The Cactus and the Balloon

Just a short post. Tell me if it’s newspaper-worthy.

Dedicated to Mr. Francis Benavidez. You will be missed. *whistles*

Have you ever wondered if the balloon, in the classic Filipino nursery rhyme “Ako ay May Lobo” (“I Had a Balloon”), actually popped when it said that the owner never saw it again?

Well, the truth is it did, but not very soon. It swayed and played with the winds first until it came to this very distant place. Little did the balloon know that it was being watched by someone—or rather, something.

A cactus, quite ugly, perfectly flawed, had been watching the red balloon for hours. It knew how pretty the balloon was, it knew how graceful it moved, but what the cactus didn’t know was that the balloon was staring at the cactus as well; that it was enthralled by the cactus’ awkward appearance.

The balloon soon felt dizzy with all its flying around, it weakened. And little by little, did it reach the ground.

The cactus stretched its arms skyward, hoping to be able to hug the lovely balloon. The balloon descended to the cactus’ direction, and the cactus’ wish was granted. The thing is, the balloon was no longer helium-filled, it was no longer round, and it was no longer a balloon as soon as it touched the cactus.

The story teaches us about selfishness. We should always think about others first before deciding what to do, our first loyalty may be to ourselves, but if we really think about it, every deceiving act we do, every disloyalty we show, it all comes back to us.