Joshua couldn't sleep. It was hot, the windows were open, even the one with no screen and he lay on top of his sheets and comforter. His eyes stared unblinkingly at the jungle of vines that hung down from the red foliage above. At least that's what it looked like from the dim glow from the streetlamp outside the window, but he knew what it really was, a curtain of coiled ribbons streaming down from the tied knots of large 18" red balloons that pressed against the ceiling. His thoughts shimmered back to this afternoon when the new lady from next door appeared at his doorstep.
