The Fly
She heard the buzzing sound continuously circling her head and brushing
along side her ear. She got annoyed and
persistently evaded it with the flourish of her hand.She was reading her morning newspaper but the deep droning sound compelled her to
stop. Facing the mosquito menace of which she had got habitual but now this lnoe
fly that too so powerful that its buzzing distracted her completely.Flies are a
nuisance .They signify dirt and filth
that too raw filth .She became wary of it and got up to make it fly out of her
room but at the same time the buzzing sound suddenly haunted her .It resonated in her brain and
lulled it.She paused and let her brain swim in the euphoria which the sound created.Her brain lightened and floated beyond her present milieu.She saw herself
standing as a small girl in an open ground which had numerous straw mats spread
all over covered with the rice grains lying there for drying.She was her nanis
chieftain and incharge of looking after the grains.Her nani did not leave the
entire job to her and lay there on one part of the mat but as usual she dozed
off languorously in the warm sun of the winter of a hilly place.She was to
guard the grains from the sparrows.It was a tough job.Her nani had no doubt
erected some scare crow effigies but
that did not deter the nimble sparrows.It was tough for Toshi to ward them off
though she was equally as nimble and light as they.The mild sun
warmed her up and she turned frolicsome.She skipped continuously from one end
of the spread to the other.Gradually it turned quite monotonous for her. It was
quiet all around .She did not remember why the other children never joined her
in this task.Chasing the sparrows- she turned it into a game.She would clap her
hands to scare them away and meanwhile got diverted by the beautiful tiny plants growing in the periphery of the
ground.They bore minute flowers of different colours,violet ,pink ,red and
others.She would hop and jump around them unwilling to pluck any .They were
like small cute pets for her.Hedging them with her hands she would enjoy the
charm of their touch.But all this left the birds free to gorge on the grain
wildly .It was only when she heard the groaning sound of her nani shouting for
her to mind her duty. She had got up from her deep slumber by the flies which had
made their temporary sojourn in every part of her body. Though she had covered
her face but they stung the exposed parts of her body. She felt terribly
annoyed and Toshi pitied her .Now it became her added duty to get them away
from her body.It was a race between the sparrows and the flies.Toshi was the
lord over them.They were at her mercy.While clapping away the sparrows she
would zoom at the flies .This created a riot of noise which disturbed her nani.
Her huge leviathan body shook to see what was happening.She would see her grand-daughter rushing after the swarm of flies and letting
the grain spill around.She would call her out and with a mild annoyance chide
her a bit and get smitten in her limbs since the sun was receding.The buzzing
of the flies was getting more and more intense.Her nani prepared to collect the
grain and wind up for the day.Toshi wanted to linger on more because collecting
the grain was all the more arduous for a seven year old girl than running after
the sparrows and buzzing flies.It was a sport
for her under the azure skies. The gaiety in the atmosphere filled her
with joy. The peaceful slumber of her
benevolent grandmother secured her moments and she lorded over the birds and
flies which became her friends and foes
at the same time.Their whoosh and buzzing took away the lonliness of her
heart.She wanted to linger on before entering the dark alcove of her house
where she would be so distant from her grand-ma.
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