Red Balloon – Catherine McGauran

Another brilliant piece from a GUNNAS WRITING MASTERCLASS writer.

It didn’t seem like a big thing to ask, that his parents buy him a red balloon to celebrate his sixth birthday. He’d seen other children rewarded with balloons for doing virtually nothing, and he was turning six. To a regular person turning six might not be a big deal but everyday life was different for Alvin. Alvin was born with a terrible condition that meant at six years of age he stood barely one foot tall, roughly the same height as the shaft of his father’s riding boot. And because of his physical fragility Alvin’s parents were horribly over protective. While most of his classmates walked to school, Alvin was picked up and dropped off in the stifling safety of his mother’s car, leaving him very little time, if any, to explore the exciting world himself. Alvin craved the freedom he knew he wouldn’t get for at least 10 years and because of that he started reading about things that he thought were free – birds, feral cats, deserts and fish were some of his favourites but another one that grabbed his attention were balloons. Looking at a brightly coloured balloon bobbing against a bright blue sky was one of Alvin’s favourite things to do. It reminded him of the world he knew existed beyond the little town of Pennybrook, and that one day when he was free of his parents’ grasp he would go out and find it. Thinking about the balloon, Alvin suddenly realised that he should have asked for a fish. The fish was a safe bet because it was contained to its bowl and therefore posed no physical threat to Alvin. His parents could even clean the tank. The balloon on the other hand was made of rubber, he’d no doubt touch it at some point and who knows he might even be allergic to rubber. This was the kind of risk his parents saw everywhere. Desperate for an answer, Alvin pushed his ear up against the bedroom door but couldn’t hear anything. He stepped back and all of a sudden the door swung open and Alvin couldn’t believe his eyes. His parents were standing there holding it – a big red balloon. Alvin was shocked. Tears started running down his cheeks, and he reached out in disbelief to take the balloon from his mother. “Can I take it outside?” he asked eagerly. Concerned, his parents looked at each other. “Mmmm, yes OK,” his mother sighed reluctantly. Outside the warm sun seeped into his tiny body. He was still in shock, holding onto his very own red balloon. Then all of a sudden Alvin felt his body became light. Then he became lighter, and lighter again until he realised that the balloon was carrying him into the sky. Alvin was terrified, until he saw that this could be his chance. All he had to do was hold on tightly and he’d be swept away to another town where he could finally start exploring. Frantic, his parents ran outside to see their son flying across the rooftops held up by just a single red balloon. “Something like this was bound to happen,” his father said.

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