It was a muggy morning at Cozy Cottage Nursing Home, and the arthritis was bothering me pretty bad. Hurt to move. Hurt to type. Still does, matter of fact. That's why, when they asked me for an ... [+]
"One Gum Bubble" is in Short Circuit #03, Short Édition's quarterly review. Rolli is the author of two children’s books: the story collection Dr. Franklin’s Staticy Cat and the novel Kabungo. His website is rollistuff.com.
All Julie did was toss a piece of bubble gum into her mouth, one day. Honey plum-plum flavor. Her favorite. And then... She blew ONE GUM BUBBLE. That's it. It may not sound like much. But sometimes, one gum bubble is all it takes. Up Julie went, into the sky, her lips stuck to the bubble. It was like a sticky, pink hot air balloon. That smelled like honey. One gum bubble, one gum bubble... Far below, the people looked like tiny breath mints. Julie waved to them. They didn't wave back—because she'd already vanished! The bubble moved higher and higher, now. Faster. And faster. Like a rock