Rachel was not too happy that night. She was sleeping on the floor of her living room. There was not even an inch of space in her own bedroom because it was littered with her elder sister’s stuff. Besides the other things, there was a huge balloon she had got home from her graduation party. Her elder sister had just completed her high school and had secured admission in a college in another city. There was a lot of packing to be done, so she had taken over Rachel’s bedroom, too. “Why is she taking my bedroom?” asked Rachel. “It’s only for tonight,” said her mother, in a consoling tone. “There’s no space in her bedroom. Once she is gone, you can have her bedroom, too. Please be a good girl, and adjust for one night.” Reluctantly, Rachel prepared to sleep in the living room. Their house had a big hallway. At one end was the living room and at the other end Rachel’s room.
The Disturbing Sounds
Rachel first tried to sleep on the couch in the living room, but it was far from comfortable. Also, she was feeling very hot and sticky. So, she got out of the couch, increased the speed of the fan and then slept on the floor. As Rachel was drifting into sleep, she was suddenly awakened by loud sounds. She looked around the room, but could not see anything. She felt that the sounds were coming from her room, so she decided to check what was going on. Rachel entered her bedroom and switched on the light. She saw that her sister’s huge balloon was bouncing off the fan which was moving at a great speed. ‘What a bother!’ thought Rachel, ‘It is all because of my sister and her balloon!’ She then caught the balloon, tied it to the leg of a table and went back to sleep in the living room.
Inside the Bedroom
It was hardly 30 minutes since Rachel lay down to sleep when she heard the same sounds again. ‘Now what?’ thought Rachel. By now she was totally annoyed. She went back to her room. She could hear the whirring of the fan. So, she switched on the light. The balloon was again hovering near the fan. This was impossible. ‘How did the balloon reach the fan? And who switched on the fan?’ Rachel wondered. This time, she took the balloon to the living room and tied it to the leg of the dining table. ‘Now let me see how you go back to my bedroom!’ she thought and went back to sleep. After an hour or so, Rachel was roused out of her sleep by the same sounds. When she looked at the dining table, the balloon was not there. The sounds were coming from her bedroom again. This time she was scared.
Was it Just a Balloon
Rachel timidly crept into her bedroom. The balloon was floating around the fan again, while the fan rotated in full speed. Scared, she ran from her room in haste. Her sister woke up at the noise and asked her what was wrong. When Rachel explained, she grabbed the balloon and burst it. A few days later, Rachel’s sister moved out and she got her bedroom back again. Happily, she prepared to sleep on her bed. Around midnight, Rachel was woken up by the same sounds of the balloon. She switched on the light and saw the same balloon her sister had burst a few days ago floating near the fan. It was unbelievable! Rachel was so scared that she started screaming till her parents came running. She told them about the balloon but by the time they looked up, the balloon had vanished. They did not believe her, but Rachel never slept in her bedroom again. ‘Was it just a balloon?’ she wondered, often.
