When the baby sparrow found her wings

Anoushka Metrani tells the story of a little bird that took inspiration from a young girl to fight her fears

I couldn’t wait to fly. I had been eagerly waiting for days, jealous of the older sparrows who had already gotten their first lessons on flying.

“One step and then flap your wings, off the tree branch and into the wind,” I quietly whispered to myself, everyday. When mama sparrow left to find food, I would carefully edge closer to the corner of their nest and look down.

The kids were running around and playing. It was summer vacation after all. They played and played, till their mothers scream, “Come inside, it is time to eat.” Just like mama sparrow did when she found her craning her neck over the nest.

The boys and girls were playing cricket. A bat in the hand of the tall boy they called Ravi, and a ball in the hand of a girl, who proudly introduced herself as Swathi. She is new to this neighbourhood. I had never seen her before. I can see her eager eyes, waiting to prove herself.

She is smaller than all the other kids, just like me. Everyone takes their position. Swathi raises her hand and begins to sprint. But she trips and falls. All the children start laughing. I close my eyes. I know how it feels when the other sparrows laugh at me for being too small to fly. But I hear a loud laugh, full of joy. I open my eyes and see Swathi clutching her stomach and laughing. She gets up and says, “Let’s do it again.”

She goes back to her spot and raises her hand, her muscles preparing to run. She runs forward and throws the ball, and it is as if time had slowed down.

The ball moves with grace, cutting through the air. It whips past Ravi, and hits the wicket. Every jaw drops. Swathi stands tall, and her hands on her waist, she says, “okay, who’s going next.”

I wish I could be as brave as her, and fly down to them. I wish my wings could cut through the wind like her ball did. I think about getting out of the nest when I hear mama sparrow say, “come inside baby, it is time to eat.”

I drop my head, and turn inside. “Why the sad face?” asks mama sparrow. “When can I learn to fly? I am big and brave now. I am not afraid to try so teach me how to fly,” I reply. “Soon baby, you’re still too young. What if you fall?” And that is the end of the conversation. The sun sets and all the children are inside. I look at the dark sky, I promise myself that tomorrow I will fly. As I am falling asleep I whisper, “One step and then flap your wings, off the tree branch and into the wind.”

The sun is out, and mama isn’t home. The children have decided to play lagori. They divided themselves into teams. The same ball that was hit with the bat yesterday was meant to knock down a stack of stones. Everyone wanted Swathi on their team. I too wanted to be on her team. I stepped outside the nest and staggered. The wind almost threw me off balance. I watched Swathi walk to her side, each step full of confidence. I followed her rhythm and walked to the end of the branch.

I looked down, and I was immediately scared. “Don’t worry team, we’ve got this,” I hear Swathi say as she prepared herself to throw the ball. “I got this,” I say to myself.

I took a deep breath, and moved one step forward. I lifted my wings, as Swathi would lift her hand. I flapped my wings as she threw the ball in the air. I am flying towards the ball.

“I am doing it! I am flying!” I screamed.

I flew towards the kids and landed next to the fallen stones that Swathi was hurriedly stacking back up. There was an amazing energy surrounding me. Swathi, smiling, looked down as if she was looking right into my eyes, and yelled, “lagori.”

She got up and pumped her fist in the air as I flapped my wings and flew up to meet her fist. I had done it. I flew! This time I didn’t whisper.

I screamed, “One step and then flap your wings, off the tree branch and into the wind.”