Story Contest 2017 #1 - Outstanding Stories » Kiran – The Bird Lover

“Kiran – The Bird Lover” is one of the outstanding stories of the first biannual International Short Story Contest 2017 written by Zahra Juzer Gandhi, UAE.

Kiran – The Bird Lover

Kiran loved animals and birds very much. All kind of birds congregated during the day on the terrace of his house. Crows, mynas, pigeons, sparrows, parrots - they all turn up early in the morning. Kiran will climb-up to the roof of house at dawn. First he fills up the water in three pots, and then he spreads the food for the birds on the floor. Sometimes his grandpa also accompanies him and helps him in feeding the birds. The atmosphere is filled with constant chatter and twitter.

In summer season it is very hot, Kiran fill up the pots with water at least thrice in a day. Volunteers distribute pots for free to the public. They spread the word in the media to fill up the pots with water. Many people come forward and take home the free pot and keep it on their terrace but forget to fill it up with water on a regular basis. Kiran gets upset when he sees this.

Kiran had a very smart cat with white fluffy fur and purple eyes. Last year he found her abandoned near the park and brought her with him and named her Maggie. He tamed her perfectly. Maggie always accompany him wherever he goes.

And one fateful day when Kiran was busy in the daily chores in his room Maggie suddenly ran off to the roof of the house, grabbed a pigeon and vanished from the scene before anyone could react. All the birds were frightened. Kiran refused to eat or drink anything after this incident. Next day too his cat did the same thing. In the evening Maggie was sitting in the verandah but Kiran did not even look at her. He was very sad and angry.

Kiran’s grandpa came to console him,

“Kiran, my son! Please forget what has happened. The world is like this”.

“Oh grandpa! How can I tolerate this?” Kiran exclaimed in frustration.

“See my son, it is a natural phenomenon, that’s how the world works. Maggie has to feed herself, and so does the birds. They eat worm. But you do not get angry at that, do you? They do it for food. They do as they must, in order to survive. In nature, bigger animals eat smaller animals. Cat eats mouse, the birds on insects and worms and so on.” Grandpa explained the rationale.

He further advised Kiran, “My son, you make sure that Maggie does not go to the terrace again.”

“You are right grandpa”, Kiran calmed down by now.

Soon Kiran and his friend formed a team – “Pot Water Team”. Their task was to go around the street and spread awareness to place and fill the water in the pot regularly in the open space of terrace, balcony or roof tops.

Within a few days the word spread, Kiran and his team were appreciated by the residents. The media also came forward to assist them by publishing their inspirational team work. The charitable organization who donated the pots were delighted when they came to know about this. They honored the team and encouraged the young children for their contribution to save the birds and protect the environment.