Page 111 - Musings 2021

It seemed that the two sources of noise were at war. For the time being, it appeared as if the
dogs had won, as the barks continued but the cutting noise stopped. Distracted by the
commotion, the market vendors and the police appeared near the excavator. The man who
would pluck the coconuts from seemed to be talking to the people cutting the wood, and the
police in a furious manner. He was yelling and screaming for some reason, it appeared to me
as if he was distraught by the fact that they were cutting down the trees. However, the poor
man was going to lose the battle. Our names had been called, and it was time to be executed.
No amount of dog protest or vendor protest was going to stop the orders from some politician
seated in a comfortable office far away from here.

Soon, the children playing in their school maidan were curious about the source of the noise.
The children along with their parents and teachers gathered around the area to see what was
going on. And soon understood what was about to happen. The crowd grew. There were more
humans crowding the area. And soon there was an uproar. A crazy man was hugging the tree
that was about to be cut, and soon, all the other humans, just like sheep, followed suit. The
ungrateful little girl was the first to hug me, it wasn't a hug that made me feel honored, but a
hug that made me feel protected. Then, there was the second hug and the third hug, and so
many more. My time hadn’t come till then. Soon, the matter was resolved, and the politician,
fearing the negative sentiments, called off the order.

It has been a while since the incident happened. I had written off the situation as something
miserable, but after so long I had learned something new. Today, I am sure I received about

100 smiles, some of them came from the vegetable market customers. The water must have

been sweet. After all, I am a tree.

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