The Kite and the Bird

I thought we were the same.. when I saw him and I, both soaring high... riding the winds in the boundless blue sky.

As I flew higher and higher my frilly long tail fluttered like waves. He glided stretching his coffee brown wings.. and flapped from time to time to catch the current. But soon we parted our ways. 'That was the beginning of the end..' the kind northern wind whispered in my ears. But I simply ignored.

I never believed in the red thread of fate, for I was always attached to a fine white thread with utmost strength.  I was striving hard to escape the dictator at the other end. He knew I was trying to escape. So he tugged, real hard, and I swiftly drifted down.

I think I lost conscious.. though I do not know for how long. When I slowly opened my eyes, the glaring sun rays blinded my sight. I had to squint and look around. Oh but alas! Everything around me was upside down!

No... it didn't take me that long to figure out.. it was I who was upside down. Dangling like a teeny weeny spider on a fibril, I felt the weight of the gravity for the first time. I looked up again.. squinting my eyes. The fine white thread was glistening like a tinsel.. weaving itself in a messy tangle.

And then.. I saw a heartrending sight. The heartless white thread had captured my friend. He was wriggling in pain, on a bough few feet above me. His eyes were both swollen, from all the tears dripping like a fountain. And there it was... the vicious raven with those piercing eyes and razor sharp beak. It was attacking my friend. And all I could do was watch... in silence.

I opened my mouth and screamed at the top of my voice. 'Help him, please... somebody... anybody.. just help him. He's my friend. My very first and dear friend.'

Did anyone hear? I looked around. Not even a ghost was in sight. I tried to pull the glittering white thread, but it didn't budge. The raven was circling like an eagle fixed on its prey. It was a chilling sight.

Just then I heard a few footsteps. Was it the dictator who gave me life? No, it was someone else. He called others for help. He brought a long pole, a ladder and a bamboo. With the help of his allies he came to the rescue of my friend.

My friend.. he was in utter pain. Here and there white feathers popped out over the once neat coffee brown plumage. His yellow beak was partly opened, but no voice came out. He was totally worn out. The raven had left. His allies were steadily working hard.

Between my untimely slumbers.. I saw my friend soaring once again. He didn't glide nor flap his wings in grace.. it was all wobbly but he still managed to escape.. from the evil snare that my own white thread of fate had woven in despair. Just as he left out of my sight.. I heaved a long sigh.. and shut my eyes. At last I too was free.. when I slowly drifted and entered the eternal sleep.

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Sorry that I couldn't add a note to this post. Especially since this is a non-fiction, written as a flash fiction.
It was the end of last month.. I heard a commotion outside as I was getting ready to go for work. Our neighbors had gathered round the 'Tree of Life' (if you could still remember that very special tree I introduced in my oldest blog). They were using everything they could to save the life of a poor birdie, a mynah, who was caught up in a cord entangled on high branches. The cord had been broken off from a kite. There was a big crow attacking the mynah, and it was crying loudly in pain.

A couple of babblers tried to help it, but they were soon chased by the crow. It was a terrible sight. Just before I left home I heard the good news, that our neighbor finally was able to free the bird and it flew away with few injuries. This neighbor hardly talk with us but I really appreciate his relentless effort cause he actually came back without going for work to save this birdie, and he struggled with a long steel pole and a bamboo for over half an hour to loosen up the cords and save the birdie's life!

The Mobile

During the times of terror.. few years back... I heard this true story from my sister. The visuals popped in my head.. and then they became words. 

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A big crowd rushed into the small ward. The domestic patients were moved out while another set of patients were moved in. Their clothes were blotted in crimson. Some were conscious and twisting in pain, others hardly moved. 

The doctors, nurses and attendants were summoned. Clad in green, they went from bed to bed treating the wounded meticulously. Some had to be operated, but the hospital didn't have a proper theater room. All the surgeries were performed in the same crammed ward. The folks gathered in the corridors started chattering.

"... and they couldn't stop it."

"a truck loaded with bombs?"

"they were all Navy soldiers heading home"

"how could they attack unarmed soldiers?"

During this commotion a nice music was heard. It was a ringing tone of a mobile. No one paid attention. Everyone was busy attending and treating the patients. When the uproar started fading the ringing could be heard a little louder and it became a nuisance.

The burly head nurse shouted at a young nurse to search for that mobile and turn it off. It didn't take long for her to find, for it had fallen off a trouser pocket of a patient nearby.

This patient was breathing heavily, his heartbeat was irregular. The doctors and nurses were doing everything they could. His pale face was turning blue and his clenched fists showed the signs of acute pain he was bearing.

Still the mobile kept ringing. The young nurse, with trembling hands, tried to turn it off. Suddenly the music stopped and she was relieved.

"Daddy, daddy... can you hear me? I've been trying to talk to you for a long time. Where are you now?"

The ward came to a pin drop silence, as if the time has frozen. Everyone wore an expression of surprise and stared at the mobile the young nurse was holding. To her surprise the mobile wasn't turned off, instead to her haste she has pressed the hands-free button. It was a voice of a little girl they heard through the mobile.

"Daddy why aren't you answering me? I'm getting hungry now. Mommy's shouting at me, but I told her I won't eat till you come home. Where are you now?"

The patient's condition was turning critical. Doctors had to give him a heart massage, but all was in vain. His eyes were deeply shut and his face became paler. His clenched fists loosened a bit and his head tilted to a side.

The young nurse gasped. Everyone in the crammed ward was in teary eyes, as they felt sorry for the little girl who was still talking on the mobile, without knowing her dad's condition.

"Daddy it's OK if you're getting late. I'll be a good girl and have lunch with mommy. So daddy, come home safely. We are waiting for you..."

A beep sound came and the mobile turned off automatically. As if by fate, the battery lasted only to deliver this final message. Tears were rolling down and everyone went speechless. The valiant soldier who was lying in front of them has already left this world.

His painful expression has turned into a faint smile, with tear drops shining at the corner of his eyes. Silently expressing his contentment hearing his little daughter's voice, at the same time expressing agony having to leave them without saying goodbye...