Rejoice.. He's gone!

Trrrrrrriiiiiiiinnnnngggg!! Rang the bell at the village school to end the day at school for children. This is the time children are most excited. They all quickly packed their bags and ran out of their classes towards the school gate, all laughing, shouting and ecstatic. Some children rode their cycles to home, while others walked towards home in groups.

Asha and her friends were walking through the forest to get to their village. Suddenly, Asha saw something moving in a bush alongside the path. She stopped and walked towards the bush. As she walked closer, from the sound she realised it was a bird in pain. Asha's parents had taught her, never to put her hand inside bushes as there might be snakes or other dangerous animals and insects there. Asha was an obedient child and used a stick to move aside the bushes. There she saw a beautiful green parrot lying in pain. She moved her hand towards the injured bird, who quickly move back and tried to bite, but he did not have much strength and quickly put his head on the ground again.

Asha took the water bottle from her bag, poured some water in the cap of the bottle and kept it in front of the injured bird. The parrot gazed at it for sometime and then hesitantly put his beak in the water. Once he realised it was water, he drank to his heart's content, and as he drank Asha softly patted his head, this was the start of a new friendship. She needed to take him home to nurse him. The parrot was badly injured, his wings were damaged and so was one of his legs. She removed some papers from her bag, placed some grass on them to make it look like a comfortable nest, carefully picked up the parrot and placed him on it. She picked it up carefully like a mother holding her baby and walked home.

At home the parrot was welcomed by the family. They made a little home for him out of a cardboard box. They knew well how to look after injured birds, having hens and ducks in their backyard. The parrot started his long recovery process. Asha would eat all her meals sitting besides the parrot's makeshift home. She always shared her meal with him, feeding him whatever she ate. His injuries were nursed and he was well looked after. His leg quickly recovered and now he was able walk around in their house. Asha no longer needed to sit beside the parrot's home to eat, he would run around and find her wherever she was. At night Asha would make him sleep beside her pillow, on another pillow, kept specially for him. Watching them together was heart warming and their bond was special.

Time passed quickly and the parrot recovered from his injuries. His wings were now in perfect shape. He would sit majestically on the back of the chair and flap his wings, though he did not yet have the confidence to fly. Asha realised he needed a push and a boost of confidence. She would pick him up, climb up on the dining table and drop him from there, in hope that he would fly but the parrot would fall straight down and then run back to Asha. She did not give up though and eventually one day he did not fall. He flew around the house and landed on the table beside her. He got a loud applause from Asha who was happy to see him fly.

Now was the big moment for Asha. She took the parrot out of the house to try a longer flight. Her family and friends were all there to see. The parrot was sitting on her forearm which was outstretched. She took a deep breath, pulled her hand in close and with a jerk pushed it out again. The parrot let go of her hand and flew majestically towards the sky. They all applauded, but Asha did the most. She jumped with joy and clapped in sheer excitement. "Look", she exclaimed, "look at him fly!" The others stopped clapping while Asha continued to jump with joy. "Rejoice...", she shouted when she suddenly realised, the parrot wasn't coming back. He continued to fly away. Asha stopped jumping and stood still, still clapping slowly and tears rolled down her cheeks. "Rejoice", she said in a meek and feeble voice, still staring towards the sky, watching the parrot fly away. "Rejoice.... He's gone", she said and burst into tears. She sobbed inconsolably. Her dad ran towards her and picked her up in his arms. "Don't cry Asha. This is destiny. He is supposed to fly, it would be a sin to lock him up inside the house. Your name is Asha, means hope, and today you have restored the hope of life for a beautiful bird. So do not cry, rejoice, he's gone, for in his going lies your victory. Do not cry that he's gone, but be happy about the wonderful time you spent with him", said her dad. Asha now had a smile on her face, though her cheeks were still wet with tears and eyes swollen because of crying. "When you do something for someone and expect something in return it's business. When you do something for someone who can never return the favour it's service. In service lies real happiness and satisfaction. Come Asha, I'll buy you a chocolate for this wonderful service you have done", said her dad and walked towards the market, with Asha still in his arms.