Old Tim and the Sky Lantern [English - Short Story]

-1-

Darkening cumulus clouds covered the afternoon sky over the picnic grove. A few people, by pair and by group, were strolling around. Watching them, while sitting on a picnic mat under the young oak tree, was a petite, teenage girl in a pink-striped, cotton sweater and three-fourth-sized khaki pants. Her pony-tailed hair was hidden under a black, baseball cap. In front of her lay a mocha cupcake with vanilla icing and a lighted candle on top. On her lap, she was holding a diamond-shaped, yellow lantern and a lighter in her hand.

Thunder roared in the sky like a rolling drum as her cell phone vibrated and snoozed inside her waist pocket. She pulled it out and read the blinking reminder on her phone screen:

5:00 PM

Happy Eighteenth Birthday, Lexi!

She pressed the "dismiss" button and placed the phone back into her pocket. She blew the candle before she stood. Still carrying the lantern, she walked few steps away from the tree to the open space. She lit up the inside of the lantern with the lighter then held it high, stretching her arms upward.

"Happy birthday to me," she whispered, letting go of the lantern. She watched it float, slowly rising in the air. It flew high and higher, gradually becoming smaller until it faded out from her sight.