WEBVTT

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The grass was still damp with the crisp

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dew of dawn, clinging to the ankles of

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the crowd

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gathered in the vast, open field.

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Clara wrapped her woolen scarf tighter around her

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neck, her breath pluming in the chilly

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morning air as she watched the Giants wake.

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All across the launch site, massive nylon leviathans

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lay deflated and sprawling, waiting

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for their fiery breath.

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With a deafening roar, a gout of propane

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flame shot into the dark maw of the

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nearest balloon.

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Slowly, obediently, the fabric began to stiffen and

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rise, blooming into a magnificent sphere

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of vibrant emerald and gold.

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Across the meadow, dozens of other balloons followed

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suit, transforming the misty morning

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landscape into an ocean of saturated color.

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Intricate geometric patterns, swirling rainbows, and bold animal

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motifs stretched across the

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canvas as the vessels strained against their tethering

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ropes.

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Clara climbed into the wicker basket alongside the

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pilot, her heart hammering a steady, excited

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rhythm.

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With a sudden jolt that felt more like

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magic than physics, the ground dropped away.

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They weren't climbing so much as the earth

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was sinking beneath them.

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The chatter of the festival faded, replaced by

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the profound, rushing silence of the upper air.

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As they drifted higher, breaching the low -hanging

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mist, the morning sun finally crested the

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horizon.

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Golden light flooded the sky, setting the sea

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of colorful balloons ablaze against the

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pastel pink and azure heavens.

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Below them, the launch site looked like a

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scattered handful of confetti on green velvet.

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Clara leaned against the wicker rim, the wind

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catching her hair, and smiled as she sailed

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out into the boundless, beautiful morning.