Vision.

I had a vision.

This vision was grand and beautiful. I saw myself taking my usual run through the prairie behind my house. In the distance was a magnificent hot air balloon...slowly descending into the valley. Inside the balloon was an odd man. He smelled of pineapple and sand. The man did not ask for directions but requested my presence. He extended his arm and shook my hand mightily. He spoke of a bright future filled with a warm sun and an abundance of opportunity. A place this great could only be an oasis. "I want to go to there"...I told the peculiar man. But it was too late, a strong wind blew the hot air balloon away...and away. The man beckoned out of his basket..."I will return shortly and request your presence once again". In my mind such a place could not exist. It could only be a mirage...conjured up by day dreaming and false hope. I stood swaying in the wind as I watched the little man fly further and further away...until he was but a small insect floating into the Colorado sky. I would return to the same prairie every day to see if the man would make his appearance. Weeks would go by and still nothing. I had feared that I had lost my chance. That I was stuck in the dry and desolate Colorado weather. De-void of adventure or optimism. But then I remembered...the sky has to be just right for a hot air balloon to fly. The timing must be perfect and the trip should be executed as perfectly as possible. And that is when I realized everything will be settled in due time. The same peculiar man will make his appearance at the most opportune moment. When I'm ready. And probably when I least expect it. And when that time comes...I will run to the hot air balloon and hop into the basket. I will ever so slowly begin to float away from the soil and earth and instead, be hoisted into the heavens with the help of the wind. My eyes will feast upon my home and my neighborhood. I will see the familiar surroundings I grew up around...my middle school, my church, my high school...the local ice cream shop. My eyes will be met with small droplets of water as I reminisce. The man will hand me a satin hankerchief and offer me a shoulder to cry upon. I will take him up on his offer, and he will produce a lollipop from his pocket. My fears will melt away as I devour the candy and watch the Rocky Mountain's brush up against the basket.



The sun will slowly trickle down below the landscape and usher an explosion of stars and planets. They will shine down on us and I will fall asleep. The balloon will carry me hundreds and hundreds of miles away from my home...but I will lie bewildered and content because I know that everything will be okay.