Guide: The Balloon
For each short story we have created a guide that elaborates on the subject/conflict of the story and offers some more insights about the topic. The guide also offers a quick exercise that helps the reader examine their relationship with the subject and see themselves more clearly.
We recommend reading the short story first, you can find it here:
"The Balloon," a short story about the last hours and peaceful passing of an elderly woman, strikes many as sad. However, for me, it describes a miracle. It narrates the end of an old woman’s life who harbors no resentment, doesn't complain, isn't afraid, and isn't angry. A person who has managed to make peace by the end of her life with themselves, her fate, and the world. I believe this is the greatest gift we can receive from life or give to ourselves.
I wrote this short story about one of my grandmother's sisters, whom we visited in her final days at the nursing home. The peace and tranquility emanating from her were astonishing. I had never felt such a thing from anyone preparing to face death. There was no fear in her eyes, only calmness, and of course, fatigue. At almost ninety-nine, she had grown weary of life's roller coaster. Like most people who experienced two world wars in Europe, dictatorship, economic crises, her life was quite adventurous, despite spending part of it as a nun. In her older years, she traveled a lot with her friend, making up for lost time and opportunities during the tough decades. And yes, she was the one who held those tea parties and spent hours showing slide shows of her travel photos, which I wrote about in “The Wizardry of Life’s Veterans” and found so tedious as a child. Today, I would give anything to sit again with my grandmother and her sisters among those ancient pieces of furniture, watching the seventieth slide of St. Mark's Square.