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Shiny. Round. Inflated.
Those words don't seem like much by themselves.
But together, they could only really spell out one word.
BALLOONS.
Yes. The floaty, colorful objects commonly found decorating birthday parlors and graduation ceremonies. They were the epitome of happiness and celebration, so why did she hate them so much?
She knew why, but she had to dig deep into her mind, far back to where the painful memory lay. She hated trying to remember, hated thinking about the event. Sometimes, it made the whole ordeal even more painful. But everytime someone asked, "why are you afraid of such a piddly lil' balloon," she had to answer.
It was a fun party, cheerfully decorated with streamers and confetti. Yellow tablecloths covered the eating areas, and a large cake stood proudly in the center of the room. And most importantly, there were balloons.
She thought about how at the time, she hadn't been afraid of them. They seemed pretty harmless, even playfully enjoyable.
But then there was a boy.
He was like a madman, running haphazardly around the room.
"Don't run with forks!" His mother called out.
In his grip, he clasped a white plastic utensil.
Then, as if nearly upsetting the cake being served wasn't enough, he started to stab the balloons. As if they were vicious pirates armed with daggers as well. Of course, they popped.
Pow! Pow! Pow!
The noise was unpleasant and she wanted to cover her ears, but her little hands were full of cake and napkin and a fork of her own.
That's when it happened.
He leaped forward at a nearby balloon, just as she walked past.
It exploded in her face, sending the cake splattering across her chest and into her hair and leaving her tearfully bewildered. Her ears were left ringing and her skin stung from the rubber, but it was mostly her nerves, destroyed by the careless acts of an 8-year old boy wielding a fork.
"C'mon Mina, let's go to the party store! We have to buy decorations for Tzuyu's party!" Nayeon yelled excitedly.
"Alright." The Japanese girl agreed slowly. She was her favorite maknae after all - she would allow herself to get out of bed just this once.
"Wha should we buy? Streamers? Candles? Definitely some napkins - we know how messy Momo and Sana can get when they're excited," Nayeon teased. "What else? Balloons?"
Mina visibly hesitated at the mention of the word. Nayeon frowned. "What's the matter?"
"Nothing," she shook her head. "It's nothing."
The oldest member eyed her for a moment before shrugging. "I say we buy nineteen balloons, the age of our Tzuyu!" She laughed and clapped her hands. "That's perfect!"
"Y-yes!" Mina mustered her courage. "Sounds awesome."
They stepped into the mart, and almost immediately the smell hit her nose.
The scent of rubber.
It haunted her as they walk through the stocked isles and as they examined plates on the other side of the store. Another customer arrives, asking for a large order of the swelled-up objects.
The teen boy manning the station just nodded lazily and attached a silver balloon to the air canister. The hiss of the helium leaving the tank was enough. Mina covered her ears, eyes tightly shut and mouth set in a hard line, kneeling behind a rack of much-to-early Halloween costumes. A few minutes later, Nayeon found her there, still hunched and small.
"What in the world are you doing, Mina?" She asked in surprise.
"I..I can't do it," came the soft reply, nearly too soft for Nayeon to hear, but she had become an expert of understanding Mina's quiet ways.
"What do you mean?"
"I just can't, unnie." Mina looked up with wide eyes and Nayeon realized her face was blanched. She kneeled down and put an arm around the girl calmly. "The balloons."
"Balloons?"
"They explode!" Mina pushed her hands into her ears harder. "And the squeaking sound when they rub against something. Ugh!"
Nayeon tried to be sympathetic. "It's okay. We don't have to buy balloons. I just thought.."
"No, we have to get something for Tzuyu." Mina took a deep breath. "It's her birthday. We have to do something nice for her!" She didn't sound as confident as she looked and her face was still abnormally pale.
Glancing at her for a moment, Nayeon wrapped a comforting around the younger girl and pulled her close. She knew Mina didn't like the intimacy the other members enjoyed but she also knew pressure released the calming oxytocin, a useful hormone that emitted a positive reaction.
"It's okay, we'll think of something different," she smiled reassuringly, although wracking her brain for alternative party decorations. "How about mylar balloons? Do they affect you as much?"
Mina stared at the older girl in awe for a moment, both surprised by her kindness and her attempt at solving the problem rather than evading it. "Y-yeah, they...they're better, I guess. They don't explode with the same noise."
Nayeon held in a chuckle. "Minari, they don't explode. They pop."
"Same thing."
"Anyway, mylar balloons are pretty, so we can get a bunch. Plus, maybe we can find a few that have puppies on it."
Mina grinned. "That is a great plan." The relief was evident on her face as her posture became looser as she made to stand. "Thank you, Nabongs."
"No problem."
The two proceeded to purchase nineteen bright mylar balloons with three extra ones printed with animals that the maknae loved (how they managed to find one with a cow befuddled them). It seemed like Mina's fears had been diminished slightly and she even held the strings of a few of them in her hand, watching as they bounced freely in the breeze.
Just as they got to the door, the familiar sound of gushing gas permeated the air.
Pow!
Mina jumped and clung to Nayeon's arm. "Unnie," she whimpered softly.
Nayeon pulled her close as she could with her handful of strings.
"It's okay, Mina. I've got you."
I've got you.
Phobias aren't something to be taken lightly. It might seem ridiculous to you, but it can be a crippling fear for someone else. The reason I wrote this fanfiction was that, yes, I have a fear of balloons. I can't comfortably be in the room with balloons. It's stupid, it's stupid, I know. I've tried consoling myself. They're. Just. Balloons. They won't harm me. They can't harm me. But the damage had been done - that fateful day at a birthday party. One day, I hope to get over this phobia so I can enjoy my friends' parties and celebrations. So I can walk around a party store without cringing every time I get within ten feet of a balloon.
I hope you all enjoyed this story.
Much love,
WHIMWriter