A teenager from Whittier, California sent a balloon to her late father in "heaven," and got the response she asked for.
Ashlynn Marracino, 16, signed a balloon and addressed it to her late father, Scott, who died of an aneurysm in 2009. Ashlynn had made it a yearly habit for five years to send messages to Scott on a balloon on his birthday.
In an interview with CBS News, Ashlynn explained her reason why she chose to send messages to her dad through balloons. "It really does look like it's going to heaven. And I want him to know that I still love him," the teenager explained.
This year's balloon was special for Ashlynn. She told him of many things in the balloon, including meeting a boy named Bryant, and hitting home runs in softball.
"[Y]ou have missed so much and I miss you," she wrote in the balloon.
"I wanted to share my accomplishments, my life," Ashlynn told CBS News. "I wanted to tell him what he missed out on."
Ashlynn further explained to CBS News that she wanted to apologise to her father for not responding to his letters when he was in jail for robbery. The softball player said that, even though Scott had written her hundreds of letters and cards, she didn't bother to reply to any of them. Even when he had been released from jail and reformed, Ashlynn said she continued ignoring him.
"I didn't answer the phone and what if he wanted to say, 'I love you?' she said, tearfully. "I would have liked to say that back but I didn't get to."
When somebody found her balloon 450 miles away in the "Local Heroes" restaurant in Auburn, Ashlynn took it for the sign that she asked his father for in the balloon. The teenager said that it gave her "faith and hope" again.
"[I]t's pretty amazing," she said at the conclusion of the interview.
