Each year on Jan. 6, Ashlynn Marracino, 16, writes a message on a balloon to her father, who died suddenly in 2008 from a brain aneurysm. She asks her father to send her a sign when he receives the message, then releases the balloon.
This year, she received a message, not from her late father, but from a stranger over 400 miles away.
A customer found the deflated balloon in the parking lot of a restaurant in Auburn. The customer handed the balloon to the restaurant’s owner, Lisa Swisley. She was so moved by the heartfelt message that she went online to find out more about Marracino, who had written her full name on the balloon. Swisley then posted the girl’s balloon message on a local pay it forward Facebook page.
Swisley received a large response, with people offering to send cards and gifts to Marracino.
The teen says she is moved by all of the positive response her balloon message has generated, and “most definitely” takes it as a sign from her father.
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