Unlocking the Lockdown....

The mother sparrow rejoiced to see her new born babies chirping playfully. She was overwhelmed to see her two kids whirling around her. They contained her world. She cherished every moment, seeing them grow.

In sometime, her new-borns grew up and were ready for their flying lessons. With great joy the mother sparrow took her babies on a cliff and instructed them. "My dear babies, your true strength lies in your wings and your sight, the faster you flutter, the higher you fly; the farther you discern, the safer you are. Do remember, fly high but always be observant of what's happening around and beneath your flight.' The mother sparrow taught her babies to fly high, hover wide and safe. Baby sparrows mastered the art of flying very diligently. Over a period of time the mother sparrow was accompanied by her babies to collect food and twigs. They made their nest very secure. It was not the usual open nest but a closed knit one.

One day, following the routine, the sparrow family was just ready to leave the nest in search of food and some leisure. Suddenly, something very huge cast a dark shadow over their nest. Mother sparrow, panicking peeped out of the nest, only to find a giant eagle seated outside. The sight of eagle, left mother sparrow trembling with fear. The eagle probably did not know that the sparrows lived in the nest as theirs wasn't a usual sparrow nest. The mother sparrow was extremely frightened and so were her babies. She called them near and whispered, " Kids we are in grave danger and the only way out is to remain inside our nest as quiet as we can." Both nodded in consent.

The sparrow family remained inside for a long time. Seconds turned into minutes, minutes into hours and hours into days. It was three days since the sparrows were locked down in their nest. The eagle had not moved an inch. One of the baby sparrows then spoke, "mother I can't be here anymore, it is suffocating me. I want to fly high, peck on some delicious fruits, hover freely in the sky. Please let me go out. It is ok even if that eagle kills me, please."

The mother sparrow consolingly said, " it is not only about you my child, if you go out that eagle will prey on all of us. Can you risk your family only for your motive?" The baby sparrow hung its face and kept gazing at the boundless sky, where the sparrows desperately wanted to be but they could only see the other birds fly and fly fearlessly.

" Mother you once said that our wings and sight are our true strength, then why is it that we are not using them in this crisis situation?" questioned the other baby sparrow arguingly.

The mother sparrow was indeed without an answer. She was herself doubtful, if they could ever come out of this crisis, but she could not dispirit her children. Come what, she had to be strong and make her kids stronger.

"Children, do you remember, once we hadn't found any grains to eat, so we then had to suffice on some bread crumbs fallen on street." reminded the mother sparrow.

"Yes mother, we remember." exclaimed the babies.

" But on other day we got our beaks full of grains, we stored it for days and had our full. Similarly children, in life we have varied situations, each, with its own solutions. Right now our true strength lies in courage to keep calm, relax and to remain peacefull from within. If you get nervous, perplexed, you would not master the art of living which is far more vital than the art of flying.

"But mother how can we stay calm when our end is waiting outside the door?" asked the baby sparrow anxiously.

The mother sparrow calmly replied, " no enemy is mightier than the conviction to vanquish it. This is the fight for survival and only the one who has the fortitude to wait will get through it. Than flying high it is more important we learn to ground ourself. This enemy outside our door is trying to break us from within by killing our hope of a better tomorrow. Please don't let it win children. It's trying to make its presence feel but let us choose to ignore it, by staying indoor. Just a few more days children and we will surely be free from this lockdown, but if we give up half way, it will let our rival emerge victorious. It will fail our efforts and perseverance of so many days, that we spent hoping to be freed soon. Now, both of you tell me, will you fight it out by staying indoor or go out of the nest and accomplish your opponent's dreadful desire."

"We will remain indoor. We are with you, mother." said the baby sparrows unanimously.

"So Am I my babies.." said the mother sparrow hugging them tight.

The food in the nest had exhausted as many days had passed since the sparrows had been out to gather any. There was just a little water left. That night, all sparrows had only a sip of water and with a hopeful tomorrow went to bed.

Next morning, the mother sparrow woke up early and was extremely joyous to find the eagle had flown away. She waited for a while just to see in case the eagle would return but luckily that did not happen. When the babies woke up, they finally came out of their nest and found that the enemy was bravely defeated. They were mesmerized to see the world again, they could feel every breath, every passing breeze. The sparrow family at once took flight and flew high and wide. They hovered in the blue sky and felt as if life has been fuelled again.

The mother sparrow relishing her flight said, "remember children, no matter how powerful the enemy be, to excel, make your might even mightier. Hope you have learnt your lesson with this..."

The baby sparrows caught up with the mother's flight and said, " yes mother, we unlocked the lockdown with our will power and patience, which were our mighty weapons in this fight. Not all wars require arms and ammunitions to fight."

The sparrow family flew away happily together.