The Forbidden Song

                                                                              

 Long before our eyes opened, long before any man set foot on land, the world was ruled by animals. Creatures of all shapes, sizes and breed roamed free across the oceans, lands and skies.  But the place wasn't the way God made it…with hours for day and night… Instead there were places on this very same earth that were sunny with clear skies all the time. Likewise opposing to light, darkness shrouded the other half of the planet, protecting only those beasts that could see through it. For many years, the world still revolved and time still marked the growing wrinkles, but the sun never dipped below the waters nor the moon melted into the sky.  God sighed from above to watch the kingdom of Light and Dark live in harmony but not as one. Something had to be done…

                Then one day, a small fight between the two kingdoms erupted and a whole war on earth occurred. The reason was simple…The nightingale was seen with her friend, the sparrow, on the other side of darkness. This was reported by their leader to the other kingdom and at once all the creatures met on the distinguishing border of the two races.  And there on the ever dusky horizon she raised her voice and debated why she shouldn’t see the light. The other creatures from the Light kingdom were astonished by her sweet cry and craved to hear more. Their leader, a little shaken himself, held all the laws firm and the matter was dismissed with a warning that it was not to be repeated. And so an example was made of the nightingale and as terrified as she was, she still flew to the dusky border and sang to the few birds and animals that snuck up to meet her. Her voice filled the eternal midnight air as the birds chirped below her favorite tree in hope of learning from her. She sang of freedom, the right to explore and to choose. With the very sound of her cry the leaders of the kingdoms forbade her to sing and kept her in a cage where rage consumed her and ultimately took her life.

                The forbidden song, though not delivered like her, spread like wildfire throughout the world. The creatures started to wonder what was beyond the dusky horizon and her song gave them inspiration to find out. It wasn’t long before the elegant swan of the Dark kingdom thought better than to swim through the moon’s reflection all the time. She waded through the small brook that connected the kingdoms and soon she was seen across a sparkling lake, her feathers magnificently white. But she realized that though she liked the day better, she couldn’t let her heart part with the sight of the pearl moon and herself underneath it. And that was when she gathered her few friends of both the kingdoms and put the idea of having the best of both worlds for themselves. The possibility of such a thing was so ironic at that moment… as if day and night just wouldn’t co-exist. But she pushed on harder to the leaders and filled them with the fantasies growing in her head till they were convinced.

                Now there was just one problem…how to merge the two kingdoms? The animals could shift from one place to another depending on when they wanted light or darkness. But that just wasn’t ideal…There had to be a better way. Leaders couldn’t do anything more than pray to God to make the world as one; which was exactly what God wanted for his creations as well. He melted the moon a bit every night and formed the lunar cycle. He pushed he sun down in the west and it sprang up on the other side. Seasons came and went, but the days always ended with the nights. For those who couldn’t let go of their dear night, God made them nocturnal and for the rest the entire world was at their feet. And so is the case till date, for humans as well. At last God smiled upon his throne, for now the world still revolved and time did flow like sand and there were no kingdoms other than the kingdom of Man. Entrusting the future to this kingdom he took a long nap after years of hard work and brainstorm. And when he woke up and looked down on earth? He sighed again, harder… but well...That’s a whole new story altogether!