It was dark & dinghy in the stone walled room. I sat there chained. The heavy chain bore me down as it went over my shoulders, criss-crossing at my chest and pinning down my hands and legs. It would be impossible to free myself. All day I sit there, sometimes looking up at the small window. My source of light. As I see the light, I know that it is she, who has kept me going. Looking at the light, I wonder what is beyond those dark walls.

Like everyday, I muse over my life. I had been a good son. Any parent would be proud of me. So were mine. Always seeking their advice and correctly following their guidelines. As the years went by I climbed on their expectations & aspirations. I don’t know if I reached the peaks they had expected of me. But, I sure did give it honest try. Very soon it was time for me to earn for my family. I got into the grind of earning for a living and accumulating as much for a secure future. My parents agreed on a nice homely girl for me. I hope, I have been a caring husband. She adjusted with my zest for accumulating, diluting her needs.  Then the children arrived. As they held my finger in their little hands, I felt a fierce protective urge towards them. It translated into an urge to accumulate for their future. As I cross the cornerstone of mid-life, I look back. I see unfulfilled dreams of my family. I see their aspirations, kicked aside by me, at every milestone behind. In my quest to accumulate, I see I have accumulated wealth but paid a very heavy price for it. I want to break free, live their dreams and mine. But I find myself chained, unable to dare to think afresh. I wait for a miracle to free me from the surly bonds.

What was that? Chirping… I look upwards towards the window. A little sparrow trying to stirrup a fight with the iron bars of the window. I look up mesmerized by the gay abandon of her flutter. Suddenly the sparrow stops fluttering and sits on the window. She peeks inside. Her gaze searches the dark underbelly of the room. She can see me now. With her little eyes she looks at me wondering how I can be in this room when the world outside is so inviting and beautiful. Her gaze pierces my soul. Can her gaze instill her spirit in my soul. Suddenly she flutters around the iron bars. She gives me another  piercing gaze before flying off. I am fiercely dejected. I want to see the sparrow. I want to see it fly over the landscape. I try to reach the window. To see the sparrow. To see the beautiful world outside. I want to be the sparrow.

The chain locks are cracking up. Unable to withstand the resurgent spirit.  I am free to live my dreams and those of my family.