Chapter Two

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               Sora looked down at the newspaper, there was a hot air balloon festival today and there was supposed to be an amazing farmer's market there selling all kinds of fresh produce. She was nervous about going out on her own. Her father used to accompany her when she went out in public so it wouldn't look as strange when she talked to one of her pesky pixie companions. Her heart hurt as she thought of her father. It had been about seven months since he'd passed away.

He was a hot air balloon pilot, he loved everything about hot air balloons and took her up every weekend when she was growing up. Tears welled in her eyes as she thought of her father. A small dark grey cloud with a faint red outline wearing a bowtie flew in her face, Locke. He was trying to cheer her up. She smiled through her tears, "thanks, Locke."

After mopping up her face she finished getting ready and exited her apartment with a cloud of brightly colored pixies floating above her. It was a bright sunny day with very little to no wind, it was the perfect day for an air balloon ride, though she hadn't been since her father had died, and she wasn't sure that she'd ever ride one again. Trying to keep from thinking about the accident that had taken her father from her, she straightened out her white sundress and smiled as the pesky pixies fluttered around her trying to poke at her and hug her as she walked.

She giggled softly to herself as Lock hugged her nose, "you guys really are the best friends a girl could ever ask for."

A few passersby looked to the pretty teen with the long sky-blue hair warily as they saw her talking to herself. Some people crossed the street to avoid sharing a sidewalk with her. Like most people they thought she was crazy. Sora sighed softly to herself she shouldn't have said anything. She made a conscious effort to be quiet and keep her head down as she made her way toward the park where the festival was being held. As she drew nearer, she could see the brightly colored hot air balloons slowly drifting upward into the sky creating a field of flowers in the sky. Her eyes immediately searched for her father's balloon out of habit, but her heart clenched in her chest as she realized she'd never see it again. Her father had let her help him design the balloon, he wanted to create it for her, they'd used a fun sky-blue background and painted it with hundreds and hundreds of the brightly colored pixies that followed her everywhere. The last time she'd seen it, it was burning in the sky with her father and the few passengers he had onboard.

Sora was supposed to go with them but her stomach had felt a little unsettled and Locke and the others convinced her to stay on the ground. The screams of everyone on board and the onlookers on the ground filled her mind as she desperately tried not to recall the image of it all in her mind's eye. She shook her head shaking it all away and glanced around at her surroundings, she'd made it to the farmer's market. Locke hovered in her eye line he was worried.

"It's okay, Locke." She offered him a reassuring smile, "let's try to find some yummy fruit for tarts and pies."

A few nearby patrons looked over at the girl strangely as she appeared to be looking at something no one else could see and carrying on a conversation with herself. There was a faint murmur from some passersby, "should we call someone? Maybe she's sick and lost her aid?"

Sora felt her cheeks redden slightly and quickly ducked into the crowd to get away from the people who thought she'd escaped some kind of psych ward. Once she felt that she'd sufficiently gotten away from everyone who'd seen her talking to herself she began to peruse the various tents and stalls and look at all the fresh produce and handmade crafts and trinkets.

As she was looking at some fresh fruit, Locke and Henry began bickering over which fruit she should get. Locke thought baked apples smelled better than baked blueberries. Henry disagreed. Sora looked between the bickering pair warily, things were getting a little heated.

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