Every kid is sending up red balloons with notes tied to them these days hoping to get an answer back from whoever they were sending it to. While adults know better, sometimes the balloons reach a kind stranger who revel in keeping up this charade which will eventually lead to a fractured psyche once this child finds out the truth. Like in the case of one child sending a balloon for Santa asking for a mermaid doll with a bow and a stranger tracking her down on Facebook and giving her one.
Then there’s Bella Hosford whose great-grandma passed away in August 2012. “The last day I got to see her, it was a really special day to me, because I knew that she was going to go to Heaven,” Bella said. “Whenever I hugged her, the last thing she ever said to me was, ‘I love you, Bella.'”
So it was with that memory that this 8-year-old girl decided to say goodbye with a note tied to a red balloon. Those damn red balloons. The note read, “Tell Mawmaw I love her.”
On Monday, a small box showed up in the family’s mail. It was a brown satin envelope with a locket and the red balloon. Along with it was a note that read, “Dearest Bella. Mawmaw is always with you. Just close your eyes and you will see her. Love, your guardian angel.”
Bella’s mom said, “‘If I knew who that person was, I would walk up to them and hug them on their neck and tell them thank you.” Meanwhile, Bella wears the locket almost everyday and says it’s one of her most prized possessions.
In related news, another Bella also sent up a red balloon with a note attached to her deceased great-grandma back in 2011. No word on if she got anything back. Maybe just shattered dreams.