I was on my evening walk near the pond when I saw a small snake. At first, I was scared. Then I recognised that it was a non-poisonous one, playfully jumping into the pond. I watched for a while. Later, when he came up, I stopped him and asked, “This belongs to me. Who has given you permission to jump into it?”
He winged it at first, then replied, “I do not need any permission from anyone. This belongs to us. We have lived here from generation to generation, and you are supposed to ask for our permission if you wish to do anything here. Since you are very new here, I am excusing you.”
I was at a loss. I opened my mouth to give an answer, then kept mum. (In fact, I was ready to share the registration documents with him, but on re-realising the foolishness of it, I said nothing.)
I started a conversation with him again. Then I asked, “By the way, what are you doing?”
He said, “Nothing. I am just playing with my friends. In fact, I do not have many friends now, since humans keep poisons to kill us. I have only a few friends left and am simply managing with them.”
Again, I was at a loss for an answer. As my own species is the villain in this story – we humans keep traps to kill them, I am aware of it.
I continued, “So you don’t do any work for your daily needs?”
He replied, “What daily needs?”
I said, like a fool, “Things like food and all.”
He replied, “Why should I do anything? What I need is available here on the farm and in the pond. I simply catch prey when I am hungry, and then I either do nothing or play all day.”
I said, “This is a crime in our society. Do you know that?”
He was curious. “Why? How come it is a crime in your society?”
I answered, “See, in our society, when a kid is born, training to live on this planet starts.”
He interrupted. “To live on this planet? What sort of training is necessary?”
“Look at us. Out of a hundred eggs, only a few of us come into the world and start living. And you guys kill us whenever there is a face-to-face meeting. We still continue our journey, live happily, and die. I don’t think any special training is needed to live.”
I smiled, then said, “See, in our society, money is a necessary thing to live. And to earn money, we need to work hard and smart. Training has to be given from day one to sustain ourselves, and we have certain bylaws; therefore, we need to provide training.”
“Bylaws? What are they?” he asked curiously again.
I hesitated to reply, then started, “Once a kid is born, he needs a name. Then we parents search on Google for a suitable one. If it somehow matches both parents’ names, even better. Then there is a naming ceremony. From there, the kid’s journey starts… as a human.”
“After that, within two years, he has to attend a language-training nursery.”
“Why does language need training? It is simply for communication, isn’t it?” he asked.
I said, “No, no. It is necessary to learn to write so that he can get into primary school. Then we need to pay a donation and fees. After joining school, he has to learn multiple languages to live life.”
He opened his mouth in disbelief. “What? Why do you need all these things?”
“If we don’t do all this, the child will be in a low class like you – doing nothing, simply playing,” I replied playfully.
He answered, “So am I useless? Really?”
I said, “Yes, of course. You are supposed to take all this training, then grow up, marry one girl, and have enough money.”
He asked, “Why should I marry one just to die? I will get many, simply without even getting married.”
“That is not enough,” I replied. “You need someone to cry when you die.”
He was now confused. Now I was on high.
“Not only that, you need to give birth and take care of them.”
Now he got angry.
“You know I am a male. I don’t need to take care of any kids, nor give birth. They simply grow after birth. Even if there is any need, that is her responsibility, not mine.”
I said again, “It is a crime. If any woman’s wing listens to your dialogue, you will be behind bars.”
“Bar? What is that?”
“It is a jail. We put those who commit crimes there.”
He said, “Why? For what? “In our world, the female is the boss. She creates life, so she makes the rules. We simply follow them and move on. Nobody debates equality, rights, or who gets the upper hand. It is already understood. Why do you humans hold meetings for things that are so obvious?”, I looked at him, speechless…
He said, “I don’t know what bar, offence, or jail really are,” I replied. “Better that you do not know about them either.”
I said again, “It is a crime. It is both parents’ responsibility to bring up the child. You can’t escape.”
Now he was about to cry.
I said, “This is still not enough. You have to arrange a groom for the child, then arrange dowry. Again, you need to take care of the grandchild. By then, you will be old enough to die from stress…”
He said, “I can’t wait any more. I am going to commit suicide right now.”
Then he jumped into the pond.
I was happy. At least I had managed to give some stress to one small and innocent life.