Trapped

"Nilay, it's bed time baby."

"Mom, it's bed time story time baby."

He giggled at his own humor, even Tara could not stop herself from laughing.

"Someone's getting naughty these days."

She hugged her tight and they fell down in bed laughing still.

"Mom, tell me the story of birds na."

"mmmm... okay."

She tucked him safely in bed, dimmed the light, got beside him and started the story.

"hmmm, listen. Once upon a time, there was a dense and beautiful forest. In that forest lived many pretty birds. They were happy together. They used to go food hunting together, they always played together and always helped each other. There was one very old and matured bird who used to guide them. The old bird always taught them that there are hunters out there, who sets the trap to catch beautiful birds."

"Mom, why hunter catches birds?

"The hunter catches beautiful birds to sell them to rich people who like keeping caged birds."

"But that's bad na mamma."

"Yes baby. There are many bad things in the world."

After pondering over these new found information he asked her mom to continue with the story.

"One day, the birds flew miles and miles to find food, but they did not find enough. On their way to return they saw a large quantity of grains scattered over the ground. They decided to get those grains. One bird among them said it could be the hunter. But others ignored saying how will a hunter come to such dense forest. And they dived in to get the grains."

Tara gave a dramatic pause. She always cherished the way her son's eyes would widen and how he gets eager to get the end of the story. He whispered,

"What happened then mamma?"

"As the birds tried to fly after picking the grains, they realized they were stuck. It was a trap, a trap set by hunters to catch the birds. He put the birds in cages and took them to market. The birds were crying but there was no one to listen to them."

He gasped in fear and surprise. She continued:

"So, the moral of the story is who doesn't listen to elders, suffers."

"But I always listen to you na mom."

"yes baby. You are such a good boy."

She stayed by his side until she heard him breathing heavy in sleep. She kissed his forehead and walked out of the room closing the door softly behind her. She wasn't sleepy at all so she made some coffee and sat at the table. Nilay was the light of her life, in fact the only light in her life. Though fourteen years old physically, he was still a seven year old mentally. He was a darling, an easy going boy. But the world outside isn't so easy. So, she has always kept him hidden from the world. The moral of the story she just told Nilay rang in her ears like bells.

"If only I had listen to my parents." She sighed.

At 21, she was enthusiastic, full of beliefs, love and romance. And when she fell in love, she fought for it with the world, just like she has always read in mills and boons. It was later that she realized life is not a romantic tale with happy ever afters. Her parents kept warning her about the man she fell for but never payed a heed. They scolded her and even threatened her. But she was determined. He promised her marriage and when she got pregnant, tortured her, hurt her, tormented her, but never married her. He left her alone when she was in her seventh month. She did not know whether to be happy or sad. She had no way to go back to her parents. She knew they would never have let her keep Nilay. She worked hard to earn for both of them. It was at the age of three when she found out that his brain was not growing as fast as it should. She was broken, shattered, but she gathered herself up for the sake of them both. She decided to give every possible therapy a chance. She fought and lost and geared up to fight again. She has come a long way now. She does not regret having Nilay, but at times she wonders what if she had listen to her parents back then.


This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.