A New Life Up in the Air (Part - 1)

“Poppin, could running away really be the answer?”

“It’s our only option, Lyla. We’re just two mice that don’t belong in that whitewashed building anymore. Your parents don’t like my adventurous spirit. And that’s okay, I’ve come to accept that but we have to make our own life somehow.”

“Will we miss our families though?”

Lyla questioned again.

“Maybe so but we are in love, remember? We will always be together. You and me.”

Poppin gave her a sweet hug and a kiss on the whiskers.

He looked out to the field.

“There it is! This is our chance. We’ve gotta run fast now!”

“Alright, I’m ready. Let’s go! Goodbye childhood home and everything I’ve ever known.”

Lyla looked behind her for a second, waving at the white building she’d lived in with her family. They ran through a field of wheat.

“What is it called again?”

“I think it’s called a hot air balloon.”

They scampered up the side of the hot air balloon gondola. Half falling, half running down, they hit the bottom, making two little plopping sounds.

“Look there’s a basket! Let’s hide in that so the humans don’t see us and throw us out!”

“I bet they’ll be here soon.”

Lyla’s face lit up.

Poppin led the way toward the picnic basket.

“Oh, I smell something in there too!”

Lyla squeaked excitedly. They lifted the lid of the basket and squirmed inside to hide under a checkered cloth napkin.

“It’s cheese and crackers! And pepperoni!”

Lyla sniffed again. Poppin’s stomach growled. They both paused and peered through the crack of the closed basket.

“Sure enough… The people are coming on too! Two of them. We must be very quiet and still.”

The two mice lurched under the checkered cloth napkin as if it were a comforter on top of a mattress. They waited quietly. Without a clue or any hint of warning, the hot air balloon slowly started to lift up into the air.

“Here we go!”

Lyla squeezed Poppin’s paw and then wondered aloud,

“I wonder how far this balloon thing will take us…”

“Suppose we are gonna’ find out. My tummy keeps making weird sounds. Let’s have some crumbs of cheese. It smells more and more irresistible!”

They slipped out from under the napkin and nibbled some of the cheese off and then some of the crackers and then some of the pepperoni.

“What a treat!”

Lyla smiled as she was feeling full. They crawled back under the cloth napkin and fell asleep.

They woke up to the high pitch scream from one of the humans who’d opened the basket.

“Get them out! Get the nasty virmin out of there! Gross!”

The female human bellowed in distress.

Poppin and Lyla scampered out with startled hearts. Running up and out of the hot air balloon as fast as they could, they escaped.

Once they made it to a safe hiding place, they had a moment to look up and take in their surroundings.

“Think they can see us now?”

Lyla asked as she was trying to catch her breath.

“I think we are good. Look at that!”

He pointed up to the largest most interesting shape of a building that they had ever seen. It was a massive structure that looked like it was pointing to the clouds.

“Oh my goodness! That is beautiful and scary all at the same time!”

Lyla exclaimed.

“I wonder what it’s called? I can hear people talking in another language it seems.”

“You’re right. They are talking in a very different way.”

Lyla felt a bit nervous but she was excited to see what their new life together was going to be like.

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Author’s Note:

To read part two written by Colleen Walters, follow the link below: