1.
The Hudson River's greatest feature was its extremely swift flow. Moreover, it had a remarkable ability to change with the seasons. During the winter, when heavy snowfall occurred, large slabs of ice could be seen floating in its cold waters. And in the summer? The sight of sunlight dancing on the water would fill the eyes of onlookers with joy.
The onlookers weren't just any ordinary beings. Among them were some of the world's most extraordinary creatures who were always a step ahead of the world.
Today, I must talk to you about two such beings. It’s only right to do so. After all, stories can't just be silenced. Just because Shakespeare is no longer with us, does that mean plays will stop being written? Premchand may have left the world, but Hori and Hamid aren't going anywhere.
So, we were talking about the banks of the Hudson. On these very banks, there was a very beautiful, small garden. Whether you looked at it from afar or up close, it was so stunning that it left onlookers in awe. Rare and exquisite species of flowers and trees were planted here.
In the middle of this garden was an incredible velvety field, walking on which made you feel as if the entire world was laid out beneath your feet.
What was this field? It was simply a feast for the eyes of those who beheld it.
When the sun rose in the sky, it would choose its most enchanting ray and cast it upon this field. When the moon appeared at night, it would first sprinkle a handful of moonlight on this garden before casting its gaze elsewhere. As for the stars, they were of no comparison; they would spend the whole night capturing images of this garden with their twinkling lights.
Oh dear, such beautiful things are meant to be admired. But let’s get back to our story. Everything in this world is transient; the only things that remain are stories, aren’t they?
But before we begin the tale, let’s just note that this small garden, though filled with fragrances and colors, was almost always devoid of visitors. As for humans, just understand that they never turned in this direction. As a result, the garden was nearly deserted, devoid of human voices or footsteps.
Human nature is peculiar. They sweat to turn barren land fertile, but when it comes to resting for a moment on earth that blooms with new flowers every day, they have no time.
But never mind, this story isn't about humans. It's about that beautiful garden, which was thriving in both appearance and essence. Flowers bloomed, and then they scattered. Time moved a step further. The world grew a few moments older.
Before this tale grows too old, let’s pay attention to it.
One early morning, Rocky's gaze fell upon that garden. Rocky was out for a morning walk along the banks of the Hudson River when he saw a butterfly hide behind a tree and slip into a thicket, a sanctuary where anyone could hide from the eyes of the world.
Rocky’s ears perked up. A sudden sparkle appeared in his eyes.
Rocky lived in a small cave not far from the Hudson River. The river flowed so swiftly that it was difficult to live near its banks. How long can anyone live near such a fast current? Sooner or later, exhaustion would cause them to lose focus, and at that moment, the waves would carry them away, only to deposit them who knows where.
One might wonder, why should Rocky be afraid of the water’s waves? After all, he’s an excellent swimmer! But as they say, even the bravest warriors fall in the battlefield.
Now, to continue our story and really capture your attention, it’s important that you get well acquainted with Mr. Rocky. You should know him thoroughly.
Rocky had been here for nearly two years. There’s no need to know where he came from to this picturesque shore of the Hudson River because he didn’t come from anywhere—he was born right here. Although, his parents didn’t live here.
As fate would have it, Rocky's mom once arrived here with a flock of birds. They stayed on a small, wild island for some time. It was there that she met Rocky’s father, who had come to escape a deadly cold with his bird friends from a distant seashore.
A few days after meeting, Rocky’s mom became pregnant. Slowly, a sweet heaviness began to grow in her pure white body. The birds began flying back to their respective homes. Rocky's mom started to miss her homeland as well. She had to return to her place with her flock as the cold set in.
So, one afternoon, near a watery cave, Rocky broke out of his eggshell and came into the world. His mom stayed for a while to care for him, but then she left, and Rocky remained here.
He remembers that it was his mom who taught him to fly for the first time at the edge of a cliff. And when she sensed that her son was no longer afraid of the vast waters of the mighty river, she decided to return to her homeland.
Thus, Rocky became a resident here, and the travelers returned to their homes.
How did Rocky get his name? There’s a small, interesting story behind that too. One day, while playing with his small bird friends nearby, they all decided that each of them would catch a small fish from the water and bring it to a nearby rock to enjoy eating together.
A whole bunch of small brown fish was swimming near the shore. The birds quickly flapped their wings, dived into the water, and caught their prey.
As they were enjoying their feast in the soft golden sunlight, Rocky suddenly remembered his mom. He wanted to tell his friends that it was his mom who first taught him how to catch fish at this very spot.
“Like this...like this...just press it with your claw, and it will go limp and be at your mercy,” he said. But as soon as he tried to grab the fish with his claw, it slipped out of his grasp.
All his friends burst out laughing, and then one little bird said, “You don’t know anything about water creatures, you’re just rocky!”
Rocky! And that’s how he got his name.
Rocky was sitting on the grass one morning, soaking up the sun. What else could he do? It was so cold. A few drops of rain had even fallen during the night. Water was nothing new for him; after all, he lived by the water's edge. But this water that fell from the sky had a different quality. It not only soaked the body but also cooled the surrounding air. As a result, the cold increased.
Just then, Rocky heard a sound. It was a voice just like his. He lifted his head and started looking around. A short distance away, he saw Aish approaching. Aish looked exactly like him. From a distance, seeing them together, anyone would think they were "a pair of swans."
Aish's story was no less interesting. Aish was born beneath a fragrant bush behind a tall building, under a Gulmohar tree. Her mother was also a migrant and had come to this place with her companions to escape the cold during the snow season on some distant sea shore.
Back then, it wasn't so cold here. Her mother would graze on insects in the grass and often visit a small puppy who came there daily.
One day, that little puppy somehow brought a big, fierce, shaggy dog from his building. The shaggy dog was the puppy's friend, so he wouldn’t do anything to harm the puppy’s companion. He had only come to play with her. But the young swan, seeing the fierce dog, suddenly got scared. She thought it might pounce on her. In fear, she ran and hid in a nearby bush.
By the time the puppy understood the situation, the migrant swan had already disappeared somewhere, hiding in the dark. The little puppy searched for her everywhere, called out to her several times, but she had hidden away in the darkness.
After waiting for a while, the puppy and the shaggy dog returned to their building. After all, it was time for them to eat as well.
Meanwhile, the darkness greatly comforted the foreign swan.
There, within the bush, another guest was resting. She was slowly backing away, scared of the shaggy dog, when she suddenly felt something tickle her wings. The darkness was deepening, but the touch on her wings was so pleasant that she couldn't move. She stood still.
After flying thousands of miles, the fatigue in her wings wouldn’t go away in just a week or two. There was always a sweet sensation throughout her entire body, not just in her wings.
The darkness, and the threat of the shaggy dog outside the bush, made her retreat further. She realized that it was a male of her own kind, playfully pecking at her wings, yet she remained still.
To be honest, the shaggy dog was just an excuse. Would he still be sitting there? He probably followed the puppy as soon as they left. But what could she do? The one hidden behind her in the dark was like a magnet, drawing her in. And, and, and, she was pulled back further.
Well, if she wasn’t moving away, why would he? After all, he was a male.
Barely a few moments had passed when he circled around to the front. Their beaks met. They stayed like that for a while, and then he fluttered and moved upwards.
This game continued for several days.
The mother duck, a migrant, spent many evenings in the fading darkness with her companion, that guest. But one day, she finally settled into the cold, bowl-shaped hollow in the thick grass. The guest, for a few days, sat at a distance, watching her now and then, and then moved away. The mother had a new task now—incubating her eggs. She was no longer idle.
Yes, her stomach had certainly emptied when two adorable, round eggs came out of her body and settled in that small hollow amidst the golden grass. After winter passed, when all the migratory birds began planning their return home, the mother duck had already taught Ash to swim. And when Ash began catching small insects with her little feet and bringing them to her mouth while swimming, the mother was convinced that her daughter no longer needed her. She began to miss her own homeland, and one day, she too took off into the sky with a large flock.
Well, when the father left after making the mother pregnant, and the mother also left after teaching Ash how to eat and play, who was it that finally named her Ash? That too has a story. But before hearing the story, one should know that when there were two eggs in the hollow, Ash must have had a sibling. So, where did the sibling go?
One day, an old man was sitting on a bench by the Hudson River, fishing. When he pulled a long string to bait the hook, a tiny duckling got caught in the string and was dragged along. Seeing this, the old man's mouth watered. He added the duckling to his basket along with the fish. Since then, Ash had been alone on the shore. She never saw her brother again.
Rocky had watched the entire scene from a distance. At that time, Ash was also pecking at dried seeds along with him under a sunflower plant. As soon as her brother was caught, she ran across the road towards the old man’s bench. But then, Rocky, panicking, called out to stop her. He kept shouting, "Ay... Ay!" But for the little girl running towards her brother’s life-and-death situation, Rocky's voice went unheard. She kept running, but it was all in vain. By the time she reached the old man, he had already locked her brother in the basket.
From a distance, Rocky's voice came—"Ash!"
And just like that, when she returned to Rocky, disappointed, he consoled her and started calling her Ash from that day onward. The two became friends.
"Rocky, tell me something? Why did that old man take my brother? What wrong did my brother do to him? He was just playing on the road," Ash asked Rocky.
"Well, he came to hunt. He was fishing, right? It wasn’t the fish’s fault either. But he needed something to satisfy his hunger. Your brother came in front of him. He got greedy. He caught him along with the fish."
"Oh! That’s not right?"
"Tell me something, you ran towards your brother without thinking. Even if you had reached there, what could you have done against that strong man? He would have caught you too."
"I would have pleaded with him. I would have told him to leave my brother, even if it meant taking me instead!"
"Don't be emotional, Ash! He would have taken both of you."
Ash looked at Rocky with sad eyes. Rocky explained to her, "Being sad won’t help. Besides, brothers and sisters can’t stay together for long. Come, let’s go to the waterfall."
"One thing's for sure, Aish," Rocky said while shaking his head under the waterfall, "no matter how much we swim in the water all day, the joy of bathing under a waterfall is something else." Aish nodded in agreement, but her face still reflected sadness. She said, "Come on, Rocky, let's close our eyes for a while and remember those fish and my brother, whom that old man took away to eat."
"What makes you think he took them to eat? It could also be that the old man is very poor and plans to sell your brother and the fish in the market to get food for his children," Rocky said.
"That's the same thing, isn't it? If he doesn't eat them, then the people who buy them will. That's for sure," Aish said with a sorrowful expression. Rocky couldn't bear to see her sad face. He moved his neck close to her face, nuzzled her, and gave her a kiss. Aish lowered her eyes.
"Alright, tell me something. What are we going to do now?" Rocky asked.
"What will you do?"
"That's what I'm asking you. Tell me, what are you going to do?"
After thinking for a moment, Aish said, "Isn't it time to eat? I got really hungry after bathing in the waterfall."
"But what will we eat?"
"Why, is there a famine? Come on, let's get out of these rocky areas, and we'll walk on the soft green grass in the field," Aish said.
"But what will we find to eat on the grass?"
"What are you talking about, Rocky? There are tons of insects, bugs, moths, mosquitoes, and fireflies. And it's not like there’s a shortage of worms or frogs!"
"Aish, do you know where all these small creatures come from? Who creates them?"
"How would I know?"
"My dear, innocent Aish, these don't grow on trees. Nor do they rain down from the sky."
"Really?"
"Of course! They have parents too. When they love each other, nature rewards them."
"Really?"
"Absolutely."
"What does nature reward them with?"
"Nature puts eggs in their bellies. When these eggs hatch, small babies come out."
"Are you sure?"
"Of course."
"I can't believe it!" Aish said casually.
Rocky smiled a little and said, "One day, I'll definitely make you believe it."
"Why not now?"
"Because you're too young right now."
"Go on, you're not that old yourself."
"Alright, let's stop arguing. First, let's find something to eat."
Walking along the rocky path under the waterfall, they hadn't gone far when they saw a snail trying to break through the soil. Rocky grabbed a piece of moss from a nearby bush with his beak and looked over. Aish pounced on the snail.
"Doesn't bathing make you really hungry, Rocky?" Aish said while munching on the snail.
Just then, Rocky suddenly disappeared. Aish began looking around for him.
"Where did he go? Rocky... oh, Rocky! Don't play tricks on me. Come out, where are you hiding?"
But Rocky was nowhere to be seen.
"Where did he go? He never jokes like this. I don't even know if he's eaten anything. Poor thing, I hope he hasn't gotten into any trouble," Aish started to worry.
Aish felt uneasy. She began searching around for him. She thought maybe that same hunter, the fisherman, had returned. The cruel old man. Oh, her brother's killer. She feared that he might have taken Rocky away.
Aish frantically looked around in fear.
Aish felt a bit frustrated when Rocky was nowhere to be seen. But she thought—no, she wouldn't cry. That's wrong. There’s nothing in life that deserves our tears when it’s gone. What did we bring with us? Whatever we got, we got it here, and we’ll get more.
Aish stretched slightly, and her body felt as if she had just had a service done at a service center.
She walked off alone.
She strolled along the riverbank for a long time. In the afternoon, she found a nearby bush and took a short nap. Today, she had tasted a small butterfly. It was a new flavor for her.
She was about to go towards the small fish, but then a butterfly landed on some moss on a nearby stone. Aish turned her neck and quickly lunged at it. The butterfly probably didn’t expect that even with a pile of fish in front of her, this swan would think of eating it. But does the world run on expectations? We all are prey to someone, after all.
Aish remembered that a few days ago, an old stranger had done the same. There were plenty of fish in front of him, yet he caught Aish's brother and put him in his basket. Well, today Aish took her revenge on behalf of her brother.
No, she shouldn’t think like that. The world cannot thrive on revenge. It needs sacrifice, it needs love.
Aish felt a sense of refreshment in this thought. She felt that she should seek love, that she should search for it. Isn’t there anything you can’t find if you search for it?
And then her mind started telling her that she should look for Rocky.
But she hesitated. She felt that Rocky was her friend, her companion. Is friendship and love the same thing?
She thought she should be brave. She should search for Rocky, whether he was just a friend or something more. He was hers. She had seen her brother captured and taken away in the old stranger’s deadly basket; he would not be alive anymore. But Rocky had disappeared right before her eyes. He must still be around. The rascal must have hidden somewhere just to tease Aish.
Just then, with a loud flapping of wings, Aish had to run towards the bushes. Suddenly, a big black dog appeared in front of her. But after hiding safely in the bushes, when Aish looked back at the dog, she burst out laughing. How cowardly she was, getting scared for no reason. The dog wasn’t there to attack her! The poor thing was just following that shaggy yellow dog, wagging his tail.
Aish fell into thought. If they were friends, why weren’t they walking together? The yellow dog was ahead, and the black dog was trailing behind!
Well, her doubt was unnecessary. The dog stopped. Not only that, but she turned around to look at the black dog’s face. But look at this dog, the fool! He had been following her all this time, and now when she finally stopped, he wasn’t talking to her. He kept circling back to stand behind her. They spun around like this twice. The poor dog kept bringing her face close to his, trying to talk to him, and this gentleman kept circling back to stand behind her again.
What’s bothering him? This time, the dog got even closer, as if to ask what’s wrong. But he stayed in his own world, circling back behind her again.
Is there a fly sitting on the yellow dog’s tail? Is that what this dog is trying to pounce on? Look at him—how he sticks out his tongue and moves forward. But it’s a fly, after all. It wouldn’t be caught so easily! It must have flown away somewhere! And he’s just standing there, sniffing the air.
Now, anger was inevitable. He followed her all the way here, away from the world, and now she wouldn't let him have his way? How could that be?
The black dog, without a second thought, lifted both his paws and placed them on her back!
Aish thought, this dog is just like her. Trying to take out his frustration over the fly on the poor yellow dog.
Aish had done the same by taking her revenge on the butterfly.
But the dog didn't panic; she stood her ground!
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