Word: Zephyrean

 

zephyrean

[ zef-uh-ree-uhn ]

adjective

1. of, relating to, or like a zephyr; full of or containing light breezes.

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               A gentle breeze was blowing. It carried on it the sounds and smells of the open picnic grounds. Children laughing. Food cooking. Even the occasional birdsong could be heard. For Dan, the only thing he cared about at that moment was the young girl throwing a kite in the air.

               He watched with a barely contained grin as she tossed it up, only to watch it come back down. He was aware of his wife stirring on the lawn chair they had brought, but figured it was just her waking up from her nap. Their daughter ran over, clutching the kite to her chest with a look that said she was trying not to cry.

               “Daddy, it’s not working!” She whined.

               “Oh no. Well, you’d better tell it to start.”

               “Daddy, this isn’t funny!”

               “Well maybe it’s sleeping like Mommy is. You’ll have to wake it up before it’ll fly.”

               “How do I wake it up?” She asked with genuine curiosity.

               “If you toss it up, and then start running really fast, I bet it’ll wake up. Maybe not right away, but it will.”

               “Okay!” She replied, much more cheerfully.

               Dan watched her run off to make the attempt again. She tossed the kite up and started to run.

               “She’s gonna be a runner.”

               Dan turned to his wife, Kelly. She watched their daughter with heavily lidded eyes and a faint smile. The light breeze ruffled her clothes. Dan tried not to look at the wrap covering the top of her head.

               “Yeah. I bet she is. Definitely not a kite flyer though.”

               Kelly gave a weak laugh as they watched the child try and get the kite to fly. It skidded along the ground, bouncing around behind her. Occasionally it caught a breeze and started to lift off, but whenever that happened, she stopped running too soon.

               “Keep going, baby girl!” Dan called. “Keep running until it starts to get really high.”

               “You know, I think it’s things like this that I’m going to miss.” Kelly said.

               “Hey now, don’t go talking like that. You’ll get better and there’ll be plenty more moments like this. We’ll both be there to see her cross whatever finish lines she reaches.”

               Kelly was silent for a moment. Dan almost thought she had gone back to sleep, but she was just feeling the breeze moving across her face. She reached out and placed a hand on his. She didn’t say anything. Dan knew what she was telling him.

               “Daddy, look! It’s up!”

               Dan looked at their daughter. The kite was indeed finally up in the air. She was letting out the string, and the kite rose higher. Her eyes were open wide and she had a huge smile on her young face.

               “Great job, baby girl!” Dan called. “Hey, Mommy’s awake for a little while. Why don’t you let her hold it for a bit?”

               “What? No, I…” Kelly began. Their daughter rushed over and nearly forced the handle into her mother’s hand.

               “Here, Mommy! I bet you can get it to go even higher!”

               “Oh, I don’t know. I haven’t done this in a long time.” Kelly said. Her eyes fluttered as they looked from child to kite. “But I’ll see what I can do.”

               Dan watched two of the most important people in his life as they played with the kite. Kelly looked like she could barely hold onto it, but she found enough life to keep it under control. Dan smiled. Yes, there would be many more moments like this. He was sure of it.

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Cue sad music playing in the background, followed by a symbolism rich artistic shot of the kite. Yeah, you all know what I'm talking about.