The Tale of the Chain

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The sun came down with an eerie silence. As darkness descended, the forest echoed with the breath of all beasts. It is now the middle of the night. A hawk sat on a timber branch scanning for its prey, the tiny mouse. It’s very peculiar, how he functions, the hawk, though he can look all around, he fixates on the tiny mouse. There could be a purple rabbit (if it exists that is) on his other side, but he would be a rigid, unwavering statue, with eyes that are piercing and yet blinded from the rest of the world. 

The hawk is ready to begin his hunt. He likes to rest for the first half of the night before the big hunt, letting his victims believe in his inaction before striking. The moon shines over him glistening in the darkness. He waits for it to reach the pinnacle and gazes into the mountain. There is the occasional chirp of a cricket or a grasshopper other than which the night is engulfed in the eerie silence. The night is still young and he waits patiently. Usually he would screech on occasion but today he is engulfed in the beauty of the night. Today seemed different. 

As he sits there waiting for the night to vane, his mind travels to the beautiful she-hawk he saw today. She was unlike any other Hawk he had ever seen. She had also looked at him unwaveringly and he wondered when he would see her again. The moon reached the pinnacle. 

His moment had come. He dabbles between the rat in the alahomaro bush and the squirrel’s burrow in the Pine a few yards away. The rat is restless and moves around every few minutes. But the squirrel is asleep and there would be babies too. Baby squirrels are the most delicious! It isn’t really a difficult choice. But the rat is one single swoop, the squirrel’s burrow could take time. 

He gets ready, one motion parallax before the final swoop. There seem to be no other predators and the victim is completely unaware. Then he makes the much awaited move, a single, long, glide. Gorgeous to the eye, but daunting to the tiny rodents. He moves unperturbed, keeping the silence of the night intact. One quiet wave of the wing and he has reached the prey. There is no sign of his success except for a faint squeak. A squeak of an infant’s throat, still learning to make a cry. 

*****

“Psstch” cursed the Shikari, as his foot landed on the fresh animal dung. Now he had to redirect his steps towards the lake instead of searching his prey. In the darkness, with nothing but a small headlight, the hunter walks in the lake’s direction. It was a pournami night but the moon’s light wouldn’t suffice to avoid the rattlesnakes. He has to find a wild pig or even a lonesome deer would do. His stomach grumbled with hunger, having not eaten anything in the past day.

He had spent the day hunting for birds, but somehow he kept missing the shot. Quite unusual, but he was accustomed to having a bad game once in a while. He had to find something today, the need was urgent. Back at home, his family was waiting patiently for his arrival. The children had asked for a pigeon, if he managed to find something larger he could sell a major part of the plunder for money. 

Money, the idea of the few coins inspired a briskness to his steps. It would be good to have the moneylender off his back for a while. The master’s men had threatened to take off his bicycle in exchange for the money. The family had enough hardships even with the bicycle, walking extra miles would only kill them faster. With these thoughts spiraling his mind, the hunter reached the lake. It was a beautiful sight…

The clear water glistened in the moonlight and bounced off the little frog’s rubber skin. It sat croaking in the lake’s middle, on a lotus leaf. The scene was quite poetic. But our Shikari had no time for Shayari, for life’s commitments were the only Art that he was destined to appreciate. Washing his legs hurriedly and taking a sip of the water, the hunter paused for a minute and sighed at the sight. 

He then quickly got to his feet and began his hunt. The hunter knew the forest regions well; he took his usual trial leading to the grasslands. There were thick trees before the grassland began, which would help his camouflage. He walked hurriedly and on reaching the edge became more discreet. 

Gazing ahead, he saw a wild pig making its way up the slope, it was the last of the herd and they were moving away. If it reached the other side, Shikari would lose shooting range. He hurriedly took aim and pressed the trigger. It should have followed by the swift sound of a bullet and seconds later a whimper…but neither happened. “Dammit, it’s jammed!” As he struggled with his gun, the wild pig reached the other side safely, unaware of its brush with death. 

Disappointed, the Shikari looked up at the sky, it was way past midnight. This meant that he had to settle for a smaller game. It would take early morning to reach the deer and he also had to get back home. Frowning, he began scanning the grass for rabbits or hares. It was extremely difficult to hunt them at night, they were swift and a missed bullet often alerted other potential prey. 

As his stomach gurgled and sorrow filled his heart, the hunter reached a clearing. There were lot of bushes and a single tree – perched on it was a Hawk. Majestic and quite large, pecking at the bones of its recent catch. The Shikari considered, “We could definitely pass this off as pigeon meat, the children will not know the difference.” A quick decision and a shot unmissed. Because this time a lot more was at stake. 

The hunter walked triumphantly to the tree and picked up his trophy. The Hawk’s dead eyes shone yellow in the darkness. He sat down to skin his first game of the day…

It was almost dawn when the Shikari finally reached home. He had enough to feed the family and could sell the rest for two coins. He could bargain with the moneylender for some more time with this payment. Though exhausted, he was glad to have finally found a way to fill his children’s bellies. He walked to his hut with satisfaction, little did he know that it would burst soon enough. 

When the hunter reached home, he saw the moneylender’s men already waiting for him. Apparently, today marked the one year delay since he had gotten the debt and it meant it was either his bicycle or the money. Only he didn’t have any coins at the time. The men proceeded to take his bicycle, but he pleaded for time till the evening. The men seemed to think that it would be alright and left with a warning. As the hunter heaved a sigh of relief, one of the men noticed the skinned meat in his hand. He plucked it from his hands, saying it was an advance. 

“Sir please, my children have not eaten anything since yesterday, don’t starve us” pleaded the hunter. He got a slap across the face as a response, and with a searing pain he walked inside, his youngest son was wailing…

*****

It was an auspicious day, the moneylender’s daughter, Rukmini sat in the puja room. She had raised at 4 am, bathed and began offering prayers, continuing her past day’s fast. She had abstained from meat for the fortnight and was going to end it today. Rukmini was a very pious girl for her age. When others immersed themselves in other things, she found salvation with the gods. 

She sat steadfastly, eyes closed for the rest of the morning. Meanwhile, the house cook was preparing a grand meal for the young mistress. The men had brought pigeon meat from the Shikari who lived at the town’s edge. Rukmini liked pigeon more than other meat and it was fortunate that they had got the very same.

At noon, Ruku finished her prayers and opened her eyes. Overjoyed at completing the fast uninterrupted, she went to eat her first meal of the day. The cook served rice and curry talking something about a gift from the Shikari. The food tasted fantastic and seemed to increase her joy. 

“Ask him to bring back the money, and not send gifts instead” barked her father. Rukmini’s mind was far away, she had not seen her pet squirrel over the past few days. He would show up at the tree every day for her nuts. Ruku had missed the past two days, as she was tired from the fasting. She ate the rest of the food and left the table silently.

Discreetly running into the kitchen, she picked up a few cashews, badams and headed to the tree. “Chch, chch” she called. At the sound, a tiny head appeared on the branch. He was there waiting… Overjoyed, Rukmini called him showing the nuts. The squirrel jumped into her hand and began crunching the nuts. She let him eat and absentmindedly stroked his fur. The tiny squirrel’s fur…