the sparrow didn't know what had gone wrong? all was fine a few moments ago and it was not that the world had come to an end suddenly, but the birds whom the sparrow considered close, suddenly began showing their true colours. the sparrow was distraught. it had always been nice to its fellow birds, helping them whenever they chirped for it, ensuring they got the best nests built and even made sure that the worms they ate were fine and tasty. the rate at which the sparrow lost birds it could call friends was alarming and the sudden vacuum they created was tough to handle. the sparrow was left alone. not only in the physical world but also emotionally and mentally. it was left alone to fly the daily path and walk down the road alone. at every pebble, it remembered the gaiety that once existed and the bond it shared with the fellow birds. could they actually be called friends, thought the sparrow. these definitional thoughts were always futile, knowing well that a mere word or two won't bring back lost friends. the sparrow walked further down the bylane. it realised that there was a pattern to these friendly departures. it now struck the poor little sparrow that these friend-birds were its latest accomplices. it had so happened that at certain points in time, given the prevailing circumstances, these new entities had become very close to the sparrow. so much so that, even the sparrow had wondered as to how stranger birds could become such good friends so soon. they had become friends and had now ceased to be one at the same speed and with the same velocity, although equal and opposite. as the sparrow hopped to further introspections, the road led to a small curve. the sparrow decided to take the bend rather than fly to some other lane. with every hop, skip or jump, more realisations flew in. it seemed like, these were waiting to be unveiled, simply bidding their time, maybe for the sparrow's solitary attention. the birds whom the sparrow had given its time whenever they needed it had moved to greener pastures or rather greener fields where they would get better worms to feed themselves with. but then why had they moved away? maybe they took the sparrow for granted? or was it the other way round? either of them could have felt that where will the other bird go - it has to come to me only for friendship! but that was not to be the case with the little sparrow. friends it had. loads and loads. but it was in search of the perfect friendly birds, birds whom it could trust with the deepest secrets of the bird-world and with whom it would have an assurance of being always there, not for any material gains but for the sheer magic, that is friendship. just as the other birds moved away, the sparrow tried making new friends on the new road it was traversing. the same incidents and similar conditions emerged and once again it made friends in much the same way that it earlier had. but this time the sparrow was scared and apprehensive. it was bitten not only once but many times, and hence was shy to go all out to make the new birds its friends! slowly the sparrow came out of its shell. friends it did make, but it is now left for the forthcoming harvest season to judge whether the new birds also prove to be like the earlier ones. not friends but teachers!
