The children looked at the new bird cage with confusion.
“Mom, what is this?” the elder one, Sangeetha asked, pointing at the cage.
The younger one, a boy of just 2 years old, came wobbling.
“Ka, ka, ma, ma,” he said.
“No, they are P-A-R-R-O-T-S. Look inside the box.”
The mother brought some vegetables and lured them out of the box. They were beautiful parrots, clothed in an array of colours, wobbling their heads as the little boy Sachin nodded.
“Hey, look at them. They are nodding for you,” Sangeetha said, elated.
“Are they for us?” she asked excitedly.
“Yes, they are, but you should not disturb them,” the mother said hurriedly, making Sangeetha ready for school.
The bus driver kept honking as if it were the end of the world.
“I’m coming,” she dashed with her daughter, holding Sachin’s hand.
“Every day, she is late, madam,” said the conductor lady.
“Sorry,” was all the mother could say.
For the entire day, Sangeetha dreamed about the birds. She told her friends, class teachers, and the school security guard about the parrots while waiting for the bus in the evening. She wanted to get home and look at those pretty, colourful feathers. She imagined feeding them and caring for them, and she was certain to protect her new pets from the vicious hands of her brother, who had a way of manhandling everything and everyone.
“Stop pulling my hair,” she would scream, even though the boy would have only gently tugged at her hair. She sometimes thought about her life before that of her brother. It would have been better if she had a sister. Both her parents loved her more then, but now she has been almost invisible to them ever since the arrival of the baby brother. And he was rough, and he did not like dolls. Anyone who did not like dolls was not going to get along with her.
Every day, Sangeetha would feed the birds, and in the evening, she would talk to them. She would even take a class for them.
“Good morning, class,” she would start with a small ruler in her hand.
The parrots would nod for every sentence Sangeetha uttered. These evening classes captivated young Sachin.
The parrots learned to say, “Yes, ma’am,” “Yes, ma’am.” This was funny, and the children giggled.
After some days, the mother bird laid an egg. The parrots did not come out of their small wooden shelter. Each parent took turns to look after the egg. Sangeetha was happy, and she kept telling everyone about the birds and the egg.
“We got a small baby bird egg,” she would tell her entire class. Her friends’ eyes would bulge, and they would listen to her tales.
Some nefarious kid even suggested, “Can you make an omelet with that?”
“No, there is a baby inside,” chided Sangeetha.
She waited for weeks and noticed how both the birds took time to care for the egg, but in all her excitement, she did not notice her silent mother. She stopped taking class, and little Sachin spent most of the time crying and rolling on the floor with his Power Ranger toys. Her mother did not seem to be much concerned now.
One day, when she came back from school, she noticed her mother looking at the cage, and tears trickling through her eyes.
“What happened?” she asked.
“Nothing, dear,” she said and took the bag and placed it on the shelf. She brought snacks, and while eating, she noticed the house was empty.
“Where is Sachin, Mom?” she asked.
“He has gone out with Dad!”
Sangeetha went to the cage and noticed something odd. The egg and one parrot were missing.
“Mom, what happened?” she shouted.
Her mom held her hand and cried. “There was an accident… today morning, as I was cleaning the room, the cage got knocked down…”
Sangeetha couldn’t understand what her mother was saying.
“Mom…” she started crying with her mother. “It fell down, and the egg cracked…”
Sangeetha’s heart felt so heavy. She had never felt that way. Her mind reeled with images of the egg crashing on the floor. What would she tell her friends? “What happened to the other parrot?” Sangeetha remembered.
“The mother parrot suddenly died in the afternoon… it couldn’t bear the loss. They screeched and screeched for hours,” her mother cried. “I can understand her pain, but they kept saying, ‘Yes, ma’am,’ ‘Yes, ma’am.’ That’s all they knew.”
Sangeetha did not know what to do. It was a pain she had never felt. It was terrible. She kept sobbing, and after some time, she fell asleep. When she woke up, Sachin was asleep near her. She got up to check on the other parrot. She could hear her parents talking. She waited hesitantly to enter the room, but she listened.
“I remembered the baby…” her mother was crying.
“Hey, don’t think about it… it was long ago,” her father consoled her.
Sangeetha remembered that her grandfather once came to school and said she had a baby sister and took her to the hospital. But on the way, he got a call and took her straight to his house. The whole house was upset. Sangeetha then understood what had happened.
Mom had lost one of her eggs. That is why she kept crying sometimes. It all made sense. The pain she felt that evening, her mother would have felt the same way for years. She ran inside the room and hugged her dad and mom.
“Mom, don’t worry. You have me and Sachin.”
Outside from the parrot cage, came the reply, “Yes, ma’am.”
‘Yes Sir!’ It was a very touching story. Impressed by the narration and the expressions of the small girl throughout the story. Interesting! Keep Going!