Uplifted

The clown gamboled through the park, trailing balloons and streamers. "Joy!" he cried out. "Elation!"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I give the gift of levity," he told me. "Say the word, and you will fly as high as my balloons."

I considered my bare pockets and the cold and empty apartment that awaited me. "Sure," I said. As soon as the words left my mouth, my stomach lurched and I began to float away.

"How do I get down again?" I called to the rapidly receding clown.

His eyes glinted beneath his makeup. "Perhaps you misunderstood the offer."