Just Until Payday

Wish Lanterns should never be launched in extremely windy conditions. Trust me, I had a rather alarming experience launching a lantern in the early hours of the morning. It’s not that they’re dangerous- the flame will die out of its own accord, it’s just that they hold the promise of danger, as (I would argue) does any flame assisted product. I was stepping outside the other morning to test out my lantern. First I lit the fuel cell, making sure to ignite all four corners of the fuel sheet, then I held it upright, fanning out the rice paper, waiting for it to inflate. This it did, slowly but surely. It was strangely hypnotic to watch, As the interior glowed ominously it settled my mind, I began to reflect on the world, drifting off into my own dream land. Then, and without warning, a sudden gust of wind crashed by and my lantern was virtually snatched from my hands. It was distressing to say the least. As the body of the lantern swung violently from side to side, threatening to rip at any given moment, my mind began racing. What if the Paper caught alight? What if it flew out of my hands and crashed into a fence, or worse, a person?! Fortunately it was all fine. As I knew it would be.