The Pink Balloon by Carol White

from MOTHER: a PUNK NOIR Magazine series

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The Pink Balloon

by

Carol White

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Patty and her mother stood on the subway platform, waiting to go home. In her hand, the nine-year-old clutched a pink balloon from the street fair. Despite repeated warnings to stay back, Patty kept edging toward the tracks, craning for the first rumble of the train.

Finally, her mother’s patience snapped. She yanked Patty away, only to be met with a shrieking tantrum that echoed through the station. Flushed with frustration, she gave her daughter the lightest slap, more a tap than a strike. But it was enough. Patty’s nose began to bleed, as it so often did, red drops splattering against the balloon.

Commuters turned. Their eyes fell on the mother, frowning with judgment she hadn’t earned. Patty, however, beamed through the blood. In her mind, she was no longer a scolded child but the heroine of a grand scene – the mother cast as the villain, the crowd her adoring audience.

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Bio:

Carol White is a novelist, playwright, and freelance writer. Her columns and essays have been published by The Sun Sentinel, Writers Journal, Insight for Playwrights, Working Writers, and Woman’s World.

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