THE WINDOW

He still remembers the day he stepped into this house.  He was small then.  All he knows is that he was an orphan, who lost his family in a flood and then was adopted by a family who kept on reminding him of the debt he has to pay for saving his life all his life.  He had stayed shut in the house since the day he stepped in.  He was a slave to the people who gave him a roof to live in.  All he had to do was to clean and mop the floor, do the laundry, cook food and take care of the family members.  All his life the only friend he had was this window.  During most of his spare time he used to sit there at the window and gaze at the life beyond it.  He would see in the morning, the birds leaving their nests, children going to school, the elders for their work and people going places.  And in the evening time he could see them all returning, the birds to their roost, the sun and the trees going to rest.  Was it the whole world, he wondered, or was it too far from his imagination.  Will it feel the same from the outside as it does from the inside.  He wanted to explore all of the world outside his window.  He questioned himself if the world was so peaceful out there even in the chaos, then why was it so numb and still here in. He could have jumped out from the window and moved out anytime.  But, he was not a coward.  He didn't want to run like that, he would go out someday and definitely with pride.  He somewhere knew he was not into any debt, the debt was inside the mind, he was adopted for slavery.  May be he could have had a better life with the other orphans, could have acquired knowledge, attended school, got a better job for himself.  Anyway, he was gradually becoming more determined day by day.  He is definitely going to be that bold one day to openly say he's old enough and that he has paid his debt. And now he's all set for his endeavour.

                                                      VAISHALI