NATURE'S GIFT

Nature’s wildest gifts are best seen when you are not exactly looking for it. You just come across them by mistake, unannounced, unsuspecting like two snails mating in the early hours of the morning in their humble abode, amongst the green grasses. As I got ready for work that morning, my mind flashed back to the mother hen I had seen guarding her chicks from behind as they scavenged for food on the streets the previous day, it looked like they were just straying about, each looking for what to eat but then it looked very much like the mother hen guarded the younger chicks from behind, since she was leading them and at the same time going from behind. Or perhaps it was me, maybe I over interpreted the whole scenario, maybe my missing and longing for my mother affected my reasoning.


I woke my brother up as usual to lock up the door after me, I usually had to leave very early for work, my brother often went back to sleep after I was gone. As I trekked the lonely, dark path to the junction where the staff bus picks me, my mind wondered mischieviously at what nature had to offer me that morning. I looked around carefully for anything unusual or distinct, I smiled when I thought of what I was doing. I held my phone properly making sure that the light it generated saw me through the road. Just then a scary thought came to mind, what if there were dangerous animals in this bushes on both sides? At that thought, I quickened my pace and almost ran to the road. My mind gradually settled as I got to the faimiliar junction and started coming across people, drivers rushing to work early, local food sellers hurrying up their cooking and some other artisans opening up their business centers and shops.

Just then Nature gave me another gift which made me smile, a very rounded large rat ran out of a local canteen by the road dragging bits of food with it,it almost ran into the fire being made but then quickly retraced it steps. Isn”t that what we sometimes do even as humans? Run from frying pan to fire...despite the gift of making wise descisions?

As I boarded my bus that morning, I remembered it was the beginning of a new month, as someone greeted me. As some of the other workers dozed off since it was still a long way to work, I made up my mind strongly to be a different human....