The Balloon

Upon arrival in Jakarta, I handed Luke to Hendrik so that he could introduce him to his parents (Luke's Grandparents). Luke leaped straight into Popo's (Grandmas) arms as she gave him a big, red, Mickey Mouse balloon that she had bought especially for him. Knowing my devout Chinese mother in law, it had to be red.

Luke loves balloons. How did she know? I could only dream of having balloons like this when I was young.

Days passed. Luke played with the balloon every day. It as full of helium attached to a stone wrapped in plastic by fishing string (which I was admittedly a bit wary of).

Soon, the helium began to deflate. Luke sat outside in his pram overlooking my Mother in Laws collection of various plants including hibiscus and Aloe Vera under the veranda.

I threw the balloon up to the roof of the veranda and it would float back down to Luke slowly. It was the perfect toy. Luke laughed with glee as he caught the balloon. I could get rid of the dangerous string and stone given the little amount of helium inside.

Or so I thought.

I threw the balloon into the air, and it missed the roof. Seeing as it always went back down I didn't feel too concerned.

Up it went. Up, up, up. Luke watched in anticipation for it to come down. so did I.

The red balloon flying above out house

The balloon caught the breeze and began to fly above the car port. Surely it will run out of helium soon, right?

But up it continued. Up, up, up. Luke began to cry as he reached out for the balloon which flew further away from him.

I watched the balloon as it flew past the rooftops of the houses across the street. Maybe my mother in law would catch it on her way home from her morning exercise with her girlfriends? I don't think so. It just kept flying. Up, up, up.

I called Hendrik.

Can YOU see the red speck?

"Say..." (which is short for 'sayang' meaning 'darling') I said, as Luke sobbed beside me. "Can you see that red speck in the sky?"

"Ummm... No." He replied

I moved him to the left. "How about now?"

"No...?" he said, now confused what I was getting at.

"Well, that's Luke's balloon." I confessed.

"WHAT!?"

Maybe we will see it when we fly back to Australia. I felt so guilty letting the balloon go. Would Luke forgive me?

I was playing with Luke on the floor on Saturday morning when I heard a honking noise. I knew it was a seller of some sort as they often come past selling bread, vegetables, bakso, congee and the like. To my surprise, it was a man selling balloons! (A bit like what you see in American movies at the Zoo)

Image not mine

I ran outside and asked the man how much. 10,000 rupiah (one dollar). My father in law told the seller it was too expensive. I wasn't going to argue about what would probably be a 20 cent saving. 10,000 rupiah can buy so much more in Indonesia than it can in Australia. I'm happy to support people who are actively in search of an income in a good way by not stealing or corrupting.

I gave the man the 10,000 rupiah which will probably cover his lunch. I was confused which balloon to buy. The same one? A spongebob? How about Doraemon!

I gave Luke the big blue Doreamon balloon and he smiled. Such little price for a piece of joy and support for another.

Image not mine