An Innocent Assailant

Diya, a five-year-old was a jaunty and zestful kid. She liked to remain happy in her own world. The world which was full of love, colors, beauty, and dreams. The little blonde hair girl used to run barefoot behind the butterflies for hours. She was mesmerized by its colors, patterns, and most importantly – its character to fly. She was a nature lover who liked everything from sunrise, dewy leaves, misty mornings, rain, sunsets and starry nights. She was amused with nature - an artist- who painted and sketched uniquely every day. She had the immense love for freedom.  She wanted to perceive and explore even the tiniest phenomenon of life - free as a bird. She, a chatterbox, was full of life but mostly considered naughty because of the unexpected results of her silly experiments.

She had the special affection with birds. Usually, in evenings, she used to sit and gaze at the sky; endlessly watched the birds’ flocks heading back to their nests. It was exciting for her to see the birds flying in certain patterns and changing their positions frequently. The little girl was amused spotting the letters V, M, and U which moved from her notebook to the sky. In evenings, Diya happily watched hundreds of parrots taking shelter in a huge peepal tree next to her house. Diya used to spot the red beaks of green parrots that were almost lost in the dense green tree and jumped with joy when succeeded. She put grains for birds and secretly watched them eating. Though she wanted to play with those birds yet never wished to cage them. She just loved to see them hopping. She wished she could fly high. She never understood why the birds flew away every time she approached them.

Like birds, Diya loved rains too. It was heavily raining in that afternoon. She was dancing and jumping in rain, floating the paper boats when she saw the little sparrow sitting on a table in her veranda. Diya observed the sparrow was flapping its wings but unable to fly. Initially, she ignored the bird but later she couldn’t control her mercurial mind and slowly moved towards it. To her utmost surprise, the little sparrow didn’t try to fly away. She softly touched its wings. It was the first time she saw a bird so closely; she found herself lost in the beauty and innocence of the tiny creature. Something which seemed unattainable for long was finally in her palms. Diya was delighted but surprised. She called her uncle who was passing by her and showed the bird to him. Uncle told her because the bird was drenched in the rain it couldn’t fly high to find a shelter and as soon as its wings dried it would fly away. Diya’s heart sank with the mere thought of the bird’s departure. She wanted to be with it eternally. Diya inferred ‘Till the bird is drenched it can’t fly and I can play with it’. The sparrow wasn’t doing well, either sitting quietly or slightly flapping its wings. Every time the sparrow flapped, Diya sprinkled some water on it. The bird twittered, flapped but failed to fly. Young Diya didn’t realize that the bird was too flimsy to bear the cold. She thought the bird was enjoying the water just like her and twittering with fun. It was amusing for Diya. What else did she want? Just to be with the bird; to touch, feel, and play with it. Anyways whenever its wings dried she would go. But Diya didn’t understand that she was not allowing her to get dried at all. After few episodes when Diya sprinkled some water the bird didn’t react. She tried few more times but no luck. Scared and perplexed Diya rushed to her uncle who told her that the bird couldn’t bear the cold and died.

Diya’s heart filled with grief and repentance. She didn’t know that her game was only elevating the bird’s misery. She sobbed for days; her playfulness killed her dear friend. Diya learned the most important lesson of her life that day – If you really love someone just set them free. Days passed and she again started gazing at the sky but this time there was no desire to hold those birds.

Today, more than two decades later, Diya is standing at her door looking towards her garden; enjoying the rain droplets on her face - thanks to stormy winds. She is admiring the divinity of nature. Her love for nature hasn’t abated over the years. She doesn’t dance in rain anymore but she experiences it with her eyes closed. Her garden is shining in green as each and every leaf is washed by rain. But she is equally bothered about the nest in one of the trees. The nestling who managed to hatch herself out yesterday has seen its first storm within a day. What a struggling fate it is born with. Diya has inspected the nest multiple times since morning and she finds the nestling hiding in a corner while firmly holding the nest. She observes the perplexed mother bird- who has taken shelter in a banyan tree nearby - manages to check the nestling immediately after the storm subsides and then moves back. Suddenly the fragile branch cracks with a creak and Diya rushes towards it. She uses a log nearby to support the branch and adjusts the nest. Hours later, the storm is over. Diya puts some dry straw in the nest. The mother bird also seems calm. The nestling has managed to survive. A bright sunny day follows the storm. The nestling is practicing to raise its neck. This time Diya wants it to fly soon. One morning Diya peeps into the nest and she finds it empty. The little bird has flown away. Diya sighs deeply and her face has a smile full of satisfaction and gratitude. The burden she has carried for decades finally lifts off.