I envy those who are lucky enough to have their own garden or lawn or any patch of land they can call their own. Endless possibilities await the yard. Will it become a picnic spot? Or perhaps a trampoline will cover it up? Maybe a fountain will adorn it? But the best use of any such space, in my eyes, is a blooming nursery.
Rows and rows of rose, jasmine, hibiscus embedded in the ground, sweet smells in the air, leaves rustling in the wind, birds chirping with joy- for a moment it feels like nature has engulfed you.
Hey, I didn’t see you there. How are you? You can stay here as long as you want to. Oh, where are my manners? I’m the guardian of this universe. There are many universes you see. We guardians protect them from threats like supernovas and other celestial villains. When I’m not on duty I can be found lounging about anywhere as anything I wish to be.
Right now, I’m a tiny tabby kitten and calling a beautiful resort my home. The premises are well maintained and there is greenery all around. This place is very calm and peaceful but it’s quite uneventful as well. It’s very rare for something unexpected to happen. But today was a special day.
I was relaxing in the midst of some tall, sturdy bamboo trees when suddenly a girl dressed in blue crouched and started meowing. I was dumbstruck. I thought only cats meowed. Had humans updated their language? Then I realized that she was calling me to come to her. Me, the guardian of this universe, willingly go into the hands of a silly girl? Ha! I lured her with my adorable looks and darted into a clump of enormous, ancient trees. She couldn’t possibly find me in this thicket, right? But she did! Her eagle eyes spotted me with ease. She continued to try and coax me into submitting to her will.
I smiled at this pathetic attempt and ran like the wind, simultaneously changing my form to that of a swan, my fur transforming to feathers, my feet becoming webbed. I jumped into a nearby pond that had some ducks waddling around. Perfect. They would help maintain my cover. I waited for the girl to run after me. I wanted to see her befuddled face. I wanted to see her mortal mind try to comprehend all that had happened.
But all of my expectations were
shattered. Nothing of that sort happened. She just shrugged as if it was nothing
and went away with her mother, who arrived just now.
I was getting extremely annoyed. No
one ignores me. Only I am allowed to ignore others. This was not the way I had
to be treated. I demand justice!
I turned into my kitten form again and ‘hid’ in a bush. I was visible enough to be seen and covered enough to be considered to be ‘hiding’. The girl saw me and was about to come when her mother dragged her away. But I wasn’t going to give up. It was a matter of honor now. As soon as her mother was gone, I stepped out of the bush and slowly approached her. She crouched, as expected, and held out her hand. I was ready to ditch her, leave her alone, in tears. But her eager face made me forget all my bad intentions.
I was in a trance. Hypnotized, I edged towards her. She quivered with joy and then gently pet me. My body shook under her touch. My stone heart crumbled and I curled up in a ball, begging her to pet me, love me. I had opened up for the first time in my life and it felt amazing. The feeling of being loved is a special one and I, the guardian of this universe can now tell you that I’ve experienced it.
They came as a pair
One friendly and one savage
One would glance, one would glare
One cage they had to share
Then suddenly the friendly one died
In the middle of the night
When I held him
And I cried and cried
The savage one was left with me
Or rather the other way around
But who knew that she would be
The most loving creature I’d known
She didn’t need a partner
She was happy with me
And I wouldn’t let even
My father touch thee
Loving you was quite a task
You wanted to be with me
And my heart also yearned for you
When you were away from me
You became the pet we know
To love, cherish, look after and care
For you I would do anything
Just say the word, I’ll be there
Your shrill voice
Was my mother’s worst nightmare
She would scream
“ What is that noise?”
But your minstrelsy
Was music to my ears
It made me happy
And then when eventide arrived
You would shout for your blanket
And if I didn’t cover you
You would cause a huge racket
One day you bit me
But I didn’t blame thee
For it was your love
That you tried to make me see
The day I lost you
Is scarred in my heart
And even though we are separated
We will never be apart
I didn’t believe you were gone
I screamed, kicked and yelled
But when the cold truth set in
I was even more hysterical
Father tried to console me
But I knew the wounds caused
Could never be healed fully
For in my heart of hearts
There is only one person
You, only you.
I love you chicky
Now and forever ...
I’ve always loved animals. Even when
I was a little girl, I’d beg my parents to get me a dog, but we couldn’t take
care of one, so I had to think of some other animal I could keep as a pet.
I had a number of pets growing up,
such as a goldfish or rabbits but they would come and go within a month. None
of them stayed long enough to have a place in my heart. None of them except
Chicky. I was 12 when we got her. She was a bird, a cockatiel with a little
mohawk of feathers and was pale yellow all over. She had 2 orange dots on her
cheeks and pretty eyes. She came in a pair with another cockatiel, Ricky. They
both were beautiful and I took great care of them. But after a month or so, I
noticed that something wasn’t right with Ricky. He was tired and lethargic and
wouldn’t eat. We took him to the vet, and she prescribed some vitamins for him.
But unfortunately, Ricky passed away that night. I was heartbroken. Ricky was
the most gentle bird I’d seen and it felt cruel for such a kind soul to be
whisked away from me. Chicky, on the other hand, was a feisty bird. She would
bite me and glare at me, which made me wish she was the one who had died, and
not Ricky.
Who would have known that I’d take
back those words in a few months?
For the first few days I treated
Chicky like a murderer. I blamed her for Ricky’s death. But slowly I started
accepting her as my bird.
I would hear her chirp and dance
during the day, then huddle in a corner at night. I would treat her with bits
of broccoli, coriander and baby corn. She became the joy of my life.
Last year, in September, during the
term exams, we had to take Chicky to the vet. Nothing to worry about, we just
had to get her nails trimmed. It was nothing new for us, we had taken her a few
times before. This time, however, I couldn’t come as I has to study for my
exam. So my parents took her.
They returned after an hour. I
rushed to see Chicky. But instead I was greeted by an empty cage. Shocked, I
asked Abba where she was. He said she had flown away.
I felt as if the air had been
knocked out of my lungs. I couldn’t believe it. Surely Chicky wouldn’t abandon
me? I cried and cried for her, wishing that she would somehow find her way back
home to me. Mama saw my state and came to me. She said that Chicky hadn’t flown
away.
My hopes raised for a second, only
to be crushed by her next words. Chicky was dead.
She’d been chocked by the vet while
he was cutting her nails. Grief, anger and sorrow took over me. I was kicking,
screaming and sobbing. Nothing could console me.
That day, I realized 2 things which
changed my world.
One, that life is unfair. There are
no rules in life. Anything that can happen, will happen. There’s no use of
moping around. Humans aren’t flawless. The only thing we can do about such
injustices is to fight for what we believe in and remember those left behind.
And two, that death is inevitable.
Every creature will die eventually. Which is why it’s important to live life to
the fullest and grab every opportunity that comes. We only have 1 life to make
a difference. Make it count.
And I did exactly that.
A few days after her death, I wrote
some poems about Chicky, which made me pursue writing as a hobby. I started to
love penning down my thoughts, my imagination. And it all paid off when my
short story got published in a book by Scholastic.
Chicky inspired me, directly or
indirectly, to go after the things that I love and care about. She helped me
find my passion. She made me value the time I have on Earth.
I’m telling the truth. Believe it or not
but this story is indeed true!
Now it all started on October 15th 2015. I woke up to find out a tiny little pigeon egg in my rather quiet balcony. I live on the 12th floor and was not able to see birds that often in our balcony. But since I started scattering birdseeds, birds become regular visitors. But surely I wasn’t expecting an egg!
I hid behind the curtain as I saw the mother pigeon suddenly appearing and gently sitting on the egg which was in a flower pot. I saw my Abba (father) coming so I told him ‘’ Look a pigeon egg!” I wondered how would he react. He said, ‘’We surely are blessed to get such an egg in our balcony.”
But who knew that this blessing will turn out to be a heartbreak in disguise.
Kuhutopia 