Paper Lanterns

I was so excited to light up these paper lanterns. I really was. Mike told me how to do it: 1. Look for the wick. If you can't find it, just light up the whole waxy part. 2. Release. 3. Enjoy the show. That's so easy, anyone can do it, right?

So one windy Monday evening, I told Chloe to call her friends so they can watch the paper lantern show. One lantern only. Hahahah. Her yaya lit up the wick and we waited as the hot air started to fill up the insides of the paper lantern. When the lantern was good and ready to go, one yaya said, "Naku, ang lakas ng hangin, pano kung mapunta sa bahay ng kapitbahay? Baka masunog ang bahay!"

So there I was, holding a paper lantern which was growing increasingly hot by the second, afraid to let it go. All the what ifs went into my mind. What if it burned our house? What if it burned the neighbor's house? Or, or, what if it doesn't burn any of the houses in our neighborhood but lands on a faraway house on its way down? While all these what ifs were going on in my mind, the fire inside the lantern grew bigger and bigger until finally,the paper lantern burned itself down.

Problem solved.

Seriously, it wasn't until I read this that I realized how risky and dangerous releasing those paper lanterns could have been. Buti na lang the yaya said something! Otherwise, this post would not have had a happy ending.