Once upon a time a baby girl was born on Valentine’s Day.  She was indeed a sweetheart with blond curly hair and big blue eyes.  As is the way with children she quickly grew, each day bringing to her small miracles and more questions for her young mind to try to answer.  It seemed as if strange happenings followed her wherever she went.

One of those strange happenings occurred on her birthday.  The night before her special day she was restless, tossed and turned and just couldn’t seem to find sleep.  Finally she left her bed and decided to sit on the back patio for a few minutes.  Maybe the cool fresh air would sooth her so she could find the rest she needed.

As she walked through the kitchen to the back door and the patio beyond, she glanced at the clock.  Noticing that it was just a few minutes after midnight she silently wished herself a happy birthday.  Once seated in a comfortable chair under the dark sky, the young girl began to make birthday wishes.  She didn’t wish for material things, she wished for happiness.  She just couldn’t seem to escape the gloom that had descended upon her a few days earlier.  She sat in the night air and thought of her father and how much she missed him.  Illness had taken his life a few months before and she wanted so much to hear him say, “Happy Birthday Valentine” as he had in years past. 

With a heavy sigh she finally stood and started toward the back door, ready to go once again to her bed and try to sleep.  However, before she quite reached the door, something caught her eye.  In the moonlight she could see something hovering just above the ground.  As she squinted her eyes trying to see into the darkness that blanketed the back yard, the object moved, as if the wind was pushing it toward her.  Curiosity overcame her fear and she tip toed through the damp lawn for a better look.

As she drew closer she could see that it was a beautiful red balloon.  She could not imagine where in the world it had come from in the middle of the night and when she picked it up there was writing on one side.  It said, “Happy Birthday Valentine”.  She held it tightly as she returned to the house, placed it on the pillow next to her and slept the sleep of a happily contended birthday valentine.