Bittersweet Goodbyes
Bittersweet Goodbyes
Lily felt like a balloon, puffed up with two opposite kinds of air. One side of her was filled with helium, making her floaty and excited. The other side was full of lead, weighing her down with sadness. In two weeks, she was moving.
Her dad had gotten a new job in a city called Brightville. Lily had seen pictures, and it looked amazing! There were tall buildings that touched the clouds and parks bigger than her entire neighborhood back home. She imagined exploring new shops and maybe even joining a new soccer team. The thought made the helium side of her balloon expand.
But then, she’d look at Maya and Ben, her two best friends since kindergarten, and the lead side would pull her down. She pictured their secret clubhouse in the woods, the one they’d built themselves with branches and old blankets. She remembered the time Ben fell out of the tree and only scraped his knee, but they all cried anyway, because that's what friends do.
"It's not fair!" Lily had cried when her parents first told her about the move. "I don't want to leave you guys!"
Maya had squeezed her hand. "We'll still be friends, Lily. We'll visit!"
Ben, ever the optimist, added, "And maybe Brightville has even cooler trees to climb!"
- Optimist:
- Someone who always looks at the good side of things.
- Bittersweet:
- A mix of sadness and happiness.
- Mumbled:
- Said something quietly and not clearly.
- Tracing:
- Following the outline of something with your finger.
- helium:
- A light, colorless gas that is lighter than air and causes balloons to float.
- expand:
- To become larger in size or take up more space.
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Main Idea
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Point of View
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Purpose
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Structure
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Preview questions from this passageShowHide
- 1How did Lily feel about moving to Brightville?
- 2What made Lily excited about moving?
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About this fiction passage for Upper Elementary
“Bittersweet Goodbyes” is a fiction reading passage about Moving, written for Upper Elementary. It takes about 3 minutes to read (414 words) and comes with an interactive quiz and a printable worksheet with comprehension questions and an answer key.