The Cycle of Life.

All of a sudden, I began floating. My body was light, wispy and formless. I could bend and twist myself into various shapes with utmost ease. Golden sunlight was penetrating my entire being, I realized that I was translucent.

Is this what happens, I wondered, when we pass from one state of being to another. I had heard about it but had never believed. But now, I had to believe. We change forms but we continue to exist. We carry onwards with our Journey.

I knew I was moving. To where, I didn’t really know. It was like being led or pushed by some unknown force. I felt I was floating in the air.

I looked down and there I saw the very place I had lived my entire life. I could make out my home, my family. The friends I had known, the places I had been to. My entire life flashed before my eyes.

The boy who had wanted water and had come searching for me. My proud and haughty self ran away from him. I never bothered to find out what happened to the thirsty boy.

The little children who came to sail paper boats in me. I didn’t like them putting their muddy hands in me and so I turned fierce and lashed upon them, till the frightened children ran away from me.

There were young women who came to bathe in me. They made a lot of noise and laughed a lot. Their voices overpowered my sweet, silvery voice. I didn’t like that. So I made the rocks in me very slippery and I became a dangerous place to step in. The women all soon left me and my tinkling voice was heard again.

At one time, there were a lot of huge shady trees that stood around me and a number of birds that came twittering around the trees and drank from me. But the trees shed their dry leaves into me and made my crystal water dirty, the birds dropped seeds and feathers into me. I disliked being dirty and so I stopped watering the trees around me. They shriveled and dried up. And once again, I was a clean and beautiful.

As time passed everyone stopped coming near me. I grew very lonely. I had no one to talk to. No one ever delighted in hearing me sing in my silvery voice.

I called out to the little children and beckoned them to come play in me. But they said that I was dangerous. I called out to the birds in the sky to come and join their melodies with mine. But they called me selfish. I wished the young maidens would come near me and sing and laugh with me. But they had long ago learnt to avoid me.

I was all alone. But was at least alive.

After a few days I started feeling extremely uneasy. Piercing sun rays invaded me. I felt like I had turned into a hot water stream. I tried to hold myself together. But I began shrinking. I heard the passerby’s saying that it was summer and a stream that didn’t have trees shading it would soon die. They pitied me but no one came to help me.

I started crying and wailing, but all that could was heard was the sound of water boiling around me. I lost my enchanting form, my tinkling voice. It became torrid and nauseating. I began losing my form. I soon lost consciousness. And here I am when I woke up. I am no more a lake. I have now become what I believe is a cloud.

I made a terrible mistake in my life. My actions led me to where I am today. My pride caused my fall. If I could only get one more chance, I would be kind and generous. I would have all my friends back. I had once heard that the cycle of life goes on. Maybe I would get a chance to correct all the mistakes I made…just maybe..

“Granma, can we go play in the lake outside”, asked Chintu.
“Yes dear, you all can go out.” said Lata, the grand-mother of the little children.

The children ran out to the lake in joy with little paper boats in their hands.

“You know Mother, when I was a young girl and wanted to go bathe in the lake, the rocks there were very slippery and it was a very dangerous place to go to.” said Jaya, the children’s mother to Lata.

“But now it’s the most enchanting place in the village, there are so many trees surrounding it and people from all over come to it to fetch water. I cannot believe it’s the same lake. It’s seems like the lake repented for its past behavior and in this rainy season it has come back to continue what it had left then. The cycle of life goes on, doesn't it Mother? ” continued Jaya.

“Don’t be silly Jaya.” scolded her mother. “You are a grown woman now. Lakes are inanimate objects, they don’t repent like we humans do. They do not have life.“



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