World Public Library

The Cockatiel Confessions and Other Collected Short Stories

Ms. Lavanya Srinivasan

2018

Abstract

" I don’t remember when I was born or how many times I was transported before I first saw “Chirp”, my human and her mate “Chirp-chirp”. I have heard it said before by Fuff-fuff, the resident sage of my first non tree nest (a yellow-red mishmash of colours and an upturned beak) that first impressions are often the truest but I have to admit, my first peek at Chirp and Chirp-Chirp was not positive." ****************************************************************************** " As my journey continued, I remembered how, I too, had once been worshipped and deemed important enough to be tracked in the ancient texts and star calendars. I had witnessed the birth of their saviour and the magi who had divined his birth by tracking my journey. The huge monuments that was raised in the honour of false gods and eschewed later. As centuries passed and their artificial lights lit up their homes, the humans now had the audacity to transmit probes and crafts for intercepting me. What had happened to their awe and their respect? Yet, I felt myself growing smaller and feebler on every journey past as I lose a little bit of my strength and size over the years. The sun whispers that civilizations rise and die but I would endure for eons. I sigh as the consolatory words don’t achieve their objective of cheering me up. I pine for the centuries past and the time lost."

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