The migratory birds.

In the early morning, Robin woke up and for some time he could not realize where he was. Everything around him was completely unknown and he thought that he had lost his home and his known world. He sat on the bed and tried to reconcile everything that happened before he went to bed. Slowly he could realize that he left his known hometown forever and came to the city with his wife to reside permanently in a rented apartment just beside the apartment of his son. Oh not with my son but next to his apartment-Robin shook his head.
-It’s a new life; we have to start afresh-Robin murmured.
-Why are you disturbing my sleep? His wife Maya grumbled.
– No, actually I at first when opened my eyes everything seemed new to me. I could not get the very known room and the attached bath, the dressing table, I mean everything I was so far habituated to see whenever I opened my eyes after the whole night’s sleeping -Robin tried to justify his behaviour.
-Try to sleep again or just lie down. You have not to go out in curiosity. It’s a new place mind that, not your home town.-Maya turned on the other side of the bed.

Robin stood stealthily and opened the door of the adjacent balcony very carefully so that no sound disturbs the early morning’s pleasant sleeping of Maya. Robin now feels scared. He cannot walk freely. He has to use a stick as his support. After the sudden cerebral attack, he has to depend on others for everything that is required to carry on everyday’s life. Sometimes his problems aggravate so immensely that he cannot step even a yard. His wife never let him go out on foot as there was the incident that he fell down on the road even with the support of the stick. Robin feels very helpless when his wife becomes sick. She does not like to disturb others and does shopping or marketing alone even when she is sick. Robin has to keep himself pent up in the room. He himself once told his son the situation. As a result of that, he has to come to the complex of the city where his son has purchased an apartment. But to keep his own identity Robin took an apartment on rent. He never likes to disturb the family of his son. Because he always remembers the sayings of Kahlil Gibran, the great poet of Lebanon-“Your children are not your children, they are the sons and daughter of life’s longing for itself. They come through you but not from you and though they are with you, they do not belong to you.”

Robin was thinking how the sudden change of his usual life took a great turn. He told his son that he would bear the cost of everything but for his support to his mother he has to take some care whenever it is required. He was thinking about this sudden change at the end of his life. He was thinking of the neighbours and all where he passed the major part of his life, he could visualize the house and it’s nearby tiny tea stall, the boy who used to serve tea, the owner who used to open the stall in the very early morning and continue till late night. The stationery shop – its regular purchasers who used to gather every day for their daily needs and some others who just gathered there on the way of returning home from their daily works, everyone and everything he could remember in details. He himself became astonished how these most negligible things too stored in his mind. Tears rolled down from his cheek. Robin stealthily sobbed for a while.

A week has already been passed. Robin was looking around sitting on the bench of the park within the housing complex. It is a city within a city. There are so many apartments and roads, parks; playgrounds for cricket, football and tennis court, badminton court, shopping malls ATM counters everything. Suddenly a silver-haired man with a very gentle look and smiling face appeared.

-Good morning. I’m Roy. Newcomer or as a guest?

Robin shook his hand warmly. Oh at last someone has come to talk with me-he became happy to have a talk with someone.
-Yes, Newcomer. My son has an apartment here but I’m as a tenant in Block D.
– Migrated?
Robin nodded
-I’m too. But don’t lament, you have to adjust with the present situation for survival. Mr Roy laughed.
-You are the first guy who came to talk to me. Everyone is busy here. Robin commented.
-No, No. I’m not busy and some others are here like me who aren’t busy. I noticed you for a few days. You every day come alone and sit here for some time. You may come every Saturday and Sunday evening. We some naughty guys meet there, he pointed at the north end of the tennis court. We have formed a club where all the migrated birds meet. You are n’t the only person who is facing the problem of migration. At the very end of life when men are forced to uproot himself from his known world, everyone becomes depressed and faces mental problems. They usually become prey to many mental diseases like depression, the swing of moods, boredoms and many others. But what is the quickest way to get rid of these? – Mr Roy asked him. But Robin does not know what to reply. He has been encountering the problem of loneliness for a week. He feels himself a fish out of the water.

You have to find out what you can do to get out of the problems of migration- Mr Roy continued. You may come to our club or if you are not an atheist you may go to temple, churches according to your belief. If you like you may join the chess club or card club; you may go to the library. Here the library has a good collection of books. You may go to the multiplex if you are interested, you may be a member of the cine-club. There are many guys who have good knowledge and love for movies. You may join the debate club. Everything is arranged here so that you may make a choice. The complex keeps everything. You just have to pick up according to your choice. If you like you may go to the yoga centre for meditation or to practice yoga. Don’t brood over the past. Don’t spoil your time by lamenting. There are many things to build up again. Because you have to see many mornings from tomorrow. Don’t make the next days dull and cloudy. Hope for the best. I will meet you tomorrow. You are not alone, many migratory birds are around you here. Robin looked at the eyes of Mr Roy. He found a very warm and sincere look sparkling in the eyes of Mr Roy.