ZEENAT'S BOWL OF IMAGINATION |
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FLUFF AND THE WILD LILY [Written in February 2001. Published in "Deccan Herald" newspaper, Year 2001, Bangalore, India.] |
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Fluff the big white cloud sighed aloud for about the hundredth time that day as he wandered all by himself. His face wore an expression of extreme sadness and his big fluffy cheeks had turned a pale off-white. As he floated around miserably in the blue summer sky, his face grew sadder and sadder.
"Why me? Why?" he sighed again, with tears in his eyes.
"Why am I so different? All my brothers and sister know how to rain
so well. They turn such a lovely shade of gray in the rainy season. But
I... I'm simply, simply hopeless!"
It was sad, but true. Fluff had never been able to rain ever since he was
a little cloud. The other clouds -- young and old -- would shower the
lush, green valleys with clear, sparkling water. But with Fluff, it was
not so. Try as he might, Fluff could not squeeze out even a few tiny drops
when the season came along. The little clouds would snigger behind his
back and poke fun at him for not being able to rain. But the older clouds
would shake the heads in despair over what would become of him.
The night was chilly and Fluff shivered as he floated on, lost in
his own thoughts. The stars in the night sky called out to him to play.
But Fluff silently passed them by. His old friend the Moon spotted him
wandering gloomily along and cried out, "Hey Fluff! Care for a snack
old pal?" But Fluff simply shook his head and floated on.
No one, not even Fluff himself, knew how long he had been floating for or
how far he had drifted away from home. But suddenly, after what seemed
like hours, Fluff stopped with a start and looked around him and down to
the Earth below. He had absolutely no idea where he was! The wide stretch
of sky around him and the large expanse of land below were totally
unfamiliar. Where he came from, spruce and conifer and pine trees lined
the rich, dark brown soil. Mountain ranges loomed up sky high. And in the
greenness of the valley below, hundreds of little people would rush around
busily doing their daily chores. But out here nothing -- absolutely
nothing - seemed to be even vaguely familiar. Even the stars were no
longer the same! Nothing moved. The air around him was absolutely still
and the earth below as empty and fruitless as a desert.
Fluff shivered, more from the fear that now gripped him than from the
growing cold. "Where am I?" he asked nervously. "In what
strange land?" He looked around scared. Down below a few small shrubs
hissed mischievously as they nestled together in the darkness and the soil
glistened a curious brown-black in the moonlight. Apart from this, there
was no trace of any other life whatsoever.
"I'm lost, hopelessly lost! And there's not a soul here to help me
find my way back home," Fluff burst into tears. "Why did I not
see where I was going? Now how in the wide, wide world am I going to get
back?" Tears flowing down his face, Fluff began to look left and
right trying to find a familiar star or at least a lost ray of moonlight
that could become his guide. But nothing seemed to be the same anymore.
Fluff peered far into the darkness lit faintly only by the light from the
stars. And as he strained his eyes he thought he heard the faintest of
sounds like a sad lonely wail of pain. Fluff gave a start. "Surely my
ears are playing tricks on me?" he thought and looked away. A few
seconds later the painful sounds reached him again, a little clearer this
time, "He...lp!" cried the voice thinly into the silence,
"He...lp!" |
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Fluff
dived lower and sailed haphazardly, zig zagging through the air.
"Where are you? Where are you?" Fluff called out. "Who
needs help?" But there was no reply, just another heart-rending wail
that cut through the stillness like a knife, and then silence.
Fluff
was now more frantic then ever. Someone seemed to need help desperately.
And there was no telling what even a second's delay could do to that poor
soul in the wilderness! Moving as fast as he could, Fluff soon came to a
little area scattered with small rocks and a few blades of grass sprouting
here and there. He spotted a lonely little wild Lily lying limply in a
patch of yellow-green grass, shivering in the cold night air.
"O
my God! O my God! What have we here!" cried out Fluff in despair as
he floated lower still and hovered in the air. "Why, you look
absolutely pale little Lily, and so weak...''
For
a long moment the Lily was as silent as the night. And then slowly, almost
softer than a whisper, Fluff heard just one word "W..a..ter!"
Fluff
gasped but did not move. He seemed to have frozen in mid-air and just
stood staring at the wilting petals of the Lily as they grew more and more
lifeless by the second. "Water? Where am I going to find WATER on
this lonely, barren land," thought Fluff loudly, "When I don't
even know where I am... " "Think
you are in very big fix stranger?" spoke up a high-pitched voice out
of nowhere. Fluff gave a startled bounce and spun around to face the
voice. "Oh! Oh!" he mumbled.
"Stop
'Oh ohing' stranger. It sounds silly!"
"I'm
not silly" replied Fluff, his cheeks puffed up in irritation.
"And I'm not a stranger! My name is Fluff and I had absolutely no
idea I wasn't alone,"shouted Fluff, all in one single breath.
"The least I expected was a star to creep up behind me in the middle
of nowhere."
"I'm
Sparkle," said the star, ignoring Fluff's irritation and looking at
the Lily. "So, think you can help her? She's been groaning for hours
and my heart bleeds to watch her dying."
"What
can I do Sparkle? It makes me feel sad too. But what can I POSSIBLY
do?"
"Fluff,
if you are a cloud, maybe you think you could shower a few drops of rain
on that poor flower," replied Sparkle.
Fluff
looked away. Sparkle's words had pierced him like a thunderbolt. "I
can't. I simply can't," said the cloud. I know it sounds silly, I
know you'll probably laugh and jeer at me just like the other little
clouds. But ever since I can remember, I simply CAN'T rain. And I do so
much want to help little Lily." Fluff's voice trembled with grief.
"She's thirsty, I'm a cloud, and yet I can't do anything to help her.
It's unfair to both of us."
Sparkle
glittered soundlessly in the darkness, not uttering a word. Fluff's sad
story had shocked him into silence. "I'm sorry Fluff,' whispered the
star.
"It's
nothing really. It happens to me all the time," said Fluff smiling a
sad smile. Sparkle and Fluff stood silently side by side, each one not knowing what to say to the other. And then suddenly Sparkle spoke up, "But there IS something you CAN do, Fluff," said Sparkle excitedly, his eyes twinkling brightly. |
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"What in the world can I do?" asked Fluff
confused by Sparkle's sudden flash of excitement.
"But of course you can Fluff," laughed the Star in happiness,
almost ready to burst.
"Okay now listen carefully, we don't have much time. Now Fluff, not
far away from here is a huge lake," said Sparkle pointing in a
direction towards a far-off clump of bushes. And let me hope against hope
that that merciless Sun has not dried it up of all its water."
"So?" asked Fluff, not really understanding what Sparkle was
trying to say.
"So? There's a nice, cool lake, and here are you -- a pretty little
cloud. Now do you get the picture?" said Sparkle his eyes glowing
bright with joy.
"No," said Fluff sadly. "I don't. Please tell me. It's
really getting late."
"Okay, okay. What I meant to say was that if you could fly down to
the lake and fill up your fluffy, cottony body with water, and bring it
here."
"I could sprinkle it over poor Lily," said Fluff, finishing the
idea that Sparkle had started.
"Exactly!" cried Sparkle joyfully. It's worth a try. And any day
better than just sitting around and doing nothing for Lily," said
Sparkle looking at Fluff.
"I'll do it! I'll do it! I'll do it for Lily. And for all the sneers
and jeers that I've heard for not being able to rain," promised
Fluff. "But there is one big problem."
"And that is?"
"I don't know the way Sparkle. How do I get to the lake?"
"That's no problem at all little cloud. Follow the path along which
my light shines and it will take you to the lake," said Sparkle,
pointing to the narrow strip of earth that had lit up with starlight.
Fluff began to float away as Sparkle flashed him a 'thumbs up' sign.
The path was long and lonely, and silence filled the night air. Only a
sickly drumming noise of the crickets filled the emptiness around him and
Fluff hated it. The light from Sparkle had also become dim, and Fluff was
beginning to find it difficult to see the path. And just as the starlight
was beginning to totally fade away, Fluff thought he spotted a glimmer of
water just behind a large clump of dried up bushes.
The lake shimmered against the dim light and soft waves rippled softly
through its blue-black surface. Fluff edged slowly downwards in the
direction of the lake. The quiet ripples grew louder as the wind blew
softly through them.
Lower and lower he floated till his small white cottony body almost
touched the lake. He slowly started skimming the surface of the lake,
floating like a big soft glob of winter fog. And as he moved, Fluff began
to feel the water seep into him, his cottony body taking in all that it
could. Slowly, slowly, ever so slowly, Fluff felt his body grow heavier
and heavier with each movement of the water lapping gently around him. It
was a long while before Fluff felt he had enough water with which he could
fly back safely without bursting with the weight.
The little cloud rose up slowly from the lake as much as he could without
feeling the strain of the water within him as his eyes searched for
Sparkle's starlight. "Ah, there it is!" said Fluff spotting the
path along which he had come. And once again with the starlight to guide
him, Fluff made his way back to Sparkle, this time carrying a cloud full
of water.
Meanwhile Lily had begun to shrink even more, and Sparkle could barely see
her tiny petals against the light. And, she had barely uttered a word or
even opened her eyes.
"What if it's too late?" said Sparkle, his light shining dimly
then brightly in alarm. "No, no, no negative thoughts. Everything
will be just fine. I know it!"
As if in response to his words, Sparkle saw Fluff floating up to him
panting and gasping for breath. The journey back had been even longer for
because of the enormous weight he was carrying.
"You did it Fluff, you did it and you never thought it
possible," spoke Sparkle in a happy voice.
"Yup, thanks to you!"
"Ok so then, what are we waiting for?" asked Sparkle looking
first at Fluff, then at the Lily. "Make it rain little cloud.
Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze hard." |
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Fluff looked anxiously at the Star wondering whether he would be able to squeeze hard enough to sprinkle water on the Lily. Fluff took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He could feel the wetness of the water within him and sense the eerie terror of the Lily below him Lying on the ground. He took another deeper breath this time, closed his eyes tighter than he had ever closed them in his life and began to curl. He curled slowly and felt the water splash against him inside. He could feel Sparkle's eyes watching him.
"Tighter Fluff, you've got to make yourself tighter," whispered
Sparkle Fluff curled tighter. The brave little cloud continued to curl.
His cheeks puffed up and then softly, ever so silently, Fluff felt
something he had never felt before. A soft tiny drop of water began to
form slowly and trickle down his chin. At first he thought, it was a puff
of breeze. But it wasn't. Fluff couldn't help but smile.
"Congrats Fluff!" shouted Sparkle in joy, "You've just made
your first drop of rain."
"Wow!" gasped Fluff and curled up more. He felt the tiniest of
drops brush against his chin and fall away onto the earth below. "I
can't believe I'm actually doing this!" thought Fluff in surprise.
Sparkle cheered him on, and Fluff was soon showering drops of rain on a
dry land far away from home on a dying flower. It took more than a few
drops though to quench little Lily and by the time the cloud had squeezed
himself out to the last drop of water, the night had grown darker and
deeper. Lily had taken in every drop of water thirstily and now seemed
emit a glimmer of life. Her petals glistened in the pale starlight and she
had a sweet smile on her face as she lay peacefully on the ground.
"She'll look and feel better when the Sun comes up tomorrow
morning," said Sparkle.
The two watched Lily for a long time, silently thinking about the
adventure they had been through.
"I think I'd better find my way back home now," said Fluff to
Sparkle.
"Don't be silly Fluff!" replied Sparkle, "In this darkness,
you'll probably find yourself over Antarctica and that wouldn't be too
good, would it?"
Fluff laughed, "Okay, okay, I'll spend the night here and maybe the
Sun will show me the way back home in the morning."
"Great! But you probably won't see me then. So, goodnight and goodbye
dear friend! You are one brave cloud!" END OF STORY..... |
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FLUFF AND THE WILD LILY [Written in February 2001. Published in "Deccan Herald" newspaper, Year 2001, Bangalore, India.] |
My Other Stories
Scala the Little Witch-Maid ... and more yet to come ....!!
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