The Balloon

Openly chasing your dreams is encouraged. So long it doesn't interfere with real life.

Even in my earliest memories, I had a balloon in my hand. Everyone did at some point in their lives. Some held it for years. Some for months, and some never really let go.

No one knows exactly when the balloon appear, only that children are born without it, and obtain it at some point.

Dad used to have one too when I was younger. It was big and purple and floated around the house with a long tendril like wire, never actually leaving dad's hand. One day it was gone. I didn't even notice it at first. I woke up one day, when I was about eleven years old, and Dad was sitting on the couch.

''…Hey… Dad.''

He turned to me, a sad glitter in his eyes. Almost as if he knew what I wanted to say.

''..It's fine sweetie. Everything is fine.''

Mom lost her Balloon before I was born. Mom was very young when she and dad got married, and while they'll never say it straight to my face I know she lost her Balloon when she became pregnant.

The thing about Balloons, when you are a child it is considered fine to have one. No one cares how big it is, or how closely you hold it to your heart. The older you get, the less common it becomes.

People still holding on through their twenties are often considered childish and detached from reality. But I don't intend to ever let go of my Balloon. I can't exactly remember when I got it, but it's gorgeous. A bright red, I keep looking it for hours every night, and it makes me feel funny inside, in a good sort of a way. Excited.

Sometimes when no one is looking, during recess or a long lecture at school, I'd sneak a peek in my shiny red balloon and sink into daydreams.

No one quite knows what brings Balloons over, or what makes them go away. When I ask Mom about it she always reacts with a shrug. ''..Just hold onto it as long as you can sweetie. And don't feel bad when it is gone.'' She'd then ruffle my blond locks and change the subject.

Don't get it wrong"Balloons don't just disappear. It doesn't happen so soon for most. Dad's Balloon got smaller and smaller with each passing day, until it was finally gone. I'll never forget that one time when we finally sat down and talked about it.

It was my last day at home before heading off to college. A lot of my friends already lost their balloons at that point, but I didn't care. Some people even stared at me weirdly when I walked around with it.

Dad called me to his room, he said he wanted to talk to me.

As soon as I got in, I noticed that his eyes were glued to the red bubble of oxygen whose wire was coiled around my wrist. ''..You still have that. Don't you sweetheart..?'' I was somewhat baffled. He acted as if he didn't even notice it.

He held my shoulders fairly tight, his fingers dug into my flesh. I knew he didn't mean to hurt me, but the intensity in his voice wasn't lost on me. His entire body fumed with anger and frustration. But none of that was directed at me.

''..People might tell you… That you need to let  go, that you're too old for this. They might tell you that you need to face reality. Whatever you do, don't let go. Don't release it.''

He was crying. I wrapped my arms around him and embraced him tightly as his sobbing ebbed on. I assured him with a bright smile that I'm not going to give up on it. No matter what happens.

I still have my Balloon with me to this day. It's gotten bigger and bigger, and even though I don't look at it as much lately with college, 

work and the relationship taking a lot of my time,I always know it's there.

When people scoff at me, or judge me for still having it, I just smile back at them. 

Sometimes when people can't do something, they will tell you can't either. But I don't mind that one bit. Not as long as I have my Balloon

Author's Note

Trying something different.
Being subtle.
I hope you guys like it.
While I do have my meaning for these 'Balloons', I encourage others to find their own.

Reviews

[Inject Positivity]

I think the culture of our society teaches us that "balloon" is a thing for the children and the ones who hold them even after their childhood age, they are simply not over their fake dreams... But is that true? I don't believe that, to live in this world one must keep something for him/her closely otherwise the meaning of life becomes less meaningful... My interpretation of your balloon is that it is a lifelong frnd, it is a thing which is very close to our heart, which is always there with us from the day we have learned to have vision about life in our own ways...

Most people don't have the parents like you have, and I am glad to see that there are people who encourage their child to live the life he dreams of... I can only pray that you don't lose the Balloon... Well done...

A stunning, encouraging and very relatable write...

Sincerely
Dhiman

[LastMonth]

Thank you very much. I'm quite grateful for your review, I'll be sure to check out some of your writings later on. And I'm glad you have your own interpretation. That was my initial intention.

[Stan Lee]

I LOVE this. The best written allegory I have read in a long time. Brilliant writing LastMonth. Your story telling in this one is absolutely impeccable. Everything is perfect - easy to relate to, clear, length, formatting, font size - everything!! This is a new favorite. Shelving it right now.
BRILLIANT!

[LastMonth]

Thank you for the kind words!

[Shannon]

I love it so much. You are right, it does not matter what the balloon is, we should hold it close. I was thinking wonder, creativity or even our pursuit of this past time, writing.
A successful something different!

[LastMonth]

You guys are troubles for me. I'ma end up thinking I can actually write.
Anyhow-- Thanks for the review, always a pleasure.

[Shannon]

Well worth the read and the effort. You absolutely can write!

[V]

This is a truly moving and beautiful story. I think its beauty derives from the honesty that flows through your words and I like the idea of it in general. The balloon as a metaphor for the carefree, dreamy part of one. I can relate to your concept, it's nice. Somehow maybe only because of the balloon image, it reminds me of my poem Pink Balloon even though the content is really different, there might be very slight similarities. I enjoyed reading your story.

[LastMonth]

Thanks for the review Vanessa.
I appreciate your kind words,
And about your poem, now I must read it.

[V]

Haha, ok. I hope you didn't feel pushed to do so. You're welcome.

[Gaia Octavia]

I like this story. It is definitely something that can mean many different things to many different people (which I love). The balloon can symbolize magic, wonder, playfulness, innocence, and the list goes on and on. I have come to quite enjoy your work, LastMonth, so thank you for that. And in case you were wondering: to me, the balloon was hope.

[LastMonth]

Thanks for the review Gaia. It's appreciated.
Hope? That's a sweet thing. I'm glad you enjoyed this.

[Woody]

Matan, this is a lovely change. not that the others were bad but I was expecting your typical rhymed lines.
I love the idea behind this lovely story. brilliant!
now the balloon can of course symbolize a number of things. dreams? childhood gaiety? whatever your well guarded idea behind this, you wrote quite the thought provoking story.

[LastMonth]

Thanks alot Woody.
Yeah-- I'm definetly out of my comfort zone here.
But I suppose that's the only way to get better, huh?

[Woody]

I'm sure you're right. I did toy with the idea of writing other thing than humour. comfort zone as you say.

[Lyn Anderson]

I don't know, but this might be your best yet. It is so personal, but so applicable to everyone -- we can appreciate everything that the balloon symbolises. Nicely done.

[LastMonth]

Thanks alot Goode. I appreciate it.

[Cyprian Van Dyke]

Wow, awesome story. It held me from the beginning. It's full of feeling and emotions of childhood, which is amazing! Tyfs

I looked at it as a balloon, only a balloon, but a awesome balloon!

[LastMonth]

Thanks mate.

[Matching Socks]

I can't tell you how much I love this, it's amazing! Truly! I love the idea of the balloon, I wish I had written this. This is by far my favourite story of yours. Great job. Wonderful imagination.
A very charming story with a bit of honest wisdom.

[LastMonth]

Oh, Thanks alot Ana!
I'm really out of my comfort zone here as you can see.
Trying to do some new things. Hopefully it will work out well.

[barleygirl]

Your story concept is outstanding, becuz of what the balloon represents & how you subtly indicate this all along, using different examples . . . SHOWING instead of telling, in many cases. For example, saying that mom lost balloon when she got pregnant, a whole host of other meanings were loaded into this image.

On the other hand, there was a bit more TELLING than necessary . . . we GOT IT early on, so there's no need to continue harping that some people lose their balloons & others don't. I think examples conveyed this better & more examples would be fine, but less telling about the part balloons play in each life.

Also, in one spot, you used "red bubble of oxygen" as an alternative way to say "balloon". I got kinda tired of hearing "balloon this" and "balloon that" . . . it would be much improved if you replaced about half of these "balloon" references with such image-provoking language as in the red bubble example.

Other than that, your allegory is very well written, powerfully stated, & true to life.

[LastMonth]

Oh I definetly agree with the Balloon thing.
I thought that too. My lack of creativity is sole responsible for the word's constant reappearence. I really need to find more ways to describe it.

About the other part, I feel like the story is rather short. If we have to break it up into pieces we have;

1. Introduction.
2.Parent's status.
3. POV's Balloon
4. Dad's convesation
5. Conclusion.

I don't really feel like I telling more then needed, I read this to a few friends and family members and the great majority of them only seemed to have 'Got it' after the Dad conversation. But that could very well be attributed to their english skills. Not to mention that you're a very sharp reader so you probably picked it up quite very fast, as opposed to some readers.

Thank you kindly for the constructive and helpful review, I'll try to go over it and iron out the repetition in the word. Your reviews are appreciated and needed :)

[barleygirl]

Very interesting to hear of the experience you had in telling your story to others. Thanks for sharing that.

[AliciaB]

Hmm... to me, the "balloon" seems to represent a person's biggest, wildest dream, the goal he or she would most like to accomplish during life, though it might not be possible to do so. For me, my "balloon" would be completing the book I am working on, as well as the next two in the trilogy, and getting them all published! :) When the balloons in the story disappear, it seems to signify people giving up on their dreams and letting go, which causes them to be sad. But what about when people accomplish these dreams - what happens to the balloons then? Or are the disappearances actually cased by people achieving their life goals, and the sadness that often comes with it results from no longer having a specific "purpose" to life? I feel like this second perspective isn't necessarily what you were going for... but I could very well be wrong, and anyway, it's still interesting to think about. I love the character interactions in this story. The parents' words and actions towards their son are both heartwarming and saddening. Overall, very well written, and very intriguing. Great work!

[LastMonth]

Thanks a bunch B.
I'd rather not go into specific explanations because I like that readers get their own. Yours are pretty good, but I will say this about your question.

I don't think you can ever -accomplish- a goal. I mean. You get one Oscar. That's not it, you don't just retire, right? You want another one. You want to maybe direct movies. You get one championship, that's not enough-- The balloon just got bigger. You want back-to-back championships. You wrote one successful book... That's not enough. :)

[AliciaB]

Ahh. I see. Cool! :)