Caged Bird

Once a ten year old Rama asks her father to bring a bird in a cage.

Her father told her not to keep such birds in cages. Just as we love to live freely, so do birds. But Rama did not listen. She insisted on bringing the caged bird.

One day, at Rama's urging, her father brought a parrot in a cage. He hung a parrot cage on the balcony of the house. Rama used to give the parrot seeds, chillies and water every day. She used to observe parrots all day long. She loved the parrot's "Vithu Vithu" speech.

A few days later, a lockdown was declared in the country. Rama's school, playing outside all stopped. Rama had to stay at home for 24 hours. She spent all day caring for the parrot. Now the parrot had become her best friend. A few days go by like that. Once she was sitting on the balcony, she saw some birds flying in the sky. She remembers her free days at school, with her friends. A smile appears on her face. But soon she was depressed. Suddenly her attention goes to the cage. For two minutes she stares at the cage alone. And who knows what comes to her mind but she opens the door of the cage. The parrot, eager to fly in the sky, vanishes in an instant. Rama laughs with satisfaction because one friend would have understood the sorrow of another friend.