Happy Valentine’S Day

The market place was decorated with festivity. Heart shaped balloons in red colour hung all over the place. Gift shops were loaded with teddy bears, cards, candles, bracelets, rings, and belts etc, all of them embellished with red hearts. It was Valentine’s Day!

A poor boy was selling the proverbial heart shaped balloons. Five rupees a piece! A simple token of love, for a loved one! Little children dragged their parents to the balloon seller to buy the attractive red balloons. Young couples, walked arm in arm and many a young man bought a red balloon for his sweetheart. The poor little balloon seller looked on wistfully at the young Valentines and wished he too had someone who loved him. Noon gave way to dusk and dusk to night. He had sold dozens of balloons today.

One young father had bought a balloon from the boy and given it to his little daughter saying naughtily, “Will you be my Valentine?” The little girl giggled as she pecked her father on his cheek and pulled herself up into his arms saying, “Of course, I will!” Another little boy had bought a balloon and given it to his grandmother, saying “Grandma! You are my Valentine. I love you most of all!”

As the day was getting over, the poor boy went over the day’s events and wished he had someone to gift a balloon to. Surely he could afford to give away just one as a gift. But he could find no one to give it to, so he tied it to the branch of a tree; the tree under which he slept away these cold winter nights, saying, “You are my best friend dear tree, you offer me a place to sleep at night. Will you be my Valentine?” The boy lay down drowsily under the tree and snuggled into the tattered folds of his blanket to warm himself. He stared dreamily at the balloon, as it swayed in the cold winter breeze on this chilly night on the fourteenth day of February.

As he continued to stare at the heart shaped balloon he saw a male bird perch itself on one side of the balloon. Lest the bird peck at the balloon and it burst, the boy stirred to shoo it away… but not quite…. what was that? The birds female companion, a petite avian creature, perched herself prettily on the other side of the balloon. In the backdrop of the moonlight, the boy saw the love-birds come closer… the balloon between them, flying like a flag standing testament to their love… and the boy whispered, “Happy Valentine’s Day!”

When you are in love, you can give love anytime and without measure. And when you can do that, then every day is Valentine’s Day!