The Balloon

What a man will do to have a little fun....

A Man was walking through the park, minding his own business, when he spotted a bright, blue balloon. He happily grabbed it, playing with it for some time. But, out of nowhere, it floated just out of his reach. No matter how he jumped for it, he could never attain what he desired again.

“Psst, come here.” A gruff voice whispered from behind him. He turned, only to see a seedy, thrifty looking Stranger. “Need help?” The Stranger gestured towards the balloon, the Man nodded. “I’ve got just the thing.” He pulled out a stool from a bag he held in his right hand. WIth a sparkle in his eye, the Man attempted to grab it, but it was pulled from his reach. “Ah ah ah, if you wanna have fun, you gotta pay first.” He extended his hand. The Man weighed his options, and he decided that a little bit of money gone wouldn’t hurt anybody. He pulled a few dollars from his wallet, and placed them into his hand. “Good doing business with ya.” He handed over the stool, which the Man quickly used to grab the balloon. After enjoying it for an ever shorter time than before, it slipped out of his reach again. “Tsk tsk tsk, too bad.” The Stranger commented. “Need some more help?” The Man got off of the stool and rushed to him. He pulled a wooden box from his seemingly endless pit of a bag. He once again extended his hand. The Man pulled out the same amount of dollars as before, but the Stranger shook his head. “I’m gonna need more than that.” He weighed his options once more, sure, it was more than he expected to spend on it, but he just needed it one more time. He quickly handed the rest of the money in his wallet over to the Stranger, and quickly added the box to the pile. After another short session with his balloon, it once again floated off. He played the repeating game with the Stranger, who now had a small dresser in his hand. The Man was in a pickle; he had no more money. He looked around, and removed his shoes. “Hm, sure, I’ll take ‘em.” The Stranger placed the shoes into his bag, and gave him his desired item.

After many, many more deals, the Man was now naked, save his underwear, and left standing on top of a pile of junk incredibly high in the sky. He was shaky, but he reached for the balloon, which seemed to be avoiding his grip. He was so close, he just needed it….one….more…..time! He lunged forward, effectively grabbing the balloon, which popped upon entering his grasp. The Man was in shock, as he plummeted towards the ground. His body crashed into the ground with a sickening crunch, leaving him limp as a rag doll. The Stranger shook his head and laughed. He dragged the Man’s corpse to the pond, and chucked it in, never to be seen again. He then pulled a bright, blue balloon from his bag, and released it, before hiding behind a nearby bush.

A Man was walking through the park, minding his own business, when he spotted a bright, blue balloon….

Author's Note

Just a small story I thought of, thanks for reading!

Reviews

[Viv Wade]

Wow, scary story! I can really relate to the poor man reaching out for something that always just out of his grasp. That balloon could be a metaphor for so many things! Thanks for sharing this!