Chapter 1 Pink Balloon
This had been the seventh day that Edward and looked for that striking bright spot through the window. That spot was on the hill, kept bouncing around the shepherd's abandoned log cabin and shinning. Edward put his face and scissors tightly against the window to see that spot more clearly. However, the soft clouds were wandering freely in the blue sky, so close to Edward and often blocked his sight. Edward was frowning now. He wished he could jump into the air, being an experienced cowboy who can lasso those naughty sheep and train them to be nice. But the truth was the opposite. He never got out of this cold dark castle since he was produced 20 years ago.
The castle was Edward's home, a five-story gothic building with back walls and spires covered by dead creepers. Since his inventor died, he had lived in this castle alone for 19 years. The only thing that kept him busy was gardening. "Edward loved gardening," he often talked to himself after he completed his amazing works. It was spring now, Edward's favorite season. In past three days, he had created five more topiary rabbits, two more elephants and one more triceratops. By decorating his "animal friends" with fresh roses, daisies, and jasmines, the castle was now vibrant, colorful, and surrounded by aroma. Bees and butterflies were attracted, resting on Edward's scissorhands to show their praise. When sunshine slid into the dew on leaves and petals, the whole garden started sparkling.
But today was special. Edward could not think about his garden anymore. He was totally absorbed in that shinny spot outside the window. Kneeling on his bed, he had stared that spot for two hours but couldn't stop. A bird kept flapping in his chest, although he had tried all ways to make it quite. "Get out of here, Edward," a whisper encouraged him secretly, "How nice the weather is today." "Go and find what is on the hill," the whisper became stronger. Edward left his room and went downstairs in a fast pace. His leather shoes tapped the floor frequently and loudly. He was in such a hurry that as if he waited for one more minute, the whisper would disappear and he had no chance to leave the castle again.
When Edward' scissorhands reached the castle's old rusty gate, the gate creaked. Edward hesitated for a second, but soon felt more powerful on his arms. He pushed and opened the gate, got out of the castle. He run directly towards the hill and stopped on the halfway, opening his arms and taking a long deep breath. "Even the air is fresher here," he told himself.
When Edward reached the top of the mountain, the cabin log appeared in front of him. He noticed the special thing at once. It was a pink item, with arms, legs and head as same as him and his inventor. The only difference was that it seemed so soft, light and translucent, as if it was a gust of wind with color and shape. Edward felt nervous about this scene and quickly hided himself behind an apple tree. Then he poked his head timidly, kept watching the pink thing. It was dancing, dancing around the cabin. Sometimes it jumped, whirling in the air, and then landed smoothly; sometime it waved its arms like birds flying with the wind. She could not only be a pink lightning that no one could capture, but also be a pink rose which trembled in wind lonely and quietly. For some unknown reasons, Edward's gears suddenly stopped working for a few seconds, which freezed him in the expression with wide-open mouth and eyes. By coincidence, the pink item also turned around in just this few seconds and found Edward behind the tree. However, it didn't stop dancing, instead, it smiled.
When it finished this dance elegantly, it jumped towards the apple tree, "Hello there," she said. Behind the tree, Edward felt burning on his face due to his awkward behavior. He was speechless, wanted to run but his legs got stuck here. Now he could only stand still, waiting silently with a buzzing in his head.
Finally, the pink item showed up in front of him, "Hello boy, I am Pink," she said with a warm smile on her face. Edward opened his mouth but could not spit out a single word. It was his first time hearing such a sweet voice which was different from birds' singing or crickets' songs but as beautiful as those melodies. "As you can see, I am a balloon girl," Pink continued, showing her hands friendly. "I…I'm Edward…Edward Scissorhand," Edward responded nervously, staring at the pink girl. "Don't be afraid, Edward. I am friendly and I won't hurt you," Pink said, circling around the apple tree, and then sitting on the grass next to Edward. She showed her charming smile again, suggested, "We can be friends."
After Edward went back home, he lost sleep. The Balloon girl's image could not be wiped off from his mind, but even the most beautiful blossom never made him think about for the whole night. Edward tossed and turned, finally opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling. But even on the dark ceiling, he could see her again. She had pink skin which is glossy but fragile. On her jovial and round face, there were two brown eyes which shone with delight and passion. Her body was light and soft, like the petal floating on a lake. He couldn't help recalling the every single moment in the day, the way the balloon girl danced, talked, and smiled. But more importantly, he would never forget her story.
"As my friend, Edward, would you like to hear my story?" Pink said, sat on the grass, looking at Edward. He nodded stiffly. The balloon girl started talking about her experience. "Believe or not, my mum is a rubber tree and my father is a warm wind from the south," she shrugged her shoulder and said, "they fell in love although they were so different. They stayed together for one season every year, embraced each other and gave birth to colored balloons." "Look at me, Edward," she stood up and showed her arms to Edward, "my body is rubber from my mum while my soul is air from my dad." Edward looked at her translucent hands and nodded awkwardly again. "I spent my childhood in the forest," she continued, "but when I grew up, I got bored and desired a bigger world." As she said so, her eyes started sparkling with joy. "As a balloon girl, I am supposed to fly. I wish I could travel to every corner of the world and only stopped for the most fascinating scene. Once I stop, I will tie myself to a tree," she stopped and pointed to a slender thread tied on her waist. "Where are you from, Edward?" She smiled with her eyes. Edward stumbled over his story started with the inventor in the castle who created him but died without offering him a pair of human hands, and then he moved to his hobby. "I have a garden," Edward said in a low voice, standing straightly and staring at his feet, "If…you…I mean…I can bring you some flowers if you like." Since his messy black hair totally covered his eyes and his blushed face, he couldn't see the balloon girl smile again.
In the second day's early morning, Edward got up early to pick the most charming flowers in his garden. He selected so carefully that every chosen flower must be exactly the same fresh and the dew on petals must be perfect round and crystal clear. He cut the flowers and buds with his scissorhands and tied them together with a soft vine. As soon as he completed his work, he left the castle and run towards the hill.
The closer he got to the log cabin, the more tightly he shut his mouth, since he felt a rabbit is jumping in his stomach and try to escape from his mouth. Due to that annoying rabbit, he had to accelerate his pace again and again. By the time he reached the cabin, he had been panting. But when a gentle breeze kissed his hair, the pink color appeared in his eyes, everything suddenly slowed down, his motion, pace, breath, even his heart.
"Hi…Pink," Edward took a step toward gently, holding the flowers in front of his chest and said, "Here…is a gift for you." The balloon girl heard his voice, turned back and was totally surprised by the beauty. "Wow….." she swiftly covered her wide-opened mouth with her pink hands while her eyes were lighted with joy. "You are so sweet, Edward," she said, took over the flowers, "It was the most beautiful gift I've ever seen." "To thank you back, Edward, I would like to dance for you," she said. She jumped into the air, flying freely along with the gentle wind, swinging, spinning, and finally, like a light and soft feather, landed in Edward's dreams.
Chapter 2
For the next several weeks, Edward picked flowers as gift for the balloon girl every day, sometimes it was roses; sometimes it was daisies or lilies. But recently, since the summer was coming, Edward started to make vivid topiary animals instead. The balloon girl was so impressed by Edward's work. She admired his patience, careness and his green thumb. In return, she danced for Edward, which then became the images of Edward's dreams. They loved to lie on the fresh grass together, watching the blue canopy and the fat cloud moving slowly. Edward didn't talk much. In fact, when Pink was watching the sky, he often couldn't help peeking at her. He saw the sunshine run through her thin skin and airy body, changed its color from golden to orange. Her eyes were closed, breath was soft, and skin was shinny. He started believing she has the magic to change everything and he must guard her beauty and peace.
"Edward," the balloon girl said, broke into Edward's daydream, "I want to tell you a secret." She kept her eyes closed, mouthed up. Edward waited her words quietly. "Do you know why I chose to stop on this hill?" She opened her eyes, looking at the sky again. Several pigeons flew across the sky, leaving the flapping sound around Edward's ears. "No," Edward answered. "I've told you, I only stopped for the most fascinating scene," the girl said. "When I flew by this hill, I once saw a man in a dark castle, taking care of his violets. He was kind, patient, but a little bit awkward. Butterflies and bees were attracted by him, rested on his head and shoulders," she smiled happily, said, "I wanted to know him, so I stayed here and kept watching him for several days." "I found I cannot leave this place," she raised her voice a little bit as her emotion fluctuated. But soon, by taking a breath, she made herself calmed down again, she continued, "I think I'm in love with you, Edward."
Stiffly, Edward was lying there like a corpse, as if he was out of power. He could not feel anything besides the hard pounding of his heart and the strong smelling of the green apples on the tree.