The Balloon

Once there was a boy named Luke, who lived with his grandfather in a wooden house in the middle of the forest near a small town. His parents were in a different country to do work so their family would get enough money to live a normal life.

One day parents sent a package to him that consists of a note saying, “My beloved Luke, use this money to buy food for yourself and your grandpa. We are working extremely hard to bring you and grandpa here with us in another country. Please take care of grandpa for us while we are here, he has grown weaker since and he now needs your help so he can stay healthy.”

Luke opened the package and he was greeted with enough money to buy groceries for his grandfather and himself. He went to his grandpa to tell him about the package, but he was asleep. Luke being impatient, ran outside the house and to the nearby town.

He saw kids playing with a thing that he has never seen before, it was some kind of floating object that is attached with a string so it won’t float away. Luke asked the kids what it was called and the kids responded, “Have you been living under a rock? It’s called a balloon!”

The kids saw what Luke was holding and said to Luke with a grin, “But. I can give you this balloon if you give us the money! This balloon is extremely rare and we used all of our money to buy it. We need the money to buy food for ourselves and our sick parents!”

Luke gave them the money because he thought they needed the money more than him, little did he know everything they said was lies. “Use the money I gave to buy medicine for your parents and to eat the delicious food!” said Luke.

The kids then ran away, making Luke extremely confused. He then wanted to show off the balloon and the good deed that he has done to his grandpa. It was getting dark so he ran as fast as he can, he moved through the vines and tree roots growing from the ground. He was so close to the house and he can see the lights on, he focused his sight towards the house. Suddenly he tripped on a rock making him fall and releasing the grip of the balloon.

He got back up to his feet and tried to get a grasp of the balloon, but it was too late. The balloon flew higher and higher until Luke can’t see it anymore. He then looked down to himself filled with guilt and sadness, he feared what his grandfather would think when he finds out that he gave away the money to kids in need.

He then opened the door of his house and ran towards his grandfather and told him everything he has done. His grandfather smiled and forgave him because he gave the money to people who needed it more. The grandfather then gave Luke a box located under his bed. Luke then opened the box and to his surprised, it was filled with enough money to buy food for them.

His grandfather then gave him a lantern so he can go through the forest easily in the dark, Luke thanked him and he went out to buy the food they needed. He went to the town and to the grocery store and bought everything they needed to survive for a month.

Luke then went back to the house. He screamed in horror to see his grandfather’s lifeless body on the floor. He dropped the groceries kneeled in despair and everything went dark around him. He was in tears and be
came extremely anxious about what would his parents say about what has he done.

His heart was beating extremely quickly and loudly, his heart started to ache to the sheer terror and guilt that he has caused upon himself and his family. He thought of how hard-working his parents were and how loving was his grandfather, only to let them all down just because he bought a single red balloon that he lost. He then blacked out and met his grandfather. While the kids that gave him the balloon were sitting in a restaurant eating delicious food and having several laughs.