The Kite-Maker’s Daughter

A story about finding your own way, respecting family and choosing what lifts you up.

Yuna’s father owned a small kite shop at the end of the harbour road. The window was filled with diamond kites, dragons and box kites in every colour. Customers came from all over to buy them, and her father knew each one by name. He hoped that Yuna would take over one day.

But Yuna dreamed of something else. She loved science, and she wanted to become an aerospace engineer. At night, she read about wings and wind tunnels. She did not know how to tell her father. She feared that she would break his heart.

One Saturday, a strong wind blew in from the sea. “Perfect kite weather,” said her father, and he took down a large blue kite from the wall. “Come,” he said. They climbed the hill behind the shop, where the grass was short and the wind was wild.

He gave Yuna the string. The kite leapt into the air, and it tugged hard at her hands. She leaned back to hold it. Higher and higher it went, until it was a small blue shape against the clouds. Her father watched, smiling.

“I wanted to be an artist when I was your age,” he said. “My father had a fishing boat, and expected me to join him. I felt as though I was letting him down. In the end, I found a way to do both. I made art with wind.” Yuna looked at him in surprise.

“Papa,” she said, taking a deep breath, “I want to study engineering. I want to understand why a kite flies, and then to design things that fly.” Her father said nothing for a while. The kite danced on its string. Then he let out a long breath.

“That is the best reason I have ever heard,” he said. “A kite is a very small aeroplane.” He laughed. “I will not hold you back. I only ask that you come home sometimes, and fly a kite with me.” Yuna grinned. Tears pricked her eyes.

They flew the kite until the sun dipped low. When they wound the string in, he put his hand on her shoulder. “Fly high, Yuna,” he said. “But keep hold of the string.” She knew he meant that she should never lose touch with those who loved her.

Years later, Yuna was an engineer, designing wings for aircraft. On every birthday, she came home, and she and her father climbed the hill and flew a kite, a bright blue one, together. And whenever someone asked her about her work, she said, “It all began with a kite.”

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