Oh how the gentle wind
Beckons throught the leaves
As autumn colors fall
Wirt and Gregory were both very happy with the idea of their adventure coming to an end, and they being finally able to return home. The time spent waiting for the balloon to be ready they managed to shower, and they also had some refreshments offered by Mrs. Wyatt, while eating they were able to talk a bit with her.
"So, Ma'am, you said the winds will lead us home, but how is this possible, and how did we came up here in the first place?"
"I don't know, Wirt, some strangers come by, from those distant lands, asking for my services so they can be sent back, it's rare, but some come. They didn't have better answers to why they were doing here in the first place. I know something in the wind blows them to their place of origin again, I suppose, never heard of one, most of the balloons come back though and the captains tell me they're safe, I don't know the science behind it though, even if I run this business. The best thing I can do is trust the word of my captains"
"How is it like living here, Mrs. Wyatt?"
"It's a very busy life, but there is little to complain about, besides how slow the business is going, if I had more money in my hands I'd say even more of my complaints would go away, I wouldn't have to give so many day offs for my employees, and Mr. Wyatt wouldn't have to work so hard promoting our business, he travels a lot already, with those extra trips I barely see him, but anyway, we should see how the balloon is going".
Mrs. Wyatt and the boys finish up eating and went to see Toffeeshire working on the last adjustments of the airship The Benevolent, he was making good progress and after a quick review, Mrs. Wyatt returned home, leaving the boys with the busy captain. Gregory was exploring the area, staying close to Wirt though, and Wirt was sitting in a bench waiting for the moment of going away. It was a good feeling, even with everything, to travel carrying no bagage, he thought.
"Oh wow, this hat is so cool!" Said Gregory wanting to play with the bicorn hat of the Captain, something that imediately caught the attention of Toffeeshire.
"Leave my hat be, children! Don't touch it" Said him, a bit ill humored.
"So, Mr. Toffeeshire, how did you come to work by Mrs. Wyatt?" Asked Wirt, curious on his life, after all, he was going to transport them back to their hometown.
"It is a long story, young man. I can tell you I'm a military veteran that have transported many in my duty, you will be safe with me." Toffee knew where Wirt was coming with the conversation, and gave him the comfort he wanted.
"Right, if you say so"
"Trust me, you are in safe hands." Said him, while putting the last set of ropes into place. Well, we are good to go. Tell this to Mrs. Wyatt so she can authorize our journey.
Greg sitted in the bench while Wirt went to tell Mrs. Wyiatt about the events, excited, she called Andrew so both could see the balloon taking the skies.
"This is in good time! You go now and avoid any storms, the quicker it happens the quicker will be over, hurray boys! Another satisfied set of customers."
Mrs. Wyatt shaked the hand of Wirt and Gregory one last time, and they also shaked the hand of Andrew, who thanked them for their yard work. Captain Toffeeshire opened the door of the balloon so the boys could enter, and when they were in, he started to untie the sandbags to it so it could fly, and they slowly rose to the skies, Wyatt and Andrew were waving Goodbye while Gregory and Wirt waved back, and Captain Toffeeshire, taking care of the hot air and the route of the balloon, kept the journey going, and it was indeed a journey.
In the sky, the boys were sitting in the balloon, carefully on the corner, while Toffeeshire was in control, he couldn't talk too much, but he would give reports to the boys frequently.
"The wind blows and we are following it, no signs of storm so far, still some miles to go."
For a while this was the pattern, regular reports, little conversation. At a point Greg and Wirt started to play charade games, played of creating stories as well, and talked about how excited they were to return home. After a while, of course, the boys started to feel tired and almost fell asleep, but then the Captain screamed.
"Hold tight boys! The wind is blowing faster! We are entering a turbulence area! We may face a storm ahead!"
"Oh no, no no no!! This can not be happening! This is it!" Wirt was getting more and more scared and Greg followed his pattern, Toffeeshire tried to keep them calm, but the turbulence was strong, the thick drops of rain were beating their faces as the wind was blowing, the balloon was going faster and faster, and went up and down also with the wind and the turbulence, Wirt never felt more stomach sick in his entire life, and vomited twice, holding tight to the balloon, while Gregory was holding into his legs, too scared to open his eyes.
"Boys! Hold on! We are almost there! This will be over soon!"
It didn't appear that way, as they were soaking up in rain, the wind was cold and unforgiving.
"I want this to be over soon!"
The balloon, trying to avoid the storm, one with lightnings even, started to carefully, as possible, to lose altitude, and even if things were bad, the captain saw a mall in the horizon, between the heavy clouds, and he shouted.
"LAND AHOY!"
"WHAT?"
"WIRT! THE MALL! I CAN SEE!!"
The Captain grabbed a huge umbrella and gave to the boys, and shouted.
"THIS IS WHERE WE SAY GOODBYE, IF WE WAIT LONGER, THIS WILL GET WORSE, TAKE THIS UMBRELLA AND USE IT AS A PARACHUTE! BE SAFE BOYS."
"BUT UMBRELLAS ATTRACT LIGHTNINGS!"
"THIS IS TRUE, BUT DON'T WORRY, THE HOLDING SPOT IS MADE OF RUBBER, AND THE MATERIAL IS RESISTANT, YOU WILL BE FINE, BUT JUMP NOW, WITH THIS STORM THIS MIGHT BE THE LAST CHANCE YOU GET, JUMP!"
The boys couldn't even think too much, Wirt and Greg grabbing the umbrella with the most tightness they could, and they jumped.
It felt like forever, they were falling with the wind and the turbulent storm, the wind was trying to blow them away from their destination and the cold was intense, Wirt felt his nose and hands freezing and wished he had gloves now, his hand were aching due to how he was holding the umbrella, but he was tight and determined not to let go. Greg was too terrified to pay attention to anything else, his eyes were firmly closed and he was holding the umbrella just like Wirt was doing. They fell and fell and fell, at times fast, at time slow, until they finally reach the floor. The fall was painful but they didn't get a single scratch. They fainted in the parking lot, things were dark and blurry.
They were helped by a group of policemen who saw the whole thing. Very confused, they asked if they need an ambulance, but both Greg and Wirt denied it, while thanking them. They still had stuff to do at the mall, but didn't have any energy left in them to do so, they just sat in a bench next to the main entrance of the mall then, waiting to their Mother and father. It was still the afternoon, just past lunchtime, they had a lot to rest though.
The relief of returning back home and to their routines came in small portions, but the boys recovered from another misadventure. Their parents didn't believe the story Wirt and Gregory told them, and offered professional help to them, to which they refused, they weren't in need of this, just some rest and not get into any special hallway or jumping on a cliff to avoid being hit by a train. Greg managed to get his material and could do his work for school. Wirt went to the same mall the next day and bought a tape player to Sarah, and when they were hanging out, he told her about all the misfortunes he experienced over the hallway on the mall, to which she was impressed and open headed about it, just as she has been with the experience over the garden wall.
Dancing in a swirl
Of golden memories
The loveliest lies of all.
THE END.
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