Little Melody was thrilled. She loved rides- the ones where she got to scream her lungs out and feel the blood rush to her head, she loved carnival games-the ones where she threw bean bags at milk bottles and shot at revolving balloons, and most of all, she loved the sweet cloud-like feel of cotton candy on her tongue.
She held grandpa's hand loosely as she skipped around the fair, trying to decide where to start her fun. A clown with a humongous red nose and shoes walked past little Melody, he was carrying a bunch of glossy red balloons. Little Melody gazed greedily at the balloon. She loved balloons, especially the red ones. The clown smiled at her, and with a flick of his hand, plucked a single red balloon out from the bunch and placed it in little Melody's tiny hand. Little Melody smiled shyly at the clown, mumbled a quiet thank you, and held on tightly to the red balloon. She was afraid the balloon would fly away if she loosened her grip for a second.
With the balloon in one hand, little Melody walked to the carnival games section, wanting to try her luck at winning a teddy bear.
"5 shots for a dollar!" said the man at the air gun booth. Little Melody searched her pockets for 4 quarters with her left hand, as her right was still gripping tightly to her red balloon. She found the money, picked up the gun and shot at the revolving balloons. She missed all the balloons. She couldn't aim the gun properly with just one hand. little Melody was sore at not winning anything but decided that she would much prefer to take a heart-dropping roller coaster ride than try her hands at silly carnival games. She ran to the queue of the roller coaster but was told by the ticket master than she could not bring the balloon with her if she were to go on the ride. Little Melody made a face and looked as if she was going to cry. She walked out of the queue. She could not leave her balloon behind, not even if it was in the care of grandpa.
"Who cares for roller coaster rides anyway?"
At 7:23pm the sun turned amber and painted the fair in a soft, lazy orange glow. By this time, little Melody's sadness had grown to a monstrous proportion. She had been rejected from entering all the rides, she couldn't play the carnival games properly with one hand, her right arm was sore, and her palms were red and angry from gripping the balloon too tightly.
Grandpa and little Melody sat on a wooden bench and little Melody began to cry. Her day at the fair was ruined and she did not have any fun at all but she couldn't let go of the balloon, because it was hers and she loved it.
Grandpa looked kindly at little Melody.
"You know sometimes, we have to let go of the things we love, no matter how hard it is. The harder you hold on to something that is not meant to be held, you lose a bit of yourself and then one day, without you knowing it, all of your joy will be devoured. All that will be left then is sadness, emptiness, and a longing of what could have been."
Little Melody looked at grandpa with tears still glistening in her wide blue eyes.
"I must let balloon go?" She asked.
Grandpa nodded gently.
"You will be free to enjoy all the things you love at the fair. Moreover, a balloon is not meant to be tied to anyone's hands. You know what I think? Balloons are at their best when they are flying high above the clouds." Grandpa winked at little Melody as he said this.
Little melody understood then that one cannot hold on too tightly to anything in this world. One has to learn to let go, even if the heart aches a little at first.
She loosened her grip on the red balloon, its string brushed gently across her little palms and the balloon floated slowly into the dusty pink and orange skies.
Little melody watched the balloon fly higher and higher. Her heart felt a tinge of sadness and joy, joy because the balloon did look like it belonged to the skies, joy because she was now free to enjoy the fair and She no longer had to fear losing the balloon.
With a leap and a skip, little Melody and grandpa walked hand in hand towards the wonders of the fair.
No comments:
Post a Comment