The detached worlds

A Story by preeti

It's a short story characterized by 2 opposite beings, whose ways of life are completely different. Its a love story of a mackerel and a flamingo. The story mimics our modern, fast paced love affairs

It was a bright sunny day. The little patches of frozen white clouds moved like a bunch of tortoise with the push of moisture laden breeze. Flame the Flamingo
woke up from his sleep when the whiff of breeze caressed his feathers and reminded him with a damp scent that he is hungry for fish. He woke up with a jolt and heard his stomach growling, and then in a flash he swooned like lightening and took a nice perch to enjoy the scent of the fish promising lake.

Flame muttered "Oh I am soooo hungry, cant wait much for today's catch". That's when he spotted some movement on the water close to the banks. "Aha !!, come to me fishy fish, I have forever waited for you". And then, he pounced on the spot and dug out a fish, whose tail thrashed Flame's cheeks violently. "Ohoo, no, dont eat me please" cried Molly the Mackarel. "you are so beautiful, why would you eat something like me?" Molly asked. Astonished Flame said "That's coz I am hungry and you smell good to me" and then Flame looked at Molly's dark eyes, they were teary and pleading. Suddenly, Flame's hunger was taken over by some sort of emotion, maybe pity.

"okay, I guess I am not hungry anymore", said Flame and plonked Molly off his long curvy beak. "Thank you, for sparing my life, but who are you? Have you come from the
dry part of the world?" asked inquisitive Molly. "Oh yes, that tree you see? That's where I live" said Flame. Molly leapt in the water a bit to catch a glimpse of the tree and tired, she said "how do you live over there? my heart thumps loud if I am out of my water world, feels like I can never be a part of your dry world". Flame laughed at her questions and thought she was so silly. Self pride filled his chest and he puffed up his feathers to add some show.

But Molly gazed and gazed at that beautiful puffed feathered creature. "wow, he has such slender legs, and he can stand on one. I have none!! Such a beautiful beak, and those feathers??" Molly knew she was already in love. Questions poured from Molly again. "You are so beautiful, and you have a beautiful heart too, that's why you did not eat me. Will u be my friend Flame?"

Flame looked at Molly's eyes and knew there were more to her inquisitive eyes. He immediately nodded 'yes' with his viper like neck. They agreed on a pact that they'll see each other every morning at the same shallow spot of the lake and bade goodbye to each other.

Flame back at his tree, somehow could not keep his mind off the strange encounter with Molly. Whenever he closed his eyes to take a nap, the inquisitive eyes of Molly grew bigger and bigger in his mind. he woke up with a thought. The flashback played...molly's questions in slow motion, her thrashing of her tail on his cheek, her musty scent.He suddenly felt, that there is a captivating beauty in her, and with the flashback still playing, he fell asleep, knowing he is deeply in love with her.

Flame was waiting for morning desperately, and the minute it was bright enough, he sped to the lake. To his surprise, Molly was already waiting there for him. Love twinkled in both the pair of eyes. And while one pair of eyes was pairing with the other pair of eyes, they became an inseperable pair, deeply and hopelessly in love with each other.

Love did sustain, between the two completely seperate worlds. A dry world and a water world. One can't live in water and the other will die without it. But they deceived the nature, and made their love live. With each passing day, Molly thanked God for gifting her the most gorgeous, smart and wise man. While on the other hand, Flames folks were preparing to migrate to another place. His folks told him, that he should also join them for a better life. They told him that Molly was not wise as him, and that she was dark and ugly, and her folks were bad company like the Octopus, Jelly fish, sharks and whales. They said they were thugs, underworld people and not nice.

So Flame started wondering, if this is true, how could he marry her? how could he knowingly let a girl from such a world come into his world? And in the next couple of
days, he asked her to change, so that she can live with him. Flame did not want to let his love down, so he kept pushing her and fighting with her, demanding she changed her ways, change her lifestyle. He demanded that, she gets comfortable living in the dry world with him. Molly tried to turn her world upside down, to be able to be with her love of life, Flame.`She seperated with most of her folks and lived alone most of the time when Flame was not around. she had turned many of her friends to foes.

Molly could feel, that suddenly Love was all that she had, and she felt the strong power of her love. How could she leave behind everything for her one love? But there
was one thing she terribly failed in. No matter how much she popped her head out of water, trying to breathe in the air, she could not. She knew, she maybe able to change everything in her life, but not breathe the air in the dry world.

Flame was very unhappy about this fact, he was disheartened that she could not breathe the air in his world and he was convinced that he should not even try to breathe
in her water at any cost. Afterall loving her, was almost a lot he did for her. How could he lose all his pride, self esteem, how could he leave his world for Molly.
Did you know what is world even like? He can see all creatures become tiny, when he takes a high perch. Its like being God (not the creator God, but pretty much the overlooking God). No, no. Standing in water in one foot, that's about it. Trying to even peek into the water world is a shame for Flame, if its not for food. Its obviously out of the question.

Contained in his pride and honour, he decided to forget Molly and join his folks for the journey. He thought of the prospect of mingling with Pretty Pelican or Sally
Seagull. These girls were from his clan. They were wise, beautiful and can breathe in the dry world. Flame made up his mind, puffed his feathers and went to see Molly
for the last time and wish her luck for the rest of her life.

Flame muffled, 'Molly Mackarel, we have spent a lovely time together. But you see, we cannot live our lives together because you can never come out of water. I am leaving this place today at dusk and will fly off very far. I hope you take good care of yourself. Adios!!'

At this, Molly was taken aback. She tried very hard and never thought this will happen one day. With a smile she said 'Bon Voyage, Flame. You take good care of yourself too.' Her tears were invisible in the water, while Flame dashed off to his perch to take a nap and be ready by dusk to take off.

It was dusk, and time for Flame to go. Molly rest under the shallow water, right beneath the surface of the water, and she could see the moon blur frequently through the tiny ripples on the water. She was heart broken to know her Flame was gone. If only Flame flew to the shallow point to see her tomorrow morning...with this thought she waited for morning, but Flame did not come. She was sure now, that he really went away. She has to prove her love for him. She has to go out of her lake and look for him and tell him how much she loved him, how much she wanted him back. But how? Molly knew the only way she can do this was by leaving her world and sustaining in Flame's world. In the other instant, she leapt out of her water and found herself on the banks of the lake. She could not move, but hopelessly flapped her tail and opened her gills to try to breathe.But her hopeless trial turned out to be foolishness. She could feel her gills open wider and wider, but in vain. She could feel her heart slow down now and not trying anymore, she uttered...'If you only knew how much I loved you Flame'...and then she did not move ever again.

In the other corner of planet, where Flame had just settled in after a tiring journey, he wanted to relax and feel content with a tranquil heart, just how he felt in the mornings with Molly. He was greedy for more love now and that's why he could not resist Pretty Pelican's charm. For a while he forgot Molly and was happy with pretty Pelican. They touched the skies together, they looked at the tiny creatures from their perch together. This is a good life, this is how things are supposed to be. Flame felt really content now.

One day Flame took out Pretty Pelican to a lake for a nice sunny afternoon. After a nice talk, Pretty Pelican said, 'Flame, I am hungry. I'll go, get a fish for both of us to eat.'She dashed down and like a lightening came back with a fish thrashing her cheeks. Flame's mind filled with Molly's memories and he felt sad. He noticed the fish, it had stopped thrashing now and lay dead with big, black eyes wide open looking and cursing at Flame. He could not eat. He left Pretty Pelican and flew back to his home. Flame thought, 'What could Molly be doing? is she alive? The mackarel, Pretty Pelican caught, could that be Molly? With these questions in his mind, to which he did not have any answers, he never felt hungry again. Never again.

Days passed, but Flame was yet not hungry. Whenever he thought he should eat, he thought about Molly and could not eat. He became sick and weak and he knew that he was about to die but what else could he do? He could not eat anything at all. He felt like an old man now, hopelessly waiting for his death.

The next morning, a whiff of breeze with its damp scent blew and caressed Flame to wake him up and go fishing. But Flame slept and slept forever.

© 2013 preeti

Author's Note

Please comment on areas which need correction.

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Tirtha Pratim Bhattacha..

a neat piece of writing! well crafted debut piece... i think flame and molly are best fits as names of the characters u portrayed in the story context ... and i can think of an irony here.. the name fits well because though "flame" imparts light of hope and warmth of safety, touching it can burn u deep... someone melts or vaporize to turn that flame on... sorry a different context though... nice job btw...