“What are you doing?” he asked her as he took off his shoes and entered the house.
“When did you become blind? Can’t you see?” she replied without even looking at him. He knew she didn’t mean it in a derogatory way. She’s always been like that when engaged in a task. He went into the kitchen and returned with a water-bottle.
“When did you become a doctor?” he queried, sipping water from the bottle.
“You don’t have to be a doctor to bandage a broken leg. Being an animal lover is good enough,” she answered, tying the ends of the bandage into a knot. She carefully placed the sparrow in a bowl cushioned with a piece of an old blanket. She rose, approached him and took the bottle from him saying, “Even love for animals is not necessary, kindness will suffice.”
“Is that the same sparrow for which you built a nest in the ventilator shaft and rendered the exhaust fan useless?” he asked, accompanying her into the kitchen.
“For the record, I didn’t build the nest. It was already there. I just replaced it from where it fell. You were the one that left the ventilator shaft open for more than two weeks. And it’s just a chick sparrow,” she replied. “You won’t believe me when I say what happened today,” she began with a tinge of excitement.
He interrupted her. “You won’t believe what happened in the office today. I opened my laptop to give a presentation and the whole screen was flooded with ads about sparrow food, sparrow nests and, here it comes, colorful sparrow print dresses for girls!! I was embarrassed in front of my boss. On top of that, my colleagues gave me a nickname.”
She asked, “Is it Captain Jack Sparrow?” and started laughing. All the anger in his face vaporized and is replaced by a hint of a smile.
He replied, “Yeah, very funny! I wanted to go as the Falcon to the Foundation Day party. Now, I have to get a new costume. Why did you use my laptop to research your fetishes?”
“Okay, it’s my turn now,” she said dodging the question, imitating Jack Sparrow. She continued in her normal voice, walking towards the bedroom, “The mama sparrow went out to bring food for the chick. After some time, there came this big sparrow, bigger than the mama sparrow, into the ventilator shaft. I didn’t observe it until the chick started making sounds. When I saw the big sparrow poking the nest, I thought it was the papa sparrow and that it brought food. But the chick didn’t stop chirping. I heard the mama sparrow come next. I thought it was a happy family reunion since I haven’t seen the papa sparrow until then, and then realized that mama sparrow is pecking the papa sparrow.” They were in the bedroom by then. She settled in front of the PC while he lay listening on the bed. He looked at her as she paused.
She continued, “Ah! Here it is! It’s a Wild Sparrow. That makes sense.” She showed him the image on the computer. “I was just sitting there and before I could realize what was happening, the wild sparrow struck hard on the chick’s leg and broke it. And it escaped while the mama sparrow was attending to the wounded chick.”
Both of them looked into the hall as they heard chirping: the mama sparrow was now comforting the chick. “That day you asked me why I rescued them. It was because their lives also matter. Each and every life matters. Just because those lives are in smaller bodies doesnt mean they are different from us. Just because we are big and powerful doesn’t mean we can destroy those lives. Also, they reminded me of my moments with mom,” she said the last sentence reminiscing in her memories.
He embraced her from behind, in an effort to shield her from her poignant memories, and gave a peck on the cheek. She turned in his hands, looked at him thoughtfully and said, with a smile, “If you grew a beard, you could definitely pull off the Jack Sparrow costume. But don’t give up bathing!!”
* * *
“What are you up to today?” he asked opening the gate, on seeing her closing the mesh window of the ventilator shaft.
“I’m fed up with the wild sparrow bullying our sparrows. They don’t stand a chance against the wild sparrow. So I decided to take the matter into my own hands,” she said climbing down.
“So what is the plan? Are you evicting our feathered tenants?” he asked approaching her.
She turned on the ventilator switch and the exhaust fan started rotating with an audible hum. Then she walked over to the table in the corner and picked up the chick. A moment later the mama sparrow came flying and perched on her thumb, close to her baby. He was still waiting for an answer when he heard a sound like something was struck by the ventilator fan, closely followed by a shrill cry of a terrified wild sparrow. He didn’t know whether he actually heard or imagined the splat of a wet pulp, which was once the body of the bullying wild sparrow, splattering on the ground.
