Two Pigeons
The cold war had begun. It invaded all the spaces in the house. It was in the mathematical clinking of cutlery at the dining table, in the aloofness of the familiar room, in the silence of the night and in the humdrum of daylight. It was everywhere-omnipresent- and had become a regular affair. Even the rosebuds seemed to sense it, the cold casual, dispassionate touch was devoid of any excitement. It was not the same! It did not linger for longer than usual on the tender resplendent hues of the flowers and it did not break into ecstatic delight. The spectacular sunset dissolved into dark moonlit corners, unnoticed, unheeded. Nothing changed on both sides of the iron curtain. The landscape remained the same- in shades of dull white and grey. Nothing at all could break the monotony of the rhythmic movement of the darkening tide. Words hung in the air ready to fall anytime and the possibility of an amicable treaty was nowhere in sight. And then it all changed.....like the sudden burst of the scarlet sun, peeping from a dark firmament.
She had been sitting sifting through the pages of her mind when the sudden fluttering of wings drifted to her ears. It grew painfully loud and she was compelled to leave the confines of her cozy corner. A pigeon had somehow, probably out of curiosity, managed to get inside the air cooler from a little vent. Now it was trapped, in the painfully dark world inside. It flapped and fluttered, hitting the walls of the cooler forcefully. All its efforts to break free were in vain. There were moments when it just sat still, before starting its anguishing drill once again. What was even more disturbing was that its companion circled the cooler outside, emitting painfully loud cries. But who had the time to stop and assist birds in distress? One bird’s plight was not going to make any difference to the world....for that matter even two birds could not attract the attention of any passerby, despite their loud cries! She had never witnessed anything like that! Their desperation was growing and at that rate both of them would certainly die!
The ice was broken and seasons suddenly changed. The curtain lifted with that one sentence that hung like fog in the air, mysterious and hazy.
“There is a pigeon trapped in the air cooler!” She managed to say, her eyes meeting the dark ones that were looking up from the newspaper. “Set it free.”
“Come take a look,” she said, forcefully leading him to the window of their apartment on the fourth floor.
He was stunned. “What the heck! They are going to kill themselves.”
He contemplated climbing up the window, but that would be too risky. The ledge would be slippery because of the monsoons. There was no way they could do something. The sun was preparing to set in the horizon and dark night was on its way. The pigeons were definitely doomed. The panic and the frantic cries of both the birds was growing on them subconsciously and it suddenly struck him, like a rapid flash of lightening! The fire brigade! They would call the fire brigade.
“Where’s the fire?” the fireman asked incredulously seeing no signs of smoke or mayhem anywhere.
“There,” he pointed towards the sky. “There is the fire!”
It took him a minute to explain the situation and the fireman nodded disbelievingly, “What is this Saheb!” he exclaimed. “You called us all this way, just to save a pigeon. Do you even know you can be jailed for raising a false alarm?” But he continued smiling and nodding his head incredulously. After the initial chiding, quickly added, “Foolish sentimentality”, and proceeded to raise the ladder to the fourth floor.
“I will do this today Saheb, for the sake of the birds, but if my seniors get to know, I am sure to be fired!”
The rotund fireman, in no way close to the image of a fast dexterous fellow ready to save lives, joked good-humouredly. A group of people had gathered watching in amazement as if some circus was being unraveled in the skies. Within seconds, the trapped bird was set free and it flew as fast it could into the twilight with its companion, to some distant land only they knew of. It appeared they knew their destination and that they would not stop till they reached it. They were racing against time and they knew where they were headed.
But the young man and woman staring at their diminishing shadows, did they?
© Jaspreet Mann. A Road in the sky. All Rights Reserved.
The cold war had begun. It invaded all the spaces in the house. It was in the mathematical clinking of cutlery at the dining table, in the aloofness of the familiar room, in the silence of the night and in the humdrum of daylight. It was everywhere-omnipresent- and had become a regular affair. Even the rosebuds seemed to sense it, the cold casual, dispassionate touch was devoid of any excitement. It was not the same! It did not linger for longer than usual on the tender resplendent hues of the flowers and it did not break into ecstatic delight. The spectacular sunset dissolved into dark moonlit corners, unnoticed, unheeded. Nothing changed on both sides of the iron curtain. The landscape remained the same- in shades of dull white and grey. Nothing at all could break the monotony of the rhythmic movement of the darkening tide. Words hung in the air ready to fall anytime and the possibility of an amicable treaty was nowhere in sight. And then it all changed.....like the sudden burst of the scarlet sun, peeping from a dark firmament.
She had been sitting sifting through the pages of her mind when the sudden fluttering of wings drifted to her ears. It grew painfully loud and she was compelled to leave the confines of her cozy corner. A pigeon had somehow, probably out of curiosity, managed to get inside the air cooler from a little vent. Now it was trapped, in the painfully dark world inside. It flapped and fluttered, hitting the walls of the cooler forcefully. All its efforts to break free were in vain. There were moments when it just sat still, before starting its anguishing drill once again. What was even more disturbing was that its companion circled the cooler outside, emitting painfully loud cries. But who had the time to stop and assist birds in distress? One bird’s plight was not going to make any difference to the world....for that matter even two birds could not attract the attention of any passerby, despite their loud cries! She had never witnessed anything like that! Their desperation was growing and at that rate both of them would certainly die!
The ice was broken and seasons suddenly changed. The curtain lifted with that one sentence that hung like fog in the air, mysterious and hazy.
“There is a pigeon trapped in the air cooler!” She managed to say, her eyes meeting the dark ones that were looking up from the newspaper. “Set it free.”
“Come take a look,” she said, forcefully leading him to the window of their apartment on the fourth floor.
He was stunned. “What the heck! They are going to kill themselves.”
He contemplated climbing up the window, but that would be too risky. The ledge would be slippery because of the monsoons. There was no way they could do something. The sun was preparing to set in the horizon and dark night was on its way. The pigeons were definitely doomed. The panic and the frantic cries of both the birds was growing on them subconsciously and it suddenly struck him, like a rapid flash of lightening! The fire brigade! They would call the fire brigade.
“Where’s the fire?” the fireman asked incredulously seeing no signs of smoke or mayhem anywhere.
“There,” he pointed towards the sky. “There is the fire!”
It took him a minute to explain the situation and the fireman nodded disbelievingly, “What is this Saheb!” he exclaimed. “You called us all this way, just to save a pigeon. Do you even know you can be jailed for raising a false alarm?” But he continued smiling and nodding his head incredulously. After the initial chiding, quickly added, “Foolish sentimentality”, and proceeded to raise the ladder to the fourth floor.
“I will do this today Saheb, for the sake of the birds, but if my seniors get to know, I am sure to be fired!”
The rotund fireman, in no way close to the image of a fast dexterous fellow ready to save lives, joked good-humouredly. A group of people had gathered watching in amazement as if some circus was being unraveled in the skies. Within seconds, the trapped bird was set free and it flew as fast it could into the twilight with its companion, to some distant land only they knew of. It appeared they knew their destination and that they would not stop till they reached it. They were racing against time and they knew where they were headed.
But the young man and woman staring at their diminishing shadows, did they?
© Jaspreet Mann. A Road in the sky. All Rights Reserved.