Idlebones

Sophie & Paddy Chapter 6

Napoleon’s balloon leaned casually against the hedgerow. Up close,
Sophie and Paddy could see that it was indeed a big red and white balloon.
It had broad red and white bands around it, although the red looked
black until Napoleon held his lantern up to throw its light against
its side. The balloon rolled and sighed small eeks of satisfaction as it
rubbed its taunt silk against the dry leaves of the bushes, as if it
was sleepily trying to avoid the light that threatened to wake it up.
In the half light thrown by the lantern, they could see the large
wicker basket that sat moodily on the flower bed. It looked stern and
solid, putting up with the balloons wavering sleepyhead, grudgingly
lifting from the daffodils, then pressing back down on them firmly
every time the balloon rolled back towards the lantern, as if to say
“this time, were saying put!”. Eventually, the balloon would slowly
turn back on its pillow of leaves and the basket would have to lift
once more.

“You see, its all a matter of balance” Napoleon was saying, as he
tended to his sewing.

“Balloons need balance. The more hot air one pumps into a balloon the
more inflated its ego becomes” He bent to bite an stray piece of
string that dangled across his boot.

“And the more the Balloons ego is boosted, the higher it will fly”
Napoleon scratched his head and looked with forlorn eyes toward the
balloon.

“He’s a bit bored at the moment, hence the unplanned landing on your
mothers flowerbed” Napoleon turned a tired glance in Sopies direction
as she watched him, her chin resting on her arms folded on the
baskets’ rim.

“Sorry about that” he said.

At about this time, Paddy was getting bored. He had climbed to the
baskets edge and was amusing himself by walking tightrope across one
edge of the square baskets edge, two furry paws outstretched in
balance like the acrobats he had seen at the circus he and Sophie had
gone to see in a field outside the village last year. In his own, bear
mind, he was as good as any artist he had seen that night, and as he
placed paw after paw across the thin strip of wicker beneath him, he
thought, “How easy is this!?”

One paw followed the other, delicately placed with arms outstretched,
swaying slightly, then, retrieving his own balance, he beamed happily.
Feeling ever so proud of himself, he turned his head towards Sophie,
about to call her name, before he felt his paw slip, and his short
body sway as he lost his balance.

“Woow, hey” Said Paddy

Sophie looked up at Paddy and frowned as he appeared to wave his arms
in a peculiar manner. Napoleon was still talking, face down towards
his boots.

Paddy was being silly as usual, thought Sophie. He buckled and
twisted, bent and recoiled, before finally falling in towards the
inside of the basket, one leg high in the air, the other still on the
basket edge. For a moment Sophie held her breath as he seemed to be
falling towards her, but then, at the last moment he grasped the one
under hanging rope that hung beneath the balloon. Grasping the ropes’
thickly coiled strands, Paddy’s face allowed a confused smile as he
lets his foot lift away from the basket.

“Whooo-hoow, lookit me…….!” he cried, just as a bright red and
gold shaft of flame suddenly whooshed and burns above his head,
drowning out his last few words. as Sophie falls back onto the basket
floor. Sitting up and covering her ears with her hands, she watched as
her furry companion swings with his legs outstretched beneath the now
bright orange and blue flame. The sound is like the rush of a low
flying plane over her grannies house, she thought, as the leaf shaped
flame climbs into the the balloons widening mouth. All at once the
basket shuddered, sending Sophie back into the bottom of the wicker
baskets hold, banging her head against the hard, wooden edge of
Napoleon’s travel chest.

As Sophie looks on from her basket bottom view, rubbing her head,
Paddy was falling, and shouting something about bears hating flying.

“Oh dear” She said.