She's holding two balloons like they're the only two things keeping her on the ground. Pastel blue, pastel pink, tied with the kind of string that gets tangled no matter how careful you are. The afternoon is flat and gray behind her, all wet pavement and old brick, and still she looks like the light found her first. I don't know her. I was just walking past. But I stopped, because there's a particular kind of bravery in being small in a big place and smiling anyway. Her fingers are wrapped so tight around that string. She knows what she has. One breath of wind and it's gone, one tug and it's sky. So she holds. I hope somebody buys her a hundred more. I hope the day stays exactly this kind. #balloons #childhood #streetphotography
