Eve tied the heart-shaped helium balloons onto her cat. “Just you wait,” she shrieked, “you’re going to fly!”
Marmalade, a plump ginger tabby with the patience of a saint and the pessimism of a Victorian ghost, blinked slowly as the final ribbon was secured around his little harness. His tail flicked once: a warning, or perhaps a sign of resignation.
Eve stepped back, eyes gleaming. Six glossy red balloons tugged gently upward, making Marmalade’s fur ripple. For a moment, nothing happened. Then—very gradually—the cat’s paws lifted from the hardwood floor.
“Ha!” Eve clapped. “Behold! The world’s first feline aeronaut!”
Marmalade hovered upward like a disgruntled parade float. When he reached eye-level with Eve, he let out a soft, judgmental chirp.
“Oh, don’t look at me like that. You love adventures.”
Marmalade drifted down the hallway, bumping lightly into a framed photo of Eve dressed as a pirate. The impact spun him slowly, leaving him rotating like a lazy, fuzzy satellite. Eve hurried after him, fumbling to steady her creation.
But Marmalade, realizing he had gained a new superpower, kicked off the wall. The momentum sent him gliding forward—right into the living room, where the ceiling fan lurked like a mechanical dragon.
“No no no nonono—” Eve sprinted and leaped, catching the ribbons just in time. Marmalade dangled above her head, batting at her hair with unexpected smugness.
They both collapsed onto the couch—Eve panting, Marmalade landing with all the grace of a beanbag.
“Okay,” Eve admitted, untying the balloons one by one. “Maybe you’re not meant to fly.”
Marmalade stretched luxuriously, now firmly earthbound again. But when Eve set the balloons aside, he placed one paw on them possessively, his eyes gleaming with newfound possibility.
“Oh no,” Eve groaned. “Don’t you dare get ideas.”
But Marmalade already had them.
Melissa’s Fandango Flash Fiction Challenge #347 – Mom With a Blog
Therapy Bits 
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