Written by: Shayanika Suresh
It had been weeks since her wings had felt the fresh air. In fact, she couldn’t remember the last time she could fly without bumping into the thick golden bars that surrounded her new home. She had tried and tried and tried to remember how she had come to live here, but her memory had given up on her. Perhaps her mind refuses to allow her to be reminded of the events of that night. Perhaps it is better that she does not remember. Whatever it was, she had long given up on the past. There was no reason to dwell on it. The truth is that she is alone now, and there is no one she can turn to. It is she who must make the decisions. It is she who must console herself in times of tears.
She had spent her first few days trying to nibble at the bars but they had refused to budge. The next couple of days, she had remained perched on her little swing, thinking hard about what to do next. The swing was lovely, she had to admit, but she wanted to fly high beyond the hard metal ceiling of her new home, and towards the small window not too far away from her reach. It was frustrating to be able to see the window, and the bright blue sky outside it. It unnerved her that there were other birds outside the window who had the sky to themselves, flying low, flying high, completely free.
At first, she had tried using her beak to gently bite at the golden bars blocking her from flying to the window. She had then been excited at the thought that if her beak could go through the bars so smoothly so could she. Slightly scared that she might hurt herself, she gently put her right claw between the bars and quickly took it back. She tilted her head to the side and thought to herself. That was fine wasn’t it? She touched her claw gently with her wing. It seemed fine, she decided. Still not too confident, she put her right claw between the bars again, keeping it there longer than she had done the first time, and took it back in again. Still, she seemed alright. She was not feeling dizzy or nauseous, and her claw seemed to be healthy. That was enough for today, she thought to herself, and perched back on her little swing, lulling herself to sleep.
When she woke up the next morning, there was as always a freshly-filled bowl of water and some seeds for her to nibble on. Some birds might be satisfied with this. How dare she have the right to complain, she thought. But no, it was important for her to fly, to explore, to learn and to mature. That was how she understood life to be. She didn’t want to be told what to do. She wanted to live and learn by her own mistakes. In her view, it was only then that she would remember what not to do.
Having had a drink and some seeds to her fill, she got back to work. She slowly hopped towards the golden bars. This time, she decided to try her wings. Those were bigger than the claws and she was clever enough to know that it was her wings that helped her to fly. If she could take her wings out, maybe she can fly. It was worth a shot, she decided. Slowly and tenderly, she slipped her feathers through the bars, until her right wing was on the other side. She smiled to herself. Today, she was going to leave this place. Today, she was going to fly over to that window that has been teasing her ever since she had come here. She was going to be able to fly low and high like all those birds out there.
Keeping her right wing on the outside, she put her left wing through the bars too. That went through just as easily. She was impressed with herself. She was brave. Look at her. She paused for a moment to think and then decided to make the flight. She lifted her wings, and moved them slowly from side to side, picking up speed and geared to fly. But, wait, why was she not flying? What happened? She was shocked. Her wings had never failed to fly before. She took her wings back in and tried again, this time inside of the bars. She fluttered her wings slowly and then picking up speed, she began to soar. She was relieved. Her wings were fine. Nothing had happened to them. She was still able to fly. She closed her eyes for a moment and smack! She had hit the ceiling of her new home. Ouch! Her eyes flooded with tears as she fell to the floor. As she lay on the floor, she tried to understand why she couldn’t fly with her wings outside the bars. She wanted to try again, but her body refused to oblige, and soon she was asleep.
The next day she refused to eat, but had a sip of water to keep her going and hopped over to the bars. She peered through the bars and through the window. She let out a loud sigh. She moved her wings gently over the golden bars. She remembered her last attempt to get through these bars. Her face had gone through, so had her claws and her wings. So, it must be her body that was keeping her from getting through those bars. If only she was smaller. She slumped to the ground in despair.
Chirp, chirp. Chirp, chirp. What was that sound, she thought. It was getting closer and closer. She had been leaning her back on the bars refusing to let herself look out the window. She now turned slowly towards the window to see where the sound was coming from. She was impressed at the sight that met her eyes. He was gorgeous. Sleek white feathers that glistened in the sunlight. Deep brown eyes that pierced her heart. She blinked as she felt her breathing get shorter and quicker. She was the only one who could understand him here, so he must be talking to her. She chirped back. He came closer. She chirped again, and soon, he was standing beak to beak with her. They gazed at each other, unable to turn away. Amused with each other, they chirped all day until the sun set and the sky went dark. It was time for him to leave. Chirping a promise to be back the next morning, he flew through the window. She remained there by the bars, unable to stop smiling. Is this what love at first glance was? Was she in love? She didn’t know what it was, but she wanted to be with him, every single living moment. She dragged herself to her little swing and perched on it, getting ready for a good night’s sleep. Will he be back as promised, she wondered, and with this draining thought, she fell asleep.
She woke up the next morning with the sound of his husky chirp chirp. He was there. She smiled as she opened her eyes to see him. He was standing there by the bars, with his head cocked to a side, a habit of his, she had learned, gazing at her like she was the only one in the world. She hopped eagerly towards him. She gingerly put her beak through the bars, and looked at him. He tilted his head and gently brushed her beak with his. She looked down at her claws and smiled shyly. He put his wings through the bars and hugged her. Her eyes filled with tears as she met his eyes. He was also tearing up. She had completely forgotten about the bars, until she felt it hindering their embrace.
She chirped sadly to him, explaining all the attempts she had made for weeks, trying to get through. In her frustration, she began weeping. Keeping one wing on her slender back, he used the other to gently wipe her tears. He caressed her and waited for her to stop crying. Then, he patiently explained to her the one thing she had not thought of till then. In order to slip through the bars, she will need to starve herself thin. That was the only way out. She realized it then. He told her he had done it once, and that it will be a tough struggle. It may take her weeks until she is small enough to get through, but he will be there for her, he assured her. He chirped, “You will be weak when you are ready to go through these bars, but don’t worry because I will be here to fly you to safety.” “I shall take you to my home and we will live together in peace.” But most importantly, you shall be completely free.
Happy Valentine’s Day Everyone!
