On 8th January, there were way too many leaves in one of the potted plants in my balcony. Trees are shedding leaves and there is overall a lot of dust nowadays but it was unusual to see the leaves. Still, I didn’t think much of it, removed the leaves and watered the plant. The next day there was an egg there. The pigeon flew away on seeing me. It was unexpected but exciting. I did lament that the plant would die as I wouldn’t be able to water it now but watching a pigeon baby come to life was really something to look forward to.
We put a small dia in the pot with jwar for her to feed on. Five days passed and there was another egg. It was getting more exciting now. The pigeon flew away whenever we came close so we started keeping our door closed; we just disturbed her to refill the dia. A tragic thing though was that it flew away only at the sight of me and my Mom, two people who cared for her the most. My dad got away with even kneeling on the balcony railing just above the same pot. Even our bai’s sweeping and cleaning the balcony floor did not scare her in any which way.
I wondered, when would they hatch and little pigeon babies would inherit the nest. 26th January, my birthday, a squab was finally out. There was also a small hole in the other egg. My happiness knew no boundaries. I took some pictures. The squab was small, with very features, a tiny wing, and closed eyes. The other egg hatched the very next day; another sweet little baby filled the nest. They both had closed eyes and the pigeon sat on them the whole day to keep them warm. When she left, they huddled close to each other for warmth. Sometimes they played with each other with their beaks or stretched their little wings a bit. The first one, who hatched on 26th particularly loves the dia, he just tries to sit in it whenever their parent flies away.
It’s hardly been a week since they hatched and are yet to see this world as their eyes are still closed. Yesterday the most terrible and sad thing happened! The pigeon fed them and flew away for a while. The pigeon babies were in a playful mood, and out of the blue a hawk came and snatched one of them away. We were all taken by surprise, it happened in front of us and yet we could do nothing. It sat on the tree opposite our house and ended that tiny life. The pigeon did not to return for the longest time while the tiny squab now alone, continued to shiver in cold and fear. The pigeon finally returned at nightfall. We all are heartbroken at this cruel twist of fate.
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