several of them dove behind the nearest bushes and one even climbed into a tree. My laugh sputtered into the balloon and I drew my mouth away. The toy deflated to its flat persona and all was still and silent.

I held up the balloon and wriggled it. “It’s alright. It just blows up like a, um, like a-”

“Like a folding lantern,” Arian assisted me.

“Yeah, like that,” I continued as I stretched the balloon between my hands. It stretched flat and wide in front of me. “See? It just stretches out and pops back in. I just use my breath to control it.”

The wide-eyed children crept out of their tree and hiding places and approached me. I held very still, fearful I would frighten the terrified young ones.

Lia hid behind Kean as he approached with a pale face. He stopped a few feet from me and stretched his neck out. “Could you. . .could you show us again?”

I grinned and nodded. “Of course! Just watch.”

I performed the same task but slower. The balloon slowly inflated under the influence of my hot air and the children’s eyes grew larger.

“Wow,” Lia breathed as she slipped out from behind Kean and tiptoed over to me. Her arms were scrunched up against her front and she trembled a little but curiosity ruled her eyes. “Can I try that?”

“Sure thing,” I told her as I opened the mouth to let out the air. “You just need to put this against your mouth and blow hard, alright?”

Lia bobbed her head as I handed the balloon to her. She squealed as I set the rubbery toy into her open palms. “It feels funny!”

“Like what?” one of the other kids asked her.

“Like stretchy mud!” she replied as she stretched and pulled the balloon like it was a bunch of Play-Doh.

Her familiar description piqued the curiosity of the kids and they crowded around her. They poked and prodded the poor toy until it was a mess of bumps and scratches.

All that touching made me nervous. “Careful. You might break it,” I warned them.

“Unfold it!” one of the kids pleaded.

“Blow it up!” another chimed in.

Lia put the stem to her lips and blew. The balloon puffed up just a little.

“Bigger!” one of her playmates demanded.

“Blow harder,” I advised my little friend.

Lia took a deep breath and blew in. The balloon exploded and the children erupted in giggling shouts of playful terror. They scooted back and clapped and cheered as Lia continued to blow until her little lungs ran out. She drew her mouth away and the air escaped. A look of pure horror and disappointment covered her face.

“Anna!” she shouted as she spun around and waved the shrinking balloon at me. “It’s getting smaller!”

“You have to close the thin part, like this,” I instructed her as I pinched the stem shut.

Lia copied me and drew the balloon against her. She bowed her head and sniffled. “But now it’s small again. . .”

I set a hand on her shoulder. “That’s alright. You can blow it up and shrink it as many times as you want. Try it.”

Lia nodded and put her mouth to the stem. Her little friends crowded around her and watched as the balloon came back to life. This time when she pulled her mouth away, she pinched the stem shut and the toy stayed the same size.

She beamed with pride as she waved the balloon at me. “I did it! I did it!”

“And it looks wonderful,” I congratulated her.

“I wanna try!” Kean spoke up.

“So do I!”

“And me!”

Lia bit her lower lip and cast a fearful side glance up at me. “Do you. . .do you have more funny lanterns?”

I knelt on one knee and clasped my hands together in front of myself. “Not yet, but let’s see if I can fix that.”

I focused all my thoughts on ballooning. My imagination ran away with me as my mind’s eye watched pictures of the kids scurrying and playing about. Their bright laughing faces warmed my heart, as did my magic as it flowed out of me. The silver strands formed dozens of balloons that piled up in my hands, creating a small hill of colorful fun.

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The kids gave a great shout and snatched their favorite color from me even before my magic had faded. They spared two to their greedy little hands, a purple and a brown one.

I stood and turned to my friend to whom I held up my hand in which they lay. “You want one?”

Her eyes lit up. “Oh yes!”

I grinned. “Then pick a color.”

“Brown is my favorite,” she told me as she chose her favored color.

“A purple is mine,” I mused as I plucked the last one from my palm.

By this time we were surrounded by a bunch of wolves huffing and puffing their balloons up and down. Each success was followed by a squeal of delight from the expert balloon blower. It took them a few more tries to figure out how to close their toys but we had a colorful forest of rubbery fun in a few minutes.

“Now I’ll show you how to tie them shut so you don’t have to hold them,” I instructed my eager little pupils.

They crowded around me and I gave a demonstration. Their clumsy little hands released a lot of air before they were finally able to tie the knot.

Kean held his balloon in his hands against his chest and wrinkled his nose. “Now what do we do with it?”

A sly Cheshire cat grin spread across my face. “We do this.”

I thwacked his balloon. The ball went flying out of his shocked hands and arched into the air before it landed with a couple of bounces on the grass.

“Hey!” he protested as he scrambled for it.

Some of the kids took on the herd instinct and scurried after him. Others threw their balloons up into the air and giggled as the toys floated on a slight breeze. They chased after them, catching and stumbling past. One small boy dripped over his balloon and the toy exploded with a terrific pop.

Everyone froze and the lad looked in horror at his broken balloon. He burst into tears and pointed at the flat remains of his toy. “It broke!”

I hurried over and knelt beside him. My mothering instincts kicked in and I wrapped my arms around the lad and drew him against my chest. “It’s alright. You just have to be more careful with the next one, okay?”

He bobbed his head. “I will!”

“Then I’ll make one for you,” I told the young lad as I released him and opened one hand.

My silver strands crafted another balloon and the young boy watched in wide-eyed amazement. “That is so pretty!”

I grinned and handed him the balloon. “Thanks, but I’d rather not have to show you again, okay?”

“Oh yes!” he agreed before he hurried off with his prize.

Arian joined me as I stood and we both watched the children play to their hearts’ content. Balloons bounced and floated everywhere with children bouncing along behind them giggling and laughing. My heart swelled with happiness and Arian’s face beamed.

“You have done it again, Anna,” she complimented me with her soft eyes. “You have given the children another moment of happiness they will never forget.”

I grinned. “I don’t know about that but I don’t know how I’m going to top this one.”

Lia’s balloon floated up to our feet and the little girl scurried after her toy. She wrapped her arms around the rubber toy and hugged it against herself. Her face was a picture of glee as she gave us a big smile. “Thank you so much for making my lantern!”

I didn’t have the heart to explain to her it wasn’t quite what she thought it was, so I nodded. “You’re very welcome but you know you can also use them as decoration for the festival.”

Lia stared at her toy with newfound curiosity. “Really?”

“You can hang them from strings or in bushes so they give color to your home,” I told her.

Her face lit up as did her beautifully innocent eyes. “Wow! I’m going to take mine to the park?”

“Park?” I repeated as I glanced between my two native friends.

“The Twilight Fair takes place at the largest park in the heavens,” Arian explained.

“So what happens during this fair? Are there games and stuff?” I wondered.

Lia bobbed his head. “Oh yes! And a lot of funny people come and try to get my mama and papa to buy their funny things!”

“She is referring to the land realm vendors who are allowed through the gates only for this special occasion,” Arian explained as she smiled down at the lass. “They come to sell their wares to the residents of the heaven realm and their guests who are allowed to pass through the gate.”

I lifted an eyebrow. “Is anyone allowed in?”

She shook her head. “Oh no. There is a stringent application process every vendor must go through before they are given a pass through the gates. I believe Lady Shian will be handling that quite soon.”

My heart sank into my stomach. “Is Shian good at that job?”

“While she can be lax in some of her duties, she does take this one seriously,” Arian assured me.

“Why this one?” I wondered.

“Lord Eastwei plays a pivotal part in the ceremonies and she desires to have everything perfect for him.”

The light of understanding dawned on me. “Ooohh. She really likes him, doesn’t she?”

Arian nodded. “Oh yes. I believe she has shown an interest in him since she was very young.”

I clasped my hands behind my back and smiled up at the bright sky. “I suppose that explains why she’s so angry with me all the time. I keep running into the guy she likes. She really needs to see that there’s nothing between us.”

I didn’t notice the sly smile that appeared on my friend’s lips, nor could I have imagined the maelstrom of intrigue on the horizon.