Wild Encounters

The toad was croaking away for a reason only he knew. With his tiny body on a big rock, he stood there totally unaffected by insects flying over the still waters around. After staying there frozen for a while and croaking away something unknown, the tenor of the persistent stillness was interrupted when a series of scales appeared in the waters. The toad stood there watching the long body with hypnotic patterns move towards it. On getting close enough a long neck rose out to greet the toad with the tongue letting out a hiss. Both the creatures let their glances do some silent talking, after which the serpent turned back and the toad jumped on its body.

While moving towards the piece of land on the other end, the toad was greeted by fishes popping out from still waters betraying the fact that they didn’t have wings to rise and drop from such heights. The snake remained unaffected to the frequent splashes. After crossing the waters, there were tall grasses forming a patch of green. The snake slowly slipped into the grasses and became still.

The toad began croaking again but the snake didn’t move. In a jiffy the croaking toad was answered by a screech from the skies. All the toad could see was a pair of claws coming down to hold the serpent with the toad balancing itself on the scaled body. Within no time, the toad was staring at the sun which clearly appeared red to his layered eyes.

After a flight which lasted for some time, the flying bird lowered and landed on the ground. The snake suddenly motioned back to life and the toad jumped in response too.

They were finally on the hill. The eagle was already pecking out the green leaves from the cannabis plants growing on the irregular slope. After carefully selecting the right mushroom the snake had its body rolled around it preparing to make the swallow.

The toad looked at them and croaked continually, until a croak finally turned into an unclear cough and the toad exclaimed, “Will someone make me a joint?!”

= = = =

In a world of intoxication , peace persists.

The Blind Walk

For a blindfolded man, everything around was just an unclear picture. The sounds were just clues that pointed to a sight that may or may not match his interpretation. The only rule was to keep moving, with only the belief glowing brightly despite the pitch black impressions in sight.

The days were about the tiring walks, with the blazing sun shaking the will to move on, making the blind uncertainty look very severe and hard hitting. The nights consoled with the breeze tenderly touching the face, and just like that, the blind man smiled.

The hope of finding sight, was always kept in secrecy, protected from the day to day struggles.

One night, hope showed itself, by replicating itself in reality. The silent prayer was answered. And just like that, a certain beautiful lady had bumped into the blind man finally. She had opened his blindfold, and finally it was all so clear. The days of darkness were now making sense, by this much needed conclusion.

With the attainment of this beautiful sight, a life was brought back to life.

Just Another Weekend

The afternoon was just like any other Saturday afternoon, when the world was waiting for the weekend’s excitement to kick in. The bars, the shopping malls and the cinemas were deserted with only the pigeons contributing to the hustle bustle. A walk through the neighborhood would just let one witness the harmonious cacophony of television sets, which kept the half-awake people busy till they transformed into the party animals in the evening.

The weekend for Henry was the same too. He repeatedly tapped the remote control, letting the channels change. Every now and then there would be a channel that would be outrageously loud in volume, but there was no one to cry out to him, to lower the volume. For him the television set was like a shamelessly outspoken lady who just kept him distracted from his own loneliness.

This is enough, Henry thought flicking the remote on the couch. A nice little thought crept into his mind, there was an outburst of enthusiasm and he picked up the phone to make some calls. After a series of calls, he waited. Soon Henry was answering a series of knocks with a welcoming expression. By the evening, when everyone was getting out of their homes, the party at Henry’s place had just begun.

There was Mark, Terry and even the usually lazy Frank. There was beer and there were pizzas. The evening was turning into a beautiful night accompanied by songs and some mild dancing. After the beers kicked in, the old men became the young boys they once used to be. First it was the lazy Frank, then Mark and finally Terry who actually dozed off while describing his puppy love for his art teacher back in school.

Henry wasn’t really sleepy; he was just looking at the three drunk faces around him, three old men who were sleeping like babies. He felt an urge to cry in happiness for it was only these three guys who made him feel at home. Maybe because all four of them were just walking the same roads, in fact, not walking but still making their way through life together.

Henry never realized when he went to sleep. In the morning Terry shook him to wake him up, “Hey you, you forgot to turn off the lights last night” he said.

Henry saw that all of them were wide awake and preparing to leave. He went outside to see them off, as they made promises to party harder next weekend. With the final wave of goodbye, they parted ways. Three wheel chairs began making their way through the side walk and one wheel chair rolled back into the house.