Answer: A. Yura's mother offers him loving consolation.
Explanation:
When his mother was present, Yura felt an unusually pleasant feeling when he cried. A feeling of serene sadness which is essentially consolation because it involves sadness that is being calmed and filled with peace.
Suffice to say, being with his mother gives Yuri a consolation that he cannot get from other activities such as laughing, playing or reading.
The figurative language is “like a ball”. It’s an simile since he’s comparing the fall to a rolling ball. Well he’s comparing the way he fell like an ball rolling down the stairs.
