The Golden Bird

Once upon a time, there was a young and gorgeous bird.
She had candy red eyes that contrasted so strikingly with her snow-white feathers.
Her tiny, bifurcated feet were gracefully in line with her blonde beak which was curved at the tip.
Inexplicably, she had a golden ring thrown around her neck which shined intensely throughout the day. 
And at night, from a distance, one could see it glimmer like a star-studded necklace.

She lived inside a massive iron cage.
It was so huge that at times, it created an illusion of space and in her ecstasy, she would flutter her wings and take a leap, only to get smashed against the thick, hard bars and crash on the floor.

This bird had a unique and amazing trait which set her apart from the rest of her breed.
She survived on gold.
Every morning, her master would push apart the heavy gates of her cage and throw a handful of glittering gold coins inside.
She would hurry and start nibbling at them hungrily.
The speed with which she devoured her staple food was just unbelievable.
The more she got, the more she wanted.
The mere sight of scattered gold coins around her, the tinkling sound, the exotic taste – all this gave her an adrenaline rush. 
There were times when the master delayed or refused to feed her just to assert his supremacy.
And on all such occasions, she would feel utterly miserable, insecure and fearful.
The regular delivery of gold assured her that this indeed was the most important commodity in her life.

People from remotest corners of the world gathered daily to have a look at this astonishing bird.
The absence of any rationale for presence of a luminous ring around her neck convinced most of them that she was a divine creature.
It was really an incredible sight to see her consume the yellow metal so effortlessly.

The master charged heavily for the tickets and earned much more than what he spent on her. He was indeed an astute businessman.
One early morning, as he opened up the cage and tossed some coins inside, he forgot to put the latch and trotted away to catch on some more sleep, a lazy fellow that he was.

The moment our Golden Bird spotted this lapse, her heart skipped a beat.
A whiff of fresh air struck against her body and touched her very soul.
She took one hesitant step towards the gate.
Outside, a huge, orange sun rested on the horizon, as if unsure about leaving the comforts of the previous night. But as it slowly overcame its inhibitions, its oblong rays entered the cage and cast a warm glow around the bird.
She looked back at the gold coins burning like fire in the bright sunlight.
Then, she glanced outside at the rising ball of flame.
Something moved her deeply.
And with all her might, she broke through the intimidating walls of that dark dungeon, crossed the threshold and dashed into the boundless space outside.

As she spread her wings and soared high, she soaked into a kind of delight she had never known before.
Her heart leapt with joy as she twirled and whirled in the air like a flying kite.
Her wings seemed to enlarge and cover the whole earth.
The endless sky with infinite opportunities dared her to dream.
As she cut across the boundaries of that damned cage, many doors opened up inside her being which she was never aware of.

She also saw other birds, hovering around her.
‘How happy they are?’ she wondered, especially when they consumed just seeds, nuts, fruits or small insects.
‘They don’t survive on gold like me. They are not as beautiful as I am. None of them has a golden ring around their necks. Neither the whole world is turning up to watch them in awe and wonder. But even then, they are so cheerful and full of life. What is it that they have which I don’t possess?’
She could not understand.

Even though she was enjoying herself fully, after a while, she started feeling uncomfortable.
‘What if the master finds out? He may stop feeding me altogether to teach me a lesson. And who knows, I may die in this strange environment where birds eat such weird things!’

With tension and insecurities tugging at her heart, she decided to return.
As she dived down, a growing pain ripped her apart.
She felt as if she was going against her nature, as if she was giving up something of great value.
But finally, her fears won and she dragged herself back to her enclosure.

She resumed her routine from next day onward, eating gold and being admired by millions of people.
Her sense of security and worldly status was back.
But a feeling of emptiness kept nagging her constantly.
She had finally realized that what she experienced that day was a tremendous sense of freedom to be what she was.
And this unforgettable taste of liberty was much higher than any amount of gold that she could amass because gold would keep her chained inside an obscure cell but a courageous flight into the limitless sky would set her free forever.

But alas!
Fate has its own designs.
Time passed by.
Seasons changed.
From being naïve and young, our ladybird turned into a mature adult.
Her fame shot up and so did the quantity of gold that was offered to her every day.
But she felt poorer and all the more frustrated.
She secretly longed for the blue sky but consigned herself consciously to a black hole.

After many years, one early morning, as her lethargic master lobbed some more gold coins inside her cage as a matter of routine and slithered away, he forgot to latch the iron gate once again.
As soon as she noticed this, our Golden Bird experienced a rapturous thrill running through her spine.

‘Can this be true?’ she asked herself in disbelief.
The moment she had been waiting for had finally arrived.
She glanced at the gold coins littered around her and then she peeped at a flock of birds whizzing past her prison.
She strode forward and was about to step out when she was overtaken by doubt and retreated back.
The gate was still lying open…


Dear Reader

Help me complete this story by giving your suggestions in the comment box.
What would you do if you were in place of the Golden Bird?
Would you fly out or would you choose to remain inside the cage?