                                                                  #
 anada   "A Happy Day                                             #          
 247         For Balloons"             +###           +###    +####    +###  
                                      #    #  #  #   #    #  #    #   #    # 
                                by   #     #  # ##  #     #  #    #  #     # 
 28                        Oregano   #    .#  ## #  #    .#  #   .#  #    .# 
 dec                                  *###  * #   *  *###  * *###  *  *###  *
 2000 .+#################################################################.net

        Ahh, yes, the balloon, I almost forgot about that.  It was a queer
 thing, its effect on people.  Yes, I did pop it once I noticed what it
 was doing and I don't know if that broke the spell, or if it ever cast a
 spell.  But the balloon...well I'll tell you how it went.  I was at the
 zoo.

        I was at the zoo and it was a nice spring day.  I go to the zoo from
 time to time, it is near my apartment and it is free.  I suppose I like
 to see the same old animals, most people see them as new, but I see them
 age over the years, besides the zoo is nicely kept and it is nicer to
 walk around there than in the musty streets around my apartment.

        I bought a balloon.  There was a vendor and the day seemed right for
 a balloon, to add a little color to the chilly, gray day.  I no longer
 remember the color, in my memory it is just bright color against dank
 clouds.  But, no, I did not feel anything special about the balloon, it
 made me smile when I looked at it, I felt sort of silly, but a good
 silly.  People would see me with the balloon and smile and seem to be
 happy.  But what I did not know about was that after, once the balloon
 was out of their sight, they became sad, sader than they were before the
 balloon, sadder than the balloon had made them happy.  As I made a loop
 around the lion house, a woman in a red jogging suit who had been so
 happy to see the balloon before now looked all glum as I turned away and
 took another path.  And a kid who was on his dad's shoulder, who earlier
 pointed at the balloon, giggling.  That child now was sitting on the
 grass with his legs pulled up to his face and his arms over them, all
 huddled, and being colsoled by a worried father.

        There were others, they all smiled when I passed by, like the balloon
 had this great cheering power.  And I hoped that would be a happy part of
 their day.  But when I got to the street to cross back to my apartment,
 I looked back and the people no longer had a jaunty gait, but were slouched
 over, as if defeated.

        I had to put this to some sort of test, so I took out my cellular
 phone and called Margaret, who lives in my building, and told her to look
 out the window and I would do my best to cheer her up.  She opened the
 window and saw me walking by and she looked so happy, her face filled with
 brightness, and she waved at me and called out, "What a pretty bit of color!
 A nice happiness on a yucky day."

        Then I climbed the stairs to my apartment, entered, and tied the
 balloon to the top ring of a lamp.  I gathered some movies that Margaret
 had let me borrow for the weekend.  I knocked on her door and she opened it
 slowly.  Her face was ashen, her eyes were a little red and she had a
 kleenex in her hand, but she said she was fine.  I handed her the movies and
 thanked her and she did not want to talk.  On my way back to my apartment,
 I felt sad for making everyone's day so gloomy.  I took out a pin and I
 popped that balloon straight away, and that little bit of violence gave me a
 tiny thrill, and I felt just a bit better.

 .+##########################################################################

 anada247 by Oregano                                                 (c) 2000
 ###################################################################anada.net
