Lost toy attached to balloons floats around neighbourhood for days, inspiring kindness
Before Dorian Weaver discovered how magical his community could be, the nine-year-old was simply playing with his Harry Potter Lego.
“I was doing like a wizard spell,” Dorian smiles, before showing how he’d tied two of the mini-figurines to the end of a couple of half-inflated balloons, hoping they would fly around the living room.
“Balloonus!”
Alas, the lofty spell failed. The Harry Potter characters fell to the floor.
“They were like bobbing,” Dorian said, before revealing that when his back was turned, his spell sent Potter and his pal skyward.
“They must have bobbed out the window.”
Although Dorian didn’t realize that until hours later, when his mom Cristina Weaver noticed something unusual beyond their backyard.
“I guess the wind picked them up and blew them into the tree behind our house,” Cristina says, pointing out their deck door towards their backyard.
“Oh no!” Dorian recalls exclaiming after seeing them stuck so high up, before saying, “Oh yes,” and scrambling up the tree to try to liberate his Lego.
“I was like, ‘No you’re not,’” Cristina recalls saying as Dorian climbed within a few feet of the top of the tree. “Come down!”
While Dorian did what he was told and came down — by the next morning — so had the toys.
“I was like, ‘Oh no!’” Cristina remembers noticing the balloons had disappeared from the treetop. “They’re gone.”
Her boy’s beloved toys were no where to be seen. So Cristina posted a plea on social media for help.
“The amount of people that responded was really quite heart-warming,” Cristina smiles.
The comments ranged from a bucket truck operator offering to look for the lofty Lego in the nearby trees, to a woman gifting Dorian a complete set of Harry Potter Lego characters that her son had outgrown.
“It was awesome,” Dorian smiles.
While Dorian and Cristina couldn’t have been more grateful — three days later — they couldn’t have been more surprised to hear how far the balloons had traveled. Somebody who lived blocks away – across a park, elementary school, municipal hall, and busy streets – from where the balloons were last seen had found them in their yard, and the figurines were still attached.
“Yeah!” Dorian remembers saying when he was reunited with his toys.
“It was so nice,” Cristina smiles. “It’s that old adage of it takes a village.”
While Dorian’s wizarding spell may have made his toys disappear, there’s no doubt that it was simple acts of kindness from countless strangers that made their reappearance feel so magical.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Most of Canada to receive emergency alert test today
The federal government will test its capacity to issue emergency alerts today, with the exception of Ontario, where the test will take place on May 15.
OPINION What King Charles' schedule being too 'full' to accommodate son suggests about relationship with Prince Harry
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.
Ontario man devastated to learn $150,000 line of credit isn't insured after wife dies
An Ontario man found out that a line of credit he thought was insured actually isn't after his wife of 50 years died.
Boy Scouts of America is rebranding. Here's why they've changed their name
After more than a century, Boy Scouts of America is rebranding as Scouting America, another major shakeup for an organization that once proudly resisted change.
Trial begins for Winnipeg serial killer who claims he was mentally ill
The trial of a man who admits he killed four women in Winnipeg is set to begin Wednesday, and a law professor says lawyers for Jeremy Skibicki have multiple hurdles to clear for a defence of mental illness.
These adults born in the '90s partnered with their parents to buy homes in Ontario
An Ontario woman said it would have been impossible to buy a house without her mother – an anecdote that animates the fact that over 17 per cent of Canadian homeowners born in the ‘90s own their property with their parents, according to a new report.
New Canadian study could be a lifesaver for thousands suffering from CTE
A first-of-its-kind Canadian research study is working towards a major medical breakthrough for a brain disorder, believed to be caused by repeated head injuries, that can only be detected after death.
Rape, terror and death at sea: How a boat carrying Rohingya children, women and men capsized
In March, Indonesian officials and local fishermen rescued 75 people from the overturned hull of a boat off the coast of Indonesia. Until now, little was known about why the boat capsized.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.