Long story

 Long story short 

The in between of a good day and a bad day.

The normal days.

The nothing special.

The 'not much going on'

 

Long story.

I zoom out, zone out

From the car in the middle of traffic facing the sign on board

Then I Steal a moment to stare at the kites just going in circles in the cloudy sky.

So I googled it

Apparently its called "kettle"

 

Horrendous.

You are telling me that these elegant beauties are called a domestic tool "kettle"?

 

You should be getting on a knee and apologize for this sort of stuff.

They are royalty of the sky. Bow down.

 

And from then on, I kept on seeing them. They are the highlight of my year.

 

There is this tree outside my room, that's dried up. It looks like an extension of its shadow.

And its right in the middle of a green pasture.

So this kite regularly sat on its branches.

 

Initially I was confused if it was an eagle/kite and my roommate terrorized me with tales of eagles popping human eyes out. 

It was traumatizing to visualize that.

But I was so fascinated that for a few days I would watch it from between the gaps of my fingers thinking "you wouldn't do that to me right?"

 

But then I heard it whistle and thankfully it was a kite.

And now I know a thing or two about them.

 

Kites are serious birds.

I don't think you can paint a smiley kite.

They are a family of serious people.

Roaming at high altitudes, at a safe distance from habitation.

They like space.

They like being alone.

They have a wise demeanour.

Aren't they my spirit animals?

 

They fly so effortlessly

Are they even aware of it?

If you watch them for long enough they flip 180 degrees in the middle of their flight

Its so cool.

They are so humble about it.

 

One day as it was resting on the branches, I saw parrots shouting at it. And it just kept quite. 

Unaffected. It had that aura of being evolved. As if it rose above chaos. Infectious. Loved it

 

No wonder parrots feed on chillies. Annoying little birds.

 

The other day I saw this random kite blurring the line of flying and falling 

It dropped straight towards ground

It was so sleek till it wasn't

I almost jumped and screamed 'udna nahi aata kya?' (Yeah I know the audacity)

Turns out it was chasing a little bird. That's their tendency. 

 

And then it struck me. Maybe a fellow parrot was bullied by the kite. They were just fearlessly facing their friend's bully.

 

The thought was unsettling. I liked that kite. 

 I shut the chatter in my mind. I didn't have any proof. The kite I watch must be different. I reassured myself. 

 

I kept on watching it regularly.

She would rest on that tree.  As if it was a strategic lighthouse in the middle of sea.

Some days she would bring her friends. 

Some days she would tutor little kites with those exotic tricks in the air.

 

They rise so high you have watch it to believe it.

But summer neared its end and so did our story.

 

July came with torrential rains.

One fateful day she behaved a little odd.

 

She sat on the branch. 

Frozen in a deep thought.

Like a statue.

Motionless. For two hours straight.

 

That was the last I heard from her.

 I believe she came to say goodbye.

 The tree was empty for weeks.

  

Occasionally  I would see young kites strolling around. Missing their parent and I missed a friend.

I shifted to a new room.

I know its taking my one sided obsession to a stretch. But it was something.

And don't you dare say

they all look the same, get over it.

It doesn't help.

 

The kite is the main character.

 

 

Did I tell you about the bats?

 

So every evening around twilight groups of bat, "colony" to be correct would fly over the sky travelling eastwards. 

Didn't bother to google the Darwinian reason they did this, I was too upset.

 

Every evening I would look up at them and hope that something apocalyptic would happen

Screaming in my head

"where are the meteors?"

"did they land?" 

"has the catastrophe begun?"

"how much time we got?"

 

 

Because creatures like that aren't supposed to fly around normally. They are supposed to connect two worlds.

Bats are civilization's sixth sense

They know secrets humans don't. they warn about the dangers. . They know the conspiracies. 

 

Like if gravity would bend horizontally, people falling in corridors with furniture hitting their stupid heads, 

a bat would know the way out to a safe place.

They give this strong "I could tell you but I'd have to kill you vibe". That's why they carry those fatal diseases.

Good bats want to help us, bad bats stop them to.

 

If there was a class of birds, the kites I was talking about would be the backbenchers. The cool kids. And these bats they are the weird ones. Who don't attend school. One of them did once and got bullied. And that was their villain origin story.

 

And these little sparrows and similar looking birds they just try too hard. What are they so excited about?

You see them flying from one tree to the neighboring other and they gasping for breath as If their lungs are about to explode. They just make me wanna help them. Take a little bowl of water and pet them or something.

 

Then they sit on those branches and all they do is gossip and it changes my mind.

We love them because they are little and less fatal.

 

 A bat doesn't even talk.

It ignores you. It side eyes you. 

The Mystery

A Kite doesn't care. Pure class.

They probably despise these birdies for being such a pick me.

 

All of us, our bird equivalent would be a parrot or something like that.

 I have met no one as cool as a kite.  We can't match up to that charisma. No not even Harry styles. Its off limits.

So this tree the kite sat on.  Its gorgeous. Its surrounded by these grand trees with leaves, one of them switches from red  to green (its super crazy, more on this in a while)

its almost rude.  

Constantly reminding it of its loss.  Laughing at its face. But NO

Trees aren't bullies like birds. They are such givers. Kind, compassionate, abundant.  

They support it literally and emotionally.  communicating via their root system (it’s a legit thing), Supplying nutrients. They go out of their way to cheer him up. Jolly dancing in the wind.

 

The little money plants and other dangling creepers cover its grays with greenery. 

They try. Its cute.

 Anyway, The KITE chose it, so this tree is our sidekick.

 By the way you know what happened to it? 

It was struck by lightning.

How do I know? 

Well one day I casually asked the red tree. It’s the chatty one.

 

And I know you would think, it was wind - not them answering my yes- no question.

But you're wrong.

I asked a specific branch that wasn't moving.

And it waved

Jokes on you. 

They always answer back.

 

So this red tree was right outside the room I stayed.

In spring it was bright red, beautiful fresh red. Almost blushing and thankful for being alive. Trees being trees. 

And over time it changed its hues slightly, little by little

One day I wake up to its maroon deep read leaves, it was scary.

It was dark bloody red. 

 

It almost felt like a curse.

Wait, Maybe a curse for helping our sidekick tree?  I don't know. I'll have to ask the next time we meet.

 

I saw this tree with its roots protruding out.

It just made me go

 "why? just why?"

And then it hit me.  This isn't natural. No tree flashes its insides like that. 

This huge tree with its roots on display for kids to study. And now it just looks like an "on your marks" position.

It could get up any instant and crush our brains out with its trunk.

Except, its too nice to do that. It is staying for the kids, no matter they step on its roots.

He can't help it. He is a tree.  A "giver".

 

This other trees with long leaves is the epitome botanical chill. They have a swagger.

It doesn't care about your expectations of an ideal tree. It flourishes in its own way.

I get it that most of the trees are naturally good. But even when we are being ourselves, some of us are more pleasing to watch. They are that.

 

Look at the one which are groomed by humans. They look clean shaved, unnaturally shaped.

It’s a tree and its not a tree.

 Its more like a potted plant. 

Good for him. More power to him "go tree".

To each its own.  

Who am I to judge.

 

And then the eucalyptus trees. They are so tall. They woke up and took Sky is the limit literally.

'Out of anyone's league' kinda tall. 

Just too big to hangout. 

They are  scenery trees. You look at them when you travel, listening to the music and they just pass by. That's what they are for.

I wouldn't think of talking to them.  

I could paint them if I knew how to, but not anything more than that. .

 Only kites are their worthy friends. I am like an ant to them. 

Wait, do ants climb up such trees? Like to the top tip? I bet they do. They are just everywhere. Spies for the bad bats.

 

I look at them and I can't help but wonder if one of them just fell. I live in a four storey building, and I am pretty sure these are double than it. Maybe more.

 

But more importantly. They are so ancient. They have probably seen India before independence. Maybe they were seedlings when we were on war. Shit scared if they would have a future. And look at them now. If they can get through it, we can too.

 

And don't even think about their roots. Piercing the mantle of the earth. 

Where do you wanna go buddy? The magma? It isn't safe. Calm down. You'll hurt yourself.

 

Oh then that's The mighty peepal tree right at the entrance.

I respect it, for its age ofc and its wisdom. But I don't think much of it. NO offense. 

 

While I was watching it a big yellow bus hit me.

Was I humanising trees as a way of coping with my dead social life?

 

I turned the tables.

I botanicalize people now. (sounds so gory)

If you are someone I care about, I have visualized your tree equivalent.

 And when someone gets on my nerves I label them with scientific names of trees.

 It sounds like a herbal gaali. Straight out of Hogwartz.

 

So yeah

The life's been good.