Balba

Shortly after becoming aware of every touch, bounce, squeeze, spin and roll, Balba started to think about its purpose in life. But Balba soon learned that it would have very little time to actually think about this. And the main reason for that was Kevin, his small-sized human owner of 3 years old who gave Balba its name.

Every day Balba was propelled into the air, hurled across a room or thrown from the stairs by Kevin. Not necessarily in this order. Sometimes Kevin would just focus on one of these activities. And it could last for hours on end.

The worst days were those when Kevin took Balba outside, into the backyard, and (either on purpose or by accident, Balba wasn’t sure) lopped Balba over the fence into an another backyard. A backyard where not only different humans lived but also a four-legged, furry monster called “Rex” whose favorite pastime was to chew on Balba with its slimy and sharp teeth. That is, until one of its owners finally noticed this and threw Balba back over the fence to Kevin.

All of the things that Balba had to endure were made even worse by the accompanying shrieks of delight that Kevin made. Balba didn’t understand what was so enjoyable about it. He just wanted to be left alone so he could figure out what his purpose was in this world. But Kevin and Balba were together for most of the day. The only time when Balba was free from the torment of little Kevin was when Kevin was sleeping. A time that Balba needed himself to rest and sleep, so he would finally have some energy to think about his purpose. Unfortunately for Balba this never happened as he always woke up to being carried around by Kevin. It was during these moments that Balba hoped with every fiber in his round and plastic, blue-colored body that Kevin would just forget about him somehow. But Kevin always found his way back to Balba.

That’s why, what had happened today, had been the best day ever in Balba’s existence.

It had all started when Kevin had been allowed by its big, human owners to take Balba to the park. Balba had been to this park before. It was a green and lush park with a big lake in the middle of it. A lake that Balba figured was off-limits to Kevin, because the human owners of Kevin always yelled at him whenever he was near it. Today the park looked different to Balba. The usual green and vibrant colors of the grass on which Kevin had played with Balba before, it was all gone. In its place was some kind of thick white blanket. One other thing that Balba was missing was the lake. Was it covered by the same white blanket? He couldn’t figure it out. The air outside also made Balba’s skin feel less elastic than usual. It was probably why Kevin’s owners also had covered the skin of Kevin’s hands, head, body and neck with layers of soft materials.

After Kevin had played around with Balba for a while, wildly tossing him around, Balba suddenly found himself spinning and rolling on a slippery and hard surface. The surface made crackling sounds. Apparently it was something humans called ‘the ice’. As Balba was sliding across the surface of the ice, which was not a totally unpleasant feeling, he noticed that Kevin was not chasing after him. Instead Kevin was crying his eyes out and screaming as his human owners desperately tried to keep him from going onto the ice. When Balba finally came to a halt, he could see in the distance how Kevin was picked up by its human owners and walked away with him in their arms. Kevin kept looking at Balba as he was carried away and kept crying until Balba couldn’t see Kevin and his human owners anymore. Why had Kevin and its humans abandoned Balba? Would this means he would finally be free from Kevin’s clutches?

~

Two days had passed by since the ice incident and Balba had slept for the most of it. For the first time since he had regained consciousness he had not been woken up by Kevin. This could only mean one thing. A future without Kevin finally had become a reality. Balba still couldn’t believe it and it made him feel light and warm inside, despite the ice on which he was still laying. By this time Balba was at different spot on the ice then when he was still awake. The wind had pushed him around a bit on the ice. A pleasurable sensation. One thing he didn’t like was how the surface underneath him was starting to make more and more of these strange crackling noises. But Balba figured it was probably nothing. He felt energized and ready to start thinking about his purpose.

After doing this for a few hours Balba learned that thinking about one’s purpose is not that easy and can takes up quite some energy. So he decided to take a little nap and continue later. When he woke up again a few hours later he realized he was suddenly in the water. Where had this come from? As he looked around he noticed that the thick white blanket was mostly gone, and the green colors of the grass were starting to reappear again. The air outside also felt different and his skin definitely felt more elastic again. What a strange world he lived in. At least Balba was still alone. Not a trace from Kevin or his owners. Life was good, now he only needed to figure out his purpose in it.

After thinking about this again for an entire day, still not having found the answer, Balba was suddenly overcome by a strange feeling that he had not experienced before. Being alone for these past few days had been nice and all, but it was also kind of lonely. He started to think about the sounds of joy, pleasure and delight that Kevin used to make as he was hoisting Balba around or throwing him in the air. Balba never thought that he would miss this, but he did. And that’s when it hit him. Balba realized what his purpose was in life. It was to make Kevin happy. All of this time they had been together Balba had been the source for Kevin’s laughter, joy and pleasure. No wonder why Kevin had cried so much when he couldn’t get to Balba on the ice. As Balba’s new found sense of purpose dawned on him, he started to feel terrible. He wished for so many times to be left alone by Kevin, but now he wanted nothing more for Kevin to come back, pick him up and squeeze him tightly.

A few days went by and Balba still found himself alone, floating in the water. The wind had pushed him to the edge of the lake. Occasionally, it brushed him gently against the grassy ground adjacent it. Ever since he had realized his purpose Balba had spent most of his days sleeping. Just so he wouldn’t have to feel the sadness that constantly washed over him when he was awake. Life had lost its color for Balba.

As Balba started to drift off again into one of its slumbers, he suddenly felt hands picking him up and lifting him up out of the water. They were big and hairy hands, not the small and little hands from Kevin. Who was this human? Balba didn’t have the time to see who it was as the hands put him in a bag that was zipped shut. It was dark inside and Balba felt scared. What was going on and where were they taking him? Was this the end?

~

Balba felt like he had been in the bag for an eternity, even though it only had been half an hour. As he was contemplating the many ways in which he could meet his end by his human kidnapper, the zipper suddenly opened up, causing light to flow into the bag. As he was getting used to the intensity of the light he saw a small human face peeking into the bag. “BALBA! BALBA! BALBA!” the human said, accompanied by familiar sounds of joy and laughter. It was Kevin. He lifted Balba out of the bag, hugged him tightly against his small human body and danced around the room. If Balba could have cried from joy, he would have done so. He had been reunited with Kevin. And the big and hairy hands? They belonged to one of the human owners of Kevin apparently.

For the first time since he had became aware of its sensations, Balba felt truly alive. And it was a wonderful feeling. From that moment on Balba vowed he would put all of his efforts in keeping the joy of Kevin alive. In every bounce, spin and roll he would try to show it. For that was Balba’s purpose.