Mirza delivered the balloons in a van whose window his wife held open so she could see the mirror. Green and white circles pushed between their seats. They had been ordered for a waste-free day in the park. Mirza thought he was making two large decorations beside the stage. Emina had prepared bags to take everything away afterwards. The job was small, but the organiser had promised recommendations for several autumn events.
Only after they installed the stands did the presenter ask for scissors. For the finale they would cut the strings and release every balloon. Mirza looked at him, convinced he was joking. Beyond the park were houses, gardens, and roofs where assorted rubbish already collected. He said he would not release his balloons over them. The presenter explained that it was intended as a beautiful message. Emina looked at the bags in the van, suddenly unnecessary in someone else's plan.
The organiser arrived ten minutes before the start. He spoke quickly, watching the time. Everything had been announced, people expected a closing moment, and they could not change the programme over one personal objection. Mirza suggested leaving the balloons tied and raising the jointly made fabric flags instead. The organiser said those were difficult to see. He wanted what he had already imagined, rather than a better idea.
The conflict became public when the presenter invited the crowd to count down. Mirza remained beside the stand and did not supply scissors. Someone in the front shouted that he should stop spoiling the fun. Emina approached her husband. She made no speech. She began untying the lower cord to move the entire decoration behind the stage. Two volunteers helped. The countdown dissolved into confused murmuring, and the presenter announced the music too early.
The organiser paid the agreed fee but crossed future dates out of his notebook before them. It hurt Mirza more than he wanted to admit. In the van he told Emina perhaps he could simply have looked away. She did not reply that they had saved the world. She said she did not know how they would replace the lost work either, but tomorrow she would struggle to walk those streets and see their strings on the fences.
They took the balloons to the workshop. Some were used for indoor decorations; others were deflated and put away with the remaining materials. The park returned to ordinary walkers the following morning. Mirza went there for a forgotten stand. On a bench he found a fabric flag left after the music. He took it with him, because even a good idea was no reason to leave something for others.