Alina was a simple girl who loved to read books in solitude, and watch movies with her siblings. Being a final year student in university, the girl was very busy in her classes and projects. In such a busy stage of her life, she decided to make her life easy by learning how to drive and not bother anyone to pick and drop her from places.

But that did not mean that she did not walk a lot. Her university was huge, with multiple floors and students had to go up and down all day to attend different classes. Besides, the student society related errands, final year project and what not, it was a tough time for Alina and her fellow batch-mates. In the midst of the final year chaos, she realised how her daily-wear shoes had worn out. So the next day, on her way back from university, she went to the market to get herself a fresh new pair of low-priced sneakers.

It was on her way back that she saw an unusual sighting by the fence of her apartment’s garden. The thing was furry and fluffy. With the shoebox in her hand, she got closer to it and then she came to know that it was nothing other than a hawk. But it was severely injured and by the rough look of the poor bird, it had an injury on its wing.

Alina had never had a pet, nor was she an animal lover, but the moment that she saw the poor fellow, she knew that she had to save it, no matter what. She immediately called her friend who happened to have a parrot at home. From her, Alina got the address of the vet and, surprisingly, the vet’s venue wasn’t far from her place. The only problem was: how to carry the fairly large bird.

She thought and thought, until an idea came to her mind. She rushed towards her car and pulled the shoes out the box. She places the shoes in the backseat of her car and took the empty box towards the injured bird. She used the shopping bag from the shoe store to pick up the bird and placed it inside her shoe box. And within 10 minutes, she reached the vet’s hospital. She took the box out of her car and asked the staff to immediately treat the hawk.

After an hour or so, the vet told Alina that the hawk is fine now, but it would take a few days for the bird to heal itself. The vet asked her if she would be taking the bird back home or leaving it there.

Alina replied, “I would like to look after the bird until it heals fully.”

The vet nodded and wrote the appropriate medicines for the poor hawk. The girl had no idea how she would be able to look after it, but there was one great quality in her that made her overcome almost any hurdle. It was determination.

So she got the medicines and took the bird home with her, which gave a bit of shock to her family members, but eventually, they became fine with keeping the bird in their apartment’s balcony until it healed fully. The balcony was fully covered with diamond shaped metal bars, with only one particular window that stayed locked most of the times. The window enabled people to see clearly outside without the deflection of bars and even lean on it while they enjoy stargazing.

Alina then arranged two small clay pots, for the little fellow’s food and water. She did not leave the balcony until she was completely satisfied with the arrangements made for her temporary guest.

On the second day of the bird’s stay at her home, Alina decided to give the bird a name. But the problem was, she didn’t know the gender of the hawk. Then an idea clicked in her mind. She rushed towards her backpack and got the prescription out of her bag. It was there that she found out that the bird was a female. After brainstorming for a while, she smiled at the bird and caressed the bird’s head from the tip of her finger.

“Little fella, as long as you are here with me, I will call you Merida,” Alina spoke softly.

Though weak, Merida leaned her head a little towards the shoe girl’s finger, making her smile more. Alina then said “You really are the cutest and the bravest bird I have ever met, now aren’t you?”

Alina saw Merida in a pained state, not because the bird was hurt, but because she was not able to fly; something that was against her nature. She felt sorry for her and promised herself that she would protect the little munchkin at all costs and nurse it back to health to be able to fly again quickly.

A span of three weeks passed with Alina paying the bird periodic visits throughout the day, caring for her, feeding her, spending time with her and often reading besides the company of Merida. Alina had grown quite fond of the young hawk. She also noticed how her time and care really helped Merida heal. Alina was really happy and proud of herself. But her happiness didn’t last long as she realised that the time to say goodbye to the bird was drawing near, and there was nothing she could do about it.

The day when she was sure that Merida had healed completely, she spent a fair amount of time with the bird for before setting it free. Alina tried her best to stay strong, letting a few drops of crystal-like tears out as she unlocked her balcony’s window. She knew that as soon as she did what she did, Merida would flap her wings and fly out of Alina’s reach. But the bird did not leave.

A spark of hope was seen in Alina’s eyes as she watched how the bird stood still for so long, not flapping her wings at all. She started to think that maybe the bird decided to stay, but she wasn’t so sure about her deduction. So with an undetermined outcome, she kept the window open, petted Merida on her head and went to sleep in her room, not knowing what the morning would bring; but she continually prayed for the bird to stay.

Morning came and the first thing that Alina did when she woke up was to go into the balcony and see if her prayer really worked or not. Her heart shattered like a delicate glass as she was welcomed by an empty balcony; with no sight of Merida. But she told herself that she had no right to be sad about it as the bird was not anybody’s to capture, but a free, beautiful living creature. She went to her university that morning and tried her best to focus on her classes.

Alina hadn’t locked her balcony’s window yet, because she wanted to keep it open as a way to remember Merida. She was slowly getting used to being without her temporary pet, wishing at all times for the bird to be well and healthy. Three days had passed since Merida flew away to live her normal life, and Alina had been missing the bird all the while.

That evening, with a heavy heart, Alina picked up the clay pots stored in her balcony, as well as the now-empty shoebox she had placed Merida in. After placing the stuff inside her home, Alina walked towards her balcony with the padlock that she uses to lock the balcony’s window with. As she was opening the door, she was met with a shockingly fluffy sight, resting its claws on the ground; the very same spot Merida stayed at. Alina couldn’t believe her eyes as she cried with joy and crouched towards Merida. Both seemed very content to meet again.

Ever since that evening Merida paid multiple visits to the balcony to meet her human friend, just the way Alina did when she was injured. And for the next 20 years, Merida would meet Alina every single day as she wasn’t a pet to the human, but a lifelong friend; someone who remained loyal to her pal until her last breath.

Published in Dawn, Young World, December 26th, 2020