Musical Prodigies

Savita pulled at her mother's saree. "Hurry up, Ma," she urged. "See, they're giving away balloons and I want the red one before someone else picks it."

Her mother laughed and took her hand. Together, the two sprinted across the fairground toward the sign saying 'Free Balloons'. There was a little plump woman there, holding balloons by their strings as they bobbed about over her head. She chuckled when she saw the pair rushing at her.

"Want to make sure you get the colour you want?" she asked, as Savita stopped by her side, panting for breath.

"Red," the six-year-old managed to say, between pants.

The woman's voice fell to a whisper. "Then you must wait, child," she replied. "Wait till there's nobody around."

"But – Savita began, and stopped as she caught the woman's eye. The child sidled up close to her mother, who put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Surprisingly, nobody else asked for the red balloon. "Blue!" "Yellow!" "Green!" "Pink!" "Orange!" "Purple!" came the other requests.

Finally, only the red balloon was left, and the crowd had gone toward other attractions at the fair.

"Now," the plump woman said, pulling Savita and her mother into a huddle. "Now for the secret. It has been foretold that the child who asks for the red balloon is destined for greatness."

"I'm sorry, but I don't believe in such –" the mother began, but the woman shushed her.

"She saw the balloon from afar, and made you run to me. She's the one."

Savita's mother said no more. The plump woman took Savita's hand. "Now, child, hold your mother's hand hard, like this."

Savita did as she was told. She clutched her mother's hand.

"Don't let go of your mother. Now, take this balloon with your other hand. Hold tightly."

Savita held tightly.

Then – "My goodness! What's happening to us?" her mother shouted.

For they were rising, rising in the air with the balloon. Savita wanted to clap for joy but couldn't, her hands were occupied. She threw back her head and laughed. "We're flying, Ma, we're flying!"

"Help!" her mother cried.

The balloon woman was looking up at them, waving. "No use shouting, dearie. You're invisible to them, and they won't be able to hear you either," she called. "Have fun, both of you."

Higher and higher they soared. A few birds said 'good morning' and the clouds shaped themselves into arms and hugged the duo. Then, after what seemed like mere seconds to Savita and hours to her mother, they began to descend.

They were heading for a clearing in a forest. As they neared, Savita caught sight of an object in the middle of the clearing. "What is a wicker basket doing here?"

Their feet landed on soft earth. The balloon dropped into the wicker basket and curled up like a tired cat. Mother and daughter looked around. What sort of forest was this?

"All types of trees," the mother whispered. "Pines, Banyans, Fruit trees, Palms ... it's a geographical impossibility!"

"For the geography of the earth," came a voice.

Suddenly, the clearing was full of little people. Lovely, dancing little fairies and pixies and gnomes and a lot of others Savita didn't know the names of. They formed a circle around the duo and the sleeping balloon and did a merry dance. Some of them played flutes, some violins. One had a guitar.

"You must join in," they chorused
"You must join in and you'll surely win."

"But I don't know the words," Savita called out.

The fairy holding the guitar stepped forward. "Take this guitar and play it."

"I haven't learnt the guitar, just the piano."

"Take this," the fairy said, handing her a guitar pick. "It'll help you play."

Savita seemed to know how to hold the guitar, where to place her fingers on the frets - and how to strum some beautiful chords. She danced as she played, and her mother joined in. The balloon woke up, yawned, looked at the dancing going on and flew around over Savita's head, joining in.

For hours they danced.

Then the fairy who had given Savita the guitar clapped her hands. "It is almost sunset. Hold the balloon, hold each other."

Mother and daughter did so.

As the sun went down, they found themselves rising.

The moon and stars welcomed them as they headed back to the fairground. There were brightly coloured lights there now, and the roundabout looked like a fiery circle as it gave people a ride.

They touched down next to the balloon woman. She was sitting crossed-legged on the floor, but stood up as she saw them approach.

"Was it fun?" she asked, taking the balloon back from Savita.

"It was lovely," both replied.

"You will now be able to play any musical instrument without ever having to take lessons. Use the gift well, use it to make people happy," the balloon woman said. "I'd advise you not to have concerts and tours. Just play to people who need some cheer."

Savita and her mother stood, listening.

Then they heard a voice behind them. "Daddy, Daddy," a little boy was saying. "There's a sign saying Free Balloons and there's just one red balloon left. Let's get it, Daddy, please!"