I was perched on a tree branch overlooking a pond
when I met him.
Both of us were there for the same purpose—
to catch a fish.
But the pond brimmed with giants:
Gaura, Catfish, Anabas—
too large, too heavy for our beaks.
We couldn’t catch them.
We smiled, began to talk,
and soon became friends.
He told me of a brook nearby
where small fish swam.
We flew there together,
fed our hunger, quenched our thirst.
Slowly, we became best friends—
then partners.
When it came time to lay eggs,
we found a hole in the pond’s wall
and made it our home.
I laid three eggs,
brooding them with the warmth of my body.
He went out each day
to catch fish for us.
Soon, the eggs hatched.
I became a mother.
One day, he left to hunt
and never returned.
My children cried in hunger.
I was starving too.
It was left to me
to feed them.
I flew to the brook—
but it was dry.
No fish.
I searched the surroundings
for a pond or lake,
but found none.
It was the height of summer—
a cruel time to lay eggs.
I expanded my search,
but nothing.
One day, exhausted,
I flew far and found a tree.
I landed on its branch.
Below, a pond shimmered—
full of koi and goldfish.
The koi were too large,
but the goldfish—
I could catch them.
I dove, caught one,
ate half,
and flew home to feed my children.
The next day,
I returned,
caught another.
We ate well.
We were happy.
On the third day,
a man shooed me away.
I fled,
but came back
and caught another goldfish.
This happened again and again.
He grew angry.
But I was desperate.
My children were hungry.
What else could I do?
This was the only way I knew.
For eight days,
he shooed,
I ignored.
On the ninth day,
a net covered the pond.
I sensed danger.
But I couldn’t return empty-beaked.
I found a small opening.
My instincts screamed.
But hunger drowned them out.
I entered.
The opening closed.
A man and two children emerged.
They caught me.
The children said I was beautiful.
They wanted to keep me.
I was placed in a cage.
I tried to escape—
but couldn’t.
Captivity,
even in a golden cage,
is captivity.
They went inside
to fetch rope
to hang the cage.
While they were away,
a large cat came.
It toppled the cage,
opened the door,
and seized me.
It tore my feathers,
began to eat.
My final thought
was of my hungry children.
Then—
everything went dark.
