The Deflated Ball

On the beach lay a deflated ball. The child found it while he was building a castle. His mom told him to throw it in the sea. He looked at her with eyes wide.

“But mommy, the teacher told us not to throw plastic in the sea. In another 30 years, by 2050 our environment is going to be in danger.”

We were playing ball at the beach. My family went on picnics every Sunday, it was part of our weekly bonding routine. Mom, she loved lying down and reading a book. Eliza, my little sister, she loved building castles. Pop and me, we loved playing with the beach ball. That’s what we did mostly when our picnics were at the beach.

My beach ball was blue in colour, light and we could play any game with it. From football to throwball. As soon as the air went even a little, pop always filled it again with a hand pump. At home it was my favourite pass time too. I could go hours bouncing it in my room.

Today, we played volleyball. Pop hit a smash! And pop went my ball. It burst on a pointy stone.

Mom consoled me we would buy a similar new one. I decided for the rest of the picnic I’ll help Eliza build the sand castle.

After a few hours, it was time to leave. I asked pop if we should throw the deflated ball in the sea since it was of no use now. Pop gave me a concerned look.

“Son, never throw plastic in the sea. It kills fish and takes even more time to decompose. They don’t teach these things in school, but in a few years, people are going to wake up. It will be included in school curriculum by 2020, now that I know for sure.”