Red Balloon, Blue Balloon

On a sunny Sunday morning in mid February, the Raos arrived on the idyllic Visakhapatnam beach and joined the hordes of families gathered there for their fair share of the sun. Four-year-old Anshuhad put on her favourite red dress for a special occasion. But the real reason was the red balloon which she held dearly in one hand. It was nothing like any of the other types which the shopkeeper sold. She carefully scanned the beach and triumphantly declared that hers was the only one in the world! She looked up with pride and marveled at the gleaming plasticky surface. It was majestic! And how red the world looked when she peeked through it. She could even catch glimpses of the sun through it! Gently she released the string and caught it when it tried to escape.

- Shouvik Banerjee

The Raos found a nice spot and settled comfortably on two long towels. Mr. Bhavesh Rao broke into a soft tune while Mrs. Nandini Rao played with a distracted Anshu.

“Arre Bhavesh, you’re here too?” The voice startled Mr. Rao from his humming and he looked up at his visitor.

“Pulak! What a pleasant surprise. Hello, Ramya, how are you?”

The petite woman beside Pulak gave a nervous smile. The group did their usual greetings and sat down. Anshu was the least bit interested in her guests and slowly crept away when she found the chance. Besides, her game was far more interesting. Once or twice the string almost slipped out of her tiny fingers! Almost!

Anshu was suddenly distracted by the shiny surface of a blue balloon. Oh, how it shone! Just like her balloon. Or was it even better? Was a blue world better or a red world? She stared at the blue surface as it bobbed up and down. Was someone else playing her game? If only she could get a closer look.