Twelve

 

Lost in thought, the three of them never saw the approaching storm. The skies had darkened and before long, the silence was shattered by the sound of thunder. Strong winds hissed like a legion of serpents as they tossed Balloon around like a little toy.

‘Hang on tight,’ shouted Balloon as she tried desperately not to lose control. ‘I’ll see what I can do.’ She then used all her strength to prevent being turned upside down. Little Girl could have fallen off and the thought of what might happen then was too terrible to even think of.

Crow shivered and hid inside Little Girl’s shirt. Huge drops of rain fell, thoroughly soaking them. They were surrounded by darkness. Lightning zigzagged, leaving behind smoke and searing heat and then came the deafening sound of thunder. It was all too close for comfort. They knew then that they were in the heart of the storm clouds.

‘Hurry up, Balloon!’ Little Girl shouted over the howling wind. ‘Go sharply to your left. I see a clearing.’

Balloon pushed hard, knowing fully well that their lives depended on it. She felt a surge of strength fill her as she held her breath and pushed to the left. For a second, it seemed like she was not moving and then, all of a sudden, she floated out of the cloud and bang into a cluster of even darker clouds. Balloon was tossed and churned and thrown about like a feather, but she gritted her teeth, as she put every ounce of the courage she had in her, and pushed into the bright rays of the sun that she could glimpse from the corner of her eyes. And as she did so, she floated out of the storm clouds and into the bright, hot sun. Soon, they were all completely dry.

It was a lovely clear sky, all blue, with bits of white cloud. The dark patch was left behind. The land below was pretty and they could see the river flowing gently.

‘Never liked storms,’ said Crow. ‘Too noisy. Too dark. Too wet.’ He blew his nose. ‘Must be getting a cold,’ he said in a voice that was most upset.

‘Look,’ said Little Girl, excitedly pointing below. ‘The grass! It’s blue!’

And, so indeed it was. The strangest sight they had ever seen. In hushed silence, they circled around for a while, mesmerised by the blue colour. On every side, dark and hostile mountains that reached almost to the sky stood as silent sentinels, cutting the place off from the rest of the world and hiding its secrets. No wonder, people never knew of its precise location.

The mountains looked so sinister and angry that they would have been a deterrent to the most intrepid explorer. Little Girl had heard that the villagers had spoken of enormous and ugly creatures that filled the mountainsides, ready to pounce on those who dared to cross this land. The old man had told her that it was a place swathed in shadows and in evil. But, from the sky, Little Girl could see that these were only vicious-looking rocks that were jagged and hidden by shadows that gave them their sinister appearance.

The mountains were only one part of the deterrent. Indeed, if it wasn’t for the storm that had cleared the sky, Little Girl realised that they would never have seen the place, for it would have been hidden in a shroud of thick white clouds that swirled from somewhere like a legion of angry, hissing serpents. The eerie sight of the jagged rocks would have petrified any explorer, as the entire land lay half hidden in the misty clouds, surrounded by howling winds.

There was yet another protection.

During the daytime, as the sun moved behind the mountains, first on the east face and then, as it disappeared along the west face, the rugged contours of the enormous mountains would cast hideous claw-like shadows that would slowly creep with serpentine ease and envelop the land below. The entire land would then lie covered in darkness, hidden from the gaze of the outside world, daring anyone to pry open its secrets.

Greyish-white clouds had quickly started forming near the mountainside, swirling and swirling and catching flakes of more clouds. Little Girl pulled the white string to let the air out slowly, so that Balloon could descend and land on the blue field.

‘We need to hurry before the clouds come, but please be careful,’ she told Balloon, ‘and try not to touch the rocks on the mountainside or you may burst, and then we won’t know what to do. It’s important to find a proper landing strip since this is the first time you’ll be doing this sort of a thing.’

Balloon nodded at what Little Girl had said and slowly guided herself, turning left and then right, avoiding the jagged mountain edge, as she decided on a flat, blue meadow that looked soft as a cushion.

‘You are doing very well, Balloon,’ Little Girl said encouragingly, ‘but keep a watch on the mountain shadows, for they are lengthening.’

Balloon closed her eyes shut so she wouldn’t see what was going on. It did seem to be the most sensible thing to do under the circumstances. And then, with a gentle bump, bump, bump, she found that she had, in fact, made the most perfect landing!

Crow and Little Girl also had their eyes closed and Little Girl could have sworn that she heard Crow hum a bird prayer of sorts. ‘Must ask him to recite it to me sometime,’ Balloon said to herself as she came to a rest.

They heaved an immense sigh of relief and applauded for Balloon, for she had truly flown like a skilled and experienced pilot. Balloon smiled weakly. Seeing her picture-perfect landing, no one would have ever believed that this was, in fact, her first flight!

The sight of the blue grass and all this flying around had made Balloon awfully tired. The episode with the storm had unnerved her. Yet, she did not want to miss out on the fun and the danger. She wondered what sort of adventures lay ahead in this very strange and extremely blue place.

Little Girl seemed to sense what Balloon was thinking. ‘Tell you what,’ she told Balloon, ‘I’ll fold you up and carry you in my bag. That way, you’ll be a part of everything. Who knows, if this place is indeed fraught with danger, we may need to make a hasty retreat! Of course, a bit of you ought to stick out, so that you can see what is happening!’

Balloon nodded gratefully in agreement. And so, Little Girl let out all the air and neatly folded Balloon up. She then put her in the bag beside the sandwiches, the water bottle and the bicycle pump and gently adjusted Balloon’s head so that she could comfortably sit in the bag’s pocket and survey the scene. Little Girl then fixed the bag to the folding chair and it fitted snugly like a rucksack.

‘Come,’ said Little Girl, ‘let us discover the place.’ She dipped into her bag and took out a flute. ‘This is our weapon,’ she said.

Little Girl then sniffed the air once before she took her first step. ‘Be cautious,’ she remembered her father had once said, ‘and beware of the stench. If you can smell the awful smell, stay calm. If you smell it, it is because you are untarnished. Learn to recognise it, for it is the signature of evil! He is not far behind!’

Little Girl thought about what her father had taught her. She closed her eyes and said, ‘The journey has begun. The battle is about to begin.’

She walked with a spring in her feet.

Balloon could have sworn that her voice sounded different.

Alert and mature.

As if she was expecting something.

Or someone.

And that, she was not in the least bit scared.

‘Something bothering you?’ asked Crow.

‘Beware,’ said Little Girl, ‘of The Serpent!’