I made a new friend. Or that is how I say it now that he made himself feel at home at my place without bothering to ask for my permission. When I moved to Cville, I got loads of boxes along with me which I decided to keep for future use. When my small closet spaces simply refused to accommodate the rusty and disfigured junk I thought it best to let the boxes reside, one with nature in the peaceful quiet of the balcony. Just to make it more aesthetic, I placed them behind a couple brass vases on the balcony (an impulse buy that was struggling for recognition inside the house for long). At that time I did not know I was soon going to have a visitor who had a different perspective on the junk.
One summer night when I was alone in the house, I heard constant rustling and rumbling noises from the back of our house. With my fingers fixated on the “9” and “1” keys of my cell-phone, I spent the night with much unease, hoping it would only be the breeze. With the first sign of light however, my character underwent a total transformation. From Timidy Timidson in the night, I became the Sherlock Holmes by the day. Its generally otherwise for the superheroes. Isn’t it funny how light can change our character? Donning my sleuth hat when I walked up to the balcony, here is what I saw.
Instead of the boxes there were only shredded and tattered remnants of the cardboard. The poor vases were lying flat on the floor rolling slowly with the wind. Before my now-detective mind began to tie the loose ends of the story, I found myself being examined by the dark shiny eyes of a small furry creature from behind one of the shredded pieces. Its bushy tail was rolled up into a question mark; the face- alert and expectant. There was a small speck of paper stuck over one of its eyes making it look like a pirate who had just robbed a ship. While I stared at it, it stared back, still like a corpse. It was a squirrel alright but a bold one.
There was only one give-away to this bold mischievous avatar who was looking at me eye to eye- its pulsating heartbeat while one of its arms folded across its chest. I really dint know what that meant. Was it feeling so scared that it thought its heart would come out? Or was it conveying its heartfelt gratitude to me in advance so that I forgive and forget its misdemeanor and allow it to continue to stay in its newly found home. It was a long moment but its innocent and earnest appeal was enough to sway my heart. I gave into its desire to stay.
From then on we’ve become friends. Every time I come back from school, first thing I rush to my balcony to take a peek if it’s there. More often than not it is. And believe me it’s not out of love. It’s normally sitting there with eager eyes wondering if it’s that time of the day it will get a peanut or two to crush and swallow. It’s funny how it knows how to grab attention. One day I found it lying flat on its belly, all fours and tail on the ground as well, While it was soothing itself in the staggering heat of the afternoon, I was worrying if it had fainted or even died. The other day it advertised its presence by jumping onto the screen door of my living room and hanging down flat from its hind legs just like a bat. My personal favorite is when it has its tail swapped around itself over the head to the other side resembling a person with a Mohawk hairstyle.
I call it Squeaky. Not that it responds to the name. Let’s remember, it only responds to peanuts. But over time it has become a beautiful and inseparable part of my life- a joy that I loved sharing with you today.
(ps: This was the content of my 4th Toastmasters speech- "How to say it")
One summer night when I was alone in the house, I heard constant rustling and rumbling noises from the back of our house. With my fingers fixated on the “9” and “1” keys of my cell-phone, I spent the night with much unease, hoping it would only be the breeze. With the first sign of light however, my character underwent a total transformation. From Timidy Timidson in the night, I became the Sherlock Holmes by the day. Its generally otherwise for the superheroes. Isn’t it funny how light can change our character? Donning my sleuth hat when I walked up to the balcony, here is what I saw.
Instead of the boxes there were only shredded and tattered remnants of the cardboard. The poor vases were lying flat on the floor rolling slowly with the wind. Before my now-detective mind began to tie the loose ends of the story, I found myself being examined by the dark shiny eyes of a small furry creature from behind one of the shredded pieces. Its bushy tail was rolled up into a question mark; the face- alert and expectant. There was a small speck of paper stuck over one of its eyes making it look like a pirate who had just robbed a ship. While I stared at it, it stared back, still like a corpse. It was a squirrel alright but a bold one.
There was only one give-away to this bold mischievous avatar who was looking at me eye to eye- its pulsating heartbeat while one of its arms folded across its chest. I really dint know what that meant. Was it feeling so scared that it thought its heart would come out? Or was it conveying its heartfelt gratitude to me in advance so that I forgive and forget its misdemeanor and allow it to continue to stay in its newly found home. It was a long moment but its innocent and earnest appeal was enough to sway my heart. I gave into its desire to stay.
From then on we’ve become friends. Every time I come back from school, first thing I rush to my balcony to take a peek if it’s there. More often than not it is. And believe me it’s not out of love. It’s normally sitting there with eager eyes wondering if it’s that time of the day it will get a peanut or two to crush and swallow. It’s funny how it knows how to grab attention. One day I found it lying flat on its belly, all fours and tail on the ground as well, While it was soothing itself in the staggering heat of the afternoon, I was worrying if it had fainted or even died. The other day it advertised its presence by jumping onto the screen door of my living room and hanging down flat from its hind legs just like a bat. My personal favorite is when it has its tail swapped around itself over the head to the other side resembling a person with a Mohawk hairstyle.
I call it Squeaky. Not that it responds to the name. Let’s remember, it only responds to peanuts. But over time it has become a beautiful and inseparable part of my life- a joy that I loved sharing with you today.
(ps: This was the content of my 4th Toastmasters speech- "How to say it")
