Free bird

Stepping out of my third-floor home, I crossed the building’s ground floor when I noticed a couple of beautiful, colourful birds locked in a balcony.

Just outside the glass pane, hardly six feet away, was a gigantic tree, where mynahs and sparrows were merrily chirping.

For a moment, my mind was rattled and I exclaimed to the watchman, “How sad! Such beauties in jail! And the world is wide open for the birds on this tree.”

“You are wrong,” his perception differed. “The ones in the balcony live in air-conditioned rooms. They are fed at the right time and are safe from any danger. Just watch the cat under the tree. It would pounce on any of the sparrows that you admire on the tree anytime.”

His logic instigated a dilemma.

Is he right?

For a moment, I almost thought so.

Then wisdom dawned on me, and I told myself there is nothing in the world that can match freedom, whatever the cost.

As William GT Shedd put it, a ship is safe in harbour, but that’s not what ships are for.

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