I Feel Choked

…little ‘Pete- the macaw’ when opened his eyes, felt something unfamiliar…

...he looked around to find his parents sound asleep in the nest next to him…

…the nest too looked different…

…slowly as he climbed up the nest…he realized it was not his ‘home’…

…last night when he slept he was at his home…

…is this a dream? He wondered…and went back to his sleep cuddling beside his mother…

 

Pete was born around a month ago in the dense Amazon rainforest, he was the first baby of his parents.

He distinctly remembered his father and mother around him when he was born, his mother fed him seeds and juicy fruits which he later found in abundance around his home. There were a lot of visitors that day and days following his birth. Actually his house was one among several on the big tree where the whole flock lived. Pete was, as macaws are, a very colorful one – reddish head, bluish neck, and golden feathers made him a distinct one among his peers.

 

Pete grew very fast and was ready to fly, he had made few friends – those who stayed back when the parents went on, for the search of food. He was allowed to fly but not far away, thus he would form a flock along with his new friends and then fly around the tree. From what he saw – he loved the lush blue sky and would wonder when he would be able to go higher up. The forest seemed to be pretty dense, somehow the sun rays made their way to the forest floor, mostly which was wet throughout the year.

There were many kinds of birds, insects, animals, flowers, fruits, big trees around him. He loved the fresh air and especially would rejoice the light rain showers which were pretty frequent there.

 

Somedays when the parents were home on a lazy morning – they would visit the clay cliffs where various animals gathered to eat clay, he would play with his friends for long, roll in the clay, find insects, fill his belly and then roll again.

 

Life was full of fun and it was blessed in all ways.

 

Till yesterday when the blue sky suddenly turned greyish brown and something seemed unusual.

Pete’s parents came home early and looked worried too when asked they denied anything alarming, just asked him to stay at home and things will be fine. Pete slept tight clutching his parents as the night fell upon amazon.

 

As the yellowish-red sun appeared in the east, the warmth of the sun rays woke him up again.

His mother patted him lightly using her beak and fed him some food as he opened his eyes. The weather was warmer than he was used to, the sun seemed brighter too. As he looked around, he was pretty sure this was not his home, it seemed more like a box surrounding him. He asked his parents with anxiety and a bit of fear about the situation and where he was.

 

His mother asked him to be patient and not to get excited, there has been a situation where widespread fire engulfed most parts around their home at amazon and they were rescued and brought to a different part of the world where it would be safe for them. Soon they will be back to their home was the assurance provided by his parents.

 

A few days passed by – Pete got accustomed to the surroundings and flew around the new place to take a look. It seemed a makeshift place for animals of all kind, it was an enclosed area and had huge barricades on its border. It looked like a small place wherein lot of animals and birds were stuffed in.

He really hoped to fly back to his home, back to the blue sky and to his friends. He has been missing his friends, most of whom he did not find in the new place, he was not sure how and where they are.

 

The new place was very different from his home at amazon, the sky was always greyish and there was very little greenery around. He yearned for the rain and the clay cliff hangouts with his friends.

There was a strange noise throughout the day – sometimes it became unbearable, he would then remember the sweet chirping of the birds back home. As the day passed Pete started growing weak.

 

Pete’s parents were concerned for him and were worried if he would be able to cope up with the new place – which was very different from Amazon, apart from not being amazon, it was a city which was hugely occupied by humans, the ‘ever-growing, ever-evolving’ species who have made huge advancement from being primitive animals to highly sophisticated beings.

 

They knew the reason for Pete’s weakness was basically his inability to cope up with this ‘choking environment’. Overall greenery around the place was minimal, there were huge cylinders injecting smoke to the skies, large ever moving things made unbearable noise, there was a rush all around, even the heat from the sun became harsh as the day progressed. Adapting to this environment was really difficult, especially for Pete. They saw the same pattern around them where most of the animals were becoming weak due to the same reason.

 

Pete’s parents were well aware – it will not be easy for them to go back to the Amazon, as the fires there too were not just a natural phenomenon but caused due to human intervention in their natural habitat.

They have been seeing this since long, the forest cover kept reducing year after year and the impact on the forest was clearly visible as the area kept shrinking. The forest, the earth as they knew, as their ancestors knew was becoming a living inferno, the temperature change was clearly visible, animal species decreasing day after day, life was becoming more difficult.

 

They knew the human race assumed themselves to be superior to nature, or probably too ignorant to underestimate the power of nature. Nature hinges upon a fine balance and huge interdependence, no one species can rule for long on its own, everyone has a contribution in keeping the things going on, from small ants to the large whale in the ocean, if the chain is broken, it will be catastrophic for everyone. But maybe this simple cycle of life which even the birds or animals understood did not fit in the larger picture of the human race. There selfish attitude, sucking everything from nature for their own profit will end on a dreadful note for all. Or maybe this was the best thing to happen, for the betterment of all. Let the balance be restored, things should start back from ground zero, hoping the future holds something better for everyone.

 

But the painful point is – all this is happening due to one species, which is considered the most advanced, most knowledgeable one. If they can’t see the consequences of their wrongdoings, will they be sometime in the future? What will be the tipping point? The environment has been giving them all kinds of signs, but they have been ignoring it.

 

Pete’s parents cuddled him and softly told him about the amazon and the current place he is in, they wanted to make sure he understood it and hopefully, it helps to improve his situation. The overall discussion was very disheartening for Pete, his mind raced back to his home which he missed a lot, on the other hand, he was surprised why the humans were not able to understand the simple calculation on which their own survival was dependent. Pete thanked his parents for providing him clear information and cuddled them back, assuring them he will try his best to cope up.

 

The night was pretty dark, Pete took a long look at his parents who were sound asleep and another at the sky, he had decided to fly away from this place and find a suitable place for him and his parents, away from this place which was choking him. He slowly moved out of his nest and took a deep breath and flew up high. As he flew up and saw the place grow smaller in size, he was able to see the lights all around the place, they were twinkling lights all around, human habitat, covering most of the region.

Wherever he saw he saw the lights, the smoke rising from the cylinders and the moving things all around. As he went up, he started losing his breath, he became tired due to his sickness too, and also the thought of humans occupying most of the earth for their selfish acts made him feel uneasy.

 

His head was spinning and he felt as if he was being choked, he could not take it anymore, he was not sure if there is any place where he will be safe, where he will be able to keep his parents safe, away from the human race – maybe he was too weak, maybe it was a losing battle for everyone. 

 

…Suddenly he was blacked out and simply gave up…

…his body now falling free…he closed his eyes and thought about the Amazon forest…

…his home…his friends…

…he prayed for peace for all in those last few moments of his life…

…he prayed for freedom from this choking environment for all…