[Beautiful Stories for Ugly Children 04] • The Black Balloon

Raymond Ashbone was a reasonably normal child, if a little shy. Perhaps he kept himself apart because he felt different from all the other children. Perhaps Raymond felt a little self-conscious because he had been born permanently strapped to an electric chair.

But that doesn't keep Raymond off the fast track, from class president to corporate whiz. His success leaves him dissatisfied, however, and he gives it all up to spend long hours in the country pondering the dirt.

Until he meets Felicia, a woman with a big black balloon who also happens to be strapped to an electric chair. "Though they'd never met, they felt very close and exceptional. His heart ripped and twisted with bee sting warmth. She asked him to come with her." And together, they ascend in the black balloon, never to touch ground again.