The Joker

A little boy was playing with a red balloon.

“Ah! My balloon!” the boy said hopefully.

Suddenly, a Joker stepped forward and caught the balloon.

“This is mine,” the boy said.

The boy stared at him for a moment.

“Why do you always smile?”

The Joker remained silent for a few seconds. Then, his smile grew a little wider.

“Haha… that’s a good question.”

He looked at the balloon in his hand.

“Can you see this balloon?”

The boy nodded.

The Joker gently lifted the balloon toward the sky.

“The balloon tries to touch the sky…”

He paused.

“But its string keeps reminding it that, no matter how high it flies…”

He looked at the boy and smiled.

“…it is not truly free.”

The boy looked at the balloon for a moment.

“Then why don't you cut the string?”

The Joker’s smile faded for just a second.

“Because sometimes, we become so used to the string…”

He looked at the balloon again.

“…that we forget what freedom feels like.”

Perhaps we are all like that balloon sometimes.

We dream of touching the sky, yet remain tied to the things that hold us back.

But the air inside the balloon still whispers of the sky.

And perhaps, one day, we must find the courage to loosen the string—

and finally let ourselves fly.

— Aren Vale