In response to Melissa’s Fandango Flash Fiction Challenge:

https://wp.me/pefeKf-4un

When the Wind Says Yes

They had planned it for months.

Checked the ropes. Studied the sky. Waited for the right morning — the kind where the clouds float instead of threaten.

Below them, the tulips had already begun their applause.

Red for courage.
Yellow for joy.
White for the quiet prayers no one else hears.

The first balloon lifted gently, almost shy, as if asking permission from the earth. The second followed, bolder, trusting the invisible currents that no one can see but everyone must believe in.

From the ground, it looked effortless.

From the basket, it felt like surrender.

The field grew smaller. The colors blurred into one trembling canvas of life. Wind pressed softly against striped fabric, whispering ancient instructions:.

Rise when it is time.
Do not argue with the air meant to carry you.
Trust what you cannot hold.

One balloon drifted slightly ahead.

Not competition. Not distance.

Just different timing.

Below, the tulips remained rooted — not trapped, not envious — simply fulfilling their own design: bloom where planted.

Above, the sky opened wider than fear.

And for one suspended moment between earth and cloud, both balloons understood:

Freedom is not escape.
It is alignment.

When the wind says yes,
you go.

— Maggie
The Afterlove Voice 💫