Life Inside A Red Balloon (standard:other, 882 words)
Author: kathyg	Added: Feb 13 2005	Views/Reads: 3730/0	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Life inside a red balloon isn't all rosy...

Life Inside A Red Balloon 

I could tell you why I am inside this red balloon, but you wouldn't
believe it!  I recall driving to the party supply store to get some 
extra red balloons for a birthday party. The weather is stifling hot 
outside and I welcome the air conditioning inside the store. I pick up 
six bags of red balloons, when I notice that one of the bags is torn 
open. Walking over to the customer service desk, I hold up the bag of 
red balloons and say, “ I don't want this one, it is already torn 
open.” 

The woman behind the desk looks at me and without hesitation says, “You
open the bag, you buy the balloons. No exceptions!” 

“This is ridiculous! Just let me exchange it for another bag!", I shout.
I look at her for a moment and am aboutto walk out when she suddenly 
takes a cup of some horrible liquid and throws some of it on me. The 
liquid is sticky and I start to shrink. My body is shrinking, shrinking 
until I reach the size of about 4 inches tall. I still look the same; I 
can breathe and shout but I am tiny! 

She picks me up and opens the end of a red balloon and pushes me inside.
It is a tight fit because the balloon is not inflated yet and I am 
having trouble breathing, but that is the least of my problems... 

The balloon is inflated with helium and the rubber walls expand wider
and wider. I immediately bounce to the top of the balloon and I am 
feeling giddy. 

She wraps a string around the red balloon and gives it to the first
little girl that enters the store. The little girl holds on to the 
balloon string and runs to the exit door and into waiting car. I don't 
remember much after that because every time she tugs of the string, it 
sends me to the other side of the balloon. I remember little of the car 
ride. Suddenly, everything went black and the next thing I remember I 
open my eyes inside to what appears to be a house. I can't see very 
well because I see only red tinges of color and shapes. 

The air is stifling inside the red balloon and it is getting warmer by
the minute. I try to calm myself in a few ways by slowing my breathing 
or closing my eyes but it doesn't help much. Walking is impossible 
inside this red balloon,  and I find myself bouncing from the top of 
the balloon to the bottom. My emotions fluctuate from fear to anger to 
desperation. I know that I will go mad  if I cannot escape the red 
balloon. 

I strain my eyes to see what is happening in the room where this blasted
balloon is resting. I see a table is set with a colorful tablecloth. It 
looks like some sort of synthetic fabric. As I squint my eyes, on the 
wall, I can barely see streamers and a banner that says: "Happy 
Birthday" but the name of the Birthday Boy or Girl is unclear. 

Wait! I am trying to listen here for any sounds. I hold my breath and
close my eyes. Distant sounds echo into the red balloon. The sounds of 
children playing. I can hear running and giggling. 

I am in a balloon at a birthday party. How ironic! I was getting
balloons for a party. The red balloon is on the table and a little girl 
is looking at me with a funny smile on her face. I don't like that at 
all. What is she up to? I am not sure she sees me but, wait. Yes, she 
is calling her friends over and her eyes are on this red balloon. She 
is pointing at me and she is picking up the red balloon and tossing it 
over to her friends. My body is thrust to the top of the balloon. My 
whole body torpedoes into this rubber-like wall and I bounce back to 
the other side of the balloon. The little girls, all dressed up in 
party dresses, are throwing the red balloon up into the air and it hit 
the ceiling! I am getting very dizzy.  I stop thinking and I no longer 
have control.  My body is bouncing all over this balloon. 

I can scarcely see a grown up woman carrying a cake into the room and
the candles are all lit up. The children all take their places at the 
birthday table.  I hear singing of the song “Happy Birthday“. The last 
thing I remember is seeing a charming little girl clapping as she blew 
out the candles but a little boy snatches one of the candles to burst 
the red balloon. The balloon explodes and I am thrust into the air I 
land smack dab in the middle of the cake.  I am in between the "H" and 
the "A" in Happy. 

I struggle to get up and I am free of that cursed red balloon, but I am
all covered in vanilla icing as I take my bow. The children clap. 

“Susan, I didn't know you were having acrobats at your birthday party!” 

“Cool!” 

“Let's see that again!” 


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