What If? #15 Tennis Balls

Do You remember how to find hidden realities? Lots of ways, remember? Catch a thought, ride a rainbow, dance through the night with the northern lights, climb the stars or glide down the astral slide.
If You go travelling through the uni-verses You just might find a reality where Tennis Balls inhabit the entire world. It's out there (or in here) I'm sure of it.
Now the really cool thing about these Tennis Balls is that "they" have learned to teleport to any reality desired. That's left, absolutely anywhere and anytime, imagine that! Now I real-eyes that You may not believe in magik and/or teleporting tennisballs, but to appreciate this story it will really help if you can at least open your mind just a wee tiny bit to accept the possibility that this reality exists. Can You do that for Me??? Just this Once? If You can't do it for Me, try doing it for YourSelf.
Sometimes late at night, often on the first eve of a full moon, many Tennis Balls sit round campfires telling stories of days gone by, and nights yet to come. It is a lovely treat for young Tennis Balls to get to stay up late and join in. Often You can see these youngstars fidgeting and poking themSelves trying to stay awake and usually there are several asleep by the time the stories really get going. It is quite a sight watching the campfire play tricks on the faces of these Tennis Balls. Everytime the wind shifts just the slightest bit a different view is revealed. Tennis Balls gathered round the ritual fires, "their" round little faces lit eerily by flickering firelight, round little backs exposed fearlessly to the dark!
One Tennis Ball named Spaulding tells some of the strangest of tales. This Oldstar has visited earth, or so the stories go, many, many times. By the way, I think these Tennis Balls are androgynous, so I will use the term "it".
Spaulding tells a tale of Once having teleported into the hands of a baseball star. (I'm not sure what galaxy this star is in, and if We ask Spaulding the story will get even longer.) The baseball star was scared All-most ...... well, very scared. Sapulding says: "Fear not, I come in peace."
"Ok" replies the star, knees wobbling and rivulets coursing down it's legs. "I'll try to be brave!"
"What are You?"
"I'm a Tennis Ball."
"What is Your purpose?"
"I'm here to vist You."
"Is that why You were created? That is Your only purpose for existing? What a small world this must be."
"Oh no. I meant that is My currentest purpose."
"I see."
"Do You?"
"I thought I do."
"Will You play with Me?" Spaulding asks.
The star (very excited now) grabs Spaulding and hurls the poor thing through space and smaaaack it gets hit full face on by this long terrible object.
"Ouch!!!!" Spaulding cries flying again through space.
Then plop Spaulding lands in some sort of glove and gets smothered by some huge hand.
"OUT!!!" SomeOne yells.
Spaulding comes to it's senses and telports the hell outa dodge.
Another tale (I'm gonna give the reader's digest version) has Spaulding being lobbed across a net year after year after year. Spaulding's comments: "ahhh, this is the life." Eventually in the hands of this tale Spaulding enables the host to become a Pro Tennis Player and earn thousands, even millions of credits and multiversal fame. (I think there is some exaggeration here, I think it was only universal fame.)
Then there was the time when Spaulding appeared before a baby. At first the baby cried and screamed in terror! "What are You?" Baby thought. Being able to read baby minds Spaulding replied in a very soothing voice: "Fear not, I come in peace."
Baby giggled at this and gave Spaulding a gentle nudge which sent Spaulding rolling across the floor. "Not nearly as bad as learning to play baseball," Spaulding comments. Next baby crawls after Spaulding, picks it up and drops it. Spaulding bounced nearly causing baby to soil it's diapers! Then baby thinks: "Wow!!! that's kinda cool. I'll try that again." This goes on for some time and Spaulding tells of this relationship actually lasting All-most as many years as with the Tennis player. However, eventually baby lost interest and Spaulding teleported out of a box of broken and forgtten toys. (that's a whole other What if? Yet to be written.)
So many adventures Spaulding tells of. Sometimes fame and fortune, sometimes torture and abuse, sometimes the drudgery of daily bouncings or the loneliness of being passed by in favor of bigger brighter balls.
Spaulding sums it All up saying: "In One person's hands I can teach YoungStars and OldStars alike to play and re-create and just have fun passing Me back and forth over a net. In another's I Am beaten All-most bloody with instruments of in-humane torture. In another's hands I Am thrown through space to be bitten in the ass by a dog. Other's use Me to make huge amounts of money, some are satisifed with a pitence. Some just ignore Me and play and work never giving me a second thought."
Tricks or toys? You may ask. I would tell You that darkness is in the "I" of the beholder.
Personally, I don't believe in magik, so I'd say this is All the ramblings of an evil being dedicated to casting Us All into the fiery pits of a camp song.