The Nest

It was a warm sunny afternoon, I'd had a lion's share of delicious lunch. As usual I'd come to the front courtyard overlooking the plantations. There was a table & two wooden chairs. I sat on one of the chairs, put my legs atop the table & settled in for my comfortable afternoon siesta.

I suddenly heard chirping noises, it was coming from the nest on the guava tree up above. From a few days I'd observed, this bird couple was busy building a nest, twig by twig, feather by feather to make a cozy home out of it & lay eggs. This couple would do it every year, on the same tree. They'd make it their home, lay eggs, have chirping babies, feed the babies until they grew wings. And in front of a massive audience of many birds and us, they would teach their babies their first flight, like a ceremony. Once the babies were up & flying they would abandon the nest to build it again next year. The sweet sound of chirping filled my ears & sleep took over like a soft hallucinating cloud.

The chirping grew louder in intensity & frequency, it was as if it was inches from my ear. I felt uneasy and suddenly woke up from my reverie. The mother bird was indeed fluttering its wings and chirping inches from me, like it was in distress. I could sense the panic in her. I wore my slippers & hurried towards the nest. I saw a black snake gulping the babies, as I approached the nest, the snake hurriedly slithered down the tree & into the gutter hole before I could catch it. The grief striken birds left the nest & have never come back again. All happened under the watchful eye of their impassive compatriots.