There once was a fisherman who would go out every morning at dawn to go fishing. In the beautiful land of Kerala men would get far and yet no where at all. Morning was the best time to grab fish from their homes and families so they could then be sent to the market at noon and then to the home of human families to be eaten for dinner. This was the life, day in day out.
The sun would shine like seven fiery demons sent from the depths of hell at midday. That is why the fisherman had to get up early at the break of the day. In the earliest moments of the day he saw both heaven and earth meet. He saw the clouds smile as they mingled with the youthful streams of daylight. Only during the morning were the clouds greedy. They would try to cover the sun as much as they could, only letting just a little light seep through their masses.
'Let this be,' thought the fisherman. He was okay with this because he knew that the clouds knew that most of those on earth were not even up at all. When the beings of earth were up all they craved was the sun. They could not survive without the sun and they cried when could not see the sun. So the clouds, although they wished to have the sun for themselves, would make way for the people to see the sun during the later hours of the day. Nevertheless, they would cry some days for the sun as well. During those days the clouds would run to the sun and cover him up because he too is the only thing that can comfort them like how he comforts the animals on the earth.
The fish were quite chipper that day. They were jumping out of the water and flipping their tales exquisitely. The fisherman wondered why. Then he saw them. They were the graceful horses of the sea. Dolphins. They too were having fun, jumping up and down, across the surface of the ocean. Maybe they too wanted to see the sun in the sky that morning. The fisherman then realized that the fish probably were not very happy at all. Instead they might have been very reluctant to see the water beasts. The fisherman also pondered about his own feelings about seeing the dolphins. On one hand, they were beautiful beings that wild and rare. They were the symbol of freedom, with the liberty to swim across the entire world. One the other hand they were eating his fish. How could they do such a thing. This was his fishing spot, he was here before them. However, he supposed that they beat him to it this morning.
'You dolphins,' he called out to them. 'You think you are so clever? You're just lucky that here in Kerala, I do not know many that eat your kind.' There were some people who did eat dolphins, but the fisherman thought that for him that was too weird. Dolphins were not like other fish, who were dumb and boring. They were mammals, each with a unique personalities, like humans. If were were to eat them, then we would only be a few steps from eating each other, thought the fisherman.
So the fisherman caught a batch of fish, although not as plentiful as his usual batch. And he sailed back to dock to go to the market.
The market was also filled with thieving animals. Some men would only give such a low rate on the fish, even though they ate it like pigs, even though they loved fish more than their wives. Kerala was big on fish. Even Hindus, like the fisherman, ate fish. One could not be true Kerala man if he did not like fish curry. Their wives would got to the market to buy the spices for fish curry, not just for the month, but for the year. Men would report their wives to the police if they did not have fish curry ready for him by the time he got home for the day. The fisherman lived in a strange state.
The fisherman went to his usual place and bargained with a fair Christian Malayalee. The man was always saying that he would give a higher rate if the fisherman converted to Christianity. But everyday the fisherman said that we must hold fast to the faith of our parents for they are the closest thing we have to God, since they took care of us children during the prime of their lives and they sacrificed everything for us even though we could give nothing in return. Every day the Christian man would agree and say God hears all prayers, whether they were addressed to him or not, and that he would pray for a safe journey everyday for the fisherman. The fisherman would then return the favor and say that he would pray for the man as well. They were friends after all.
With that the fisherman would walk around the town looking at what he could buy for his son. He only had a son. His mother died when he was young. Perhaps he should buy his son a ball to play or a notebook to study. Then he saw it. A shirt with a sun, the ocean, and a dolphin jumping out of it. God never made coincidences without little thought. Everything was a sign. And only if we're close to God could we read these signs. So the man bought the shirt and waited for his son to come back from school to show him.
His son returned, and like usual they both told each other about their days. His son told him about how they were learning English and how it was so strange. Nothing like Malayalam. The fisherman said that to a English speaking boy, Malayalam was probably just as strange. His son, still young, was shocked at the concept. 'I've never thought about that, Appa,' the boy said. The fisherman then told the boy his story. The little boy was impressed as his father told him about the dolphins. This only made the present the father had for the son even more delightful.
'I will wear this everyday, Appa," said the boy.
'You cannot my boy, it will get dirty. Plus, you must wear your uniform to school,' said the Father.
'But, Appa, it reminds me of you. I want to wear it always to always have you with me,' said the boy.
' My son,' said the father. 'If ever you wish to think of me, just look at the clouds. You are my sun and I only have you for myself during a few moments of the day. I keep you away greedily away from the world, during those moments because you are my light. But I cannot keep you always with me because I know that you have many places to go and other people and animals to help. Your light will also be needed elsewhere as well. Because you give light to this world.'
The boy cried and hugged his father. Together they then prepared dinner and prayed. Then the fisherman put his son to sleep and prepared for the next day. Then he too went to bed.
No comments:
Post a Comment