The sun brightened the kaleidoscope of color in the soap bubbles Jordan blew into the cool, gentle morning breeze. The multicolored bubbles floated across a field dotted with violets, coltsfeet, new grass and other meadow plants that provided colors more deeply intense than the colors in the bubbles. Jordan blew the bubbles from a variety of odd-shaped dime-store creations she carried in her pockets. Miniature bubbles came from a special Frisbee as she tossed it and ran across the edge of the field after it, laughing with glee at the hundreds of colorful balls floating in the air. Breathless, she returned to her blanket to enjoy a mini-picnic of chocolate milk and cookies. Then she pulled out the treasure she’d found among her grandmother’s books the evening before. Attached to the book was a huge bubble wand unlike anything she had ever imagined. Its red plastic handle had a six-foot loop of strapping attached to it. There was also a jar of homemade bubble solution she had mixed early that morning, according to a recipe found in the book. Hunger satisfied, she gently dipped the loop into the bubbles and tried, unsuccessfully, to create a bubble. Several attempts later she managed to create a bubble bigger than any she had ever imagined. And she knew this wand could make even bigger bubbles. Fascinated, she tried again. This time her eyes widened as the bubble grew…and grew…and grew…so big it enveloped her before separating itself from the wand. Intrigue won out over panic as she felt herself being lifted off the ground with the rising bubble. Her arms reached out against the bubble’s sidewalls for balance. The walls flexed with the pressure. She was now soaring high above the field. Beneath her she noticed a pair of Monarch butterflies flirting and flitting about, their orange blending with the colors of the meadow below. She watched them, fascinated at their beauty and ballet-like movements. A shadow covered the bubble. Jordan looked up and saw a colorful dragon kite flying above. As she studied it with interest, it took a dive---directly at her. At the same time she felt herself descending like an elevator sent into a free-fall because of broken cables. Visit the Beanery Online Literary Magazine tomorrow night to read the conclusion of THE BUBBLE RIDE. | 
