Saturday, June 18, 2005
Once there was a woman, and a man, and they lived in a city by the sea. One day Allah Miyaan decided that since this couple wae so particularly nice He'd give them a present. So He went off to the room where He kept all his goodies, the things He liked making presents out of.'Hmm.' He said, tugging his beard, surveying the shelves. They were crammed with jars and bottles and tin boxes (the kind you got biscuits in when you were very small, where do you think they came from in the first place?), all kinds of shape and size and colour. Allah Miyaan perused the array, wrinkling His nose, squinting at labels.
'Blue eyes. Hm..no. Pink ribbon? Maybe.....ah, bubbling laughter, that'll do...mhm, generosity...oh, didn't know I had two jars of silliness, goody good.'
And so forth. But He didn't take a single jar off the shelves lining the walls, ceiling to floor. Something wasn't right....He needed inspiration. He rubbed His nose, and turned to look outside the window. Outside the window two butterflies were doing a little jig. Butterflies are by nature never alone, and are just tiny bits of show-offs. They like prancing about and flinging their prettiness about like pixie dust, but they aren't conceited in the least. They just enjoy being as drop-dead beautiful as they are with an endearing child-like glee. Tiaras, incidentally, were put into their inventor's head by a pair of scheming butterflies with way too much time on their wings. Anyhow, Allah Miyaan watched the butterflies giggle and whisper, hovering unsteadily in the soft light of early morn. He grinned, and began taking containers and jars off the shelves, and mixing up some magic in a big bowl of beaten gold.
It was afternoon when He gave the mixture in the bowl one last satisfied stir. He wiggled his fingers over it, and it began to swirl and glow and sing, faintly. It sounded like what is today known as the song 'Chitta Kukkar' but at that time only Allah Miyaan knew that. In many parts of the world they've still to make the discovery. Anyhow, the mixture was bubbling away nicely, and was beginning to waft the lightest scent of fresh-brewed Colombian coffee when it began to put together a small holographic image, shimmering like a butterfly over the beautiful purple goo in the bowl of beaten gold. Allah Miyaan's face creased into a pleased smile. He loved what He saw- loved it so much, in fact, that He decided to divide the magic mixture into two.
Back in the city by the sea, a doctor peered at a small screen, and all of a sudden the woman and the man heard three thuds- one soft and steady, and two smaller, faster ones, like the sound of small feet running barefoot over a marble floor. The doctor smiled.
'You're having twins.'
Twenty years ago to this day, two butterflies were born, and one of them flitted into my life. Happy Birthday, little one :) I love you!
Mina at 5:33 PM
