It wasn't a sound that distracted me but a flicker of movement outside the window. Ribbon dangling and swirling in the wind being carried higher into the air by something I couldn't see.

I move to the radiator, and climb up onto one knee and crane my neck to find it's conveyor and spot the yellow baloon, now about as high as my office building.

Surveying the scene below I spot the girl who lost it, her finger pointing past my window toward the shape long gone. She is smiling and I can tell from the movement of her hand she is now waving goodbye to it. Her mother takes her hand and leads her away, letting her stop every few steps to search the skies for another glimpse of the balloon. They turn the corner and are gone.

I set my feet back on the floor and walked back toward my computer. The air inside the office feels static and warm and I wish I could open a window to feel the wind swirl around me, too.