Fiction & Nonfiction

Natture's Way

Nature’s Way

When Tanya was nine months old, her mom and dad thought that, she would walk earlier than the kids of her age. Given the fact that she was fairly early in crawling and mumbling mmma... and tttaa...they expected her to follow up the pattern in taking steps and walk briskly by the time she reached the age of one.

Well, it looked as if certain things take time, especially things where nature took the upper hand.

On a bright morning in the month of March,

Tanya and her dad, early risers in the family, were playing ball, sitting on the cool floor of their wraparound parlor.

It was a multi colored inflated ball of a fairly big size. Mom was in the kitchen, in the vicinity, making breakfast, eggs and ham. The morning Sun shone on the floor through the big window, facing east.
Dad threw the ball to Tanya. Rosy cheeks glowed with laughter as she rolled the ball, back to dad. He rolled it right back to her.
‘Come one Tanya, go get it sweetie’ said her mother from the adjacent kitchen.
Tanya crawled fast and caught the ball in her chubby hands.
‘Oh baby, get up Tany, walk to the ball darling,’ said the disappointed mom.

You see, she wanted her daughter to walk like the other kids of her age. Mom was like any other mother who wanted her kid to be like other kids.

Jordan, Amanda, John and other friends of Tanya, at the daycare center, walked happily away with their proud mothers and fathers. Tanya’s mom felt left behind in the race.

A few days later, Tanya celebrated her first birthday.
About ten children came to her house on the evening of her birthday. Tanya’s mom and dad decorated the parlor with colored balloons and ribbons. They made a chocolate vanilla fruitcake with Happy Birthday to Tanya on the top. The cake stood in a thin glass plate, which reflected the color of the ribbons and the balloons. There was a small butter knife by its side.

When everybody came, with the visitors looking on, mom and dad with Tanya in between helped her cutting the cake. She blew the one multicolored candle herself puffing on it with her button shaped mouth.
All sang Happy Birthday to Tanya as she smiled her big smile. Mom and dad kissed her and fed a small piece of cake.

The evening passed happily playing ball in the back yard surrounded by the scent of magnolia, rose and jasmine. In between, the kids enjoyed cake and tiny cheese sandwiches. At the end of the evening, the kids left in a cloud of cheer with their gift hampers of a ball, a toy car and chocolates wrapped in shiny paper.
Tanya did her best to stand on her feet during the evening’s games. the poor thing stumbled and fell. Then on, she knew it would be safer not to attempt walking.

So mom and dad worried all the more that their daughter couldn’t do what they looked forward to. It was a little too much to be so eager to see Tanya walking, as if their very survival hung on a thin line. Perhaps it wasn’t such a worrying matter. For some, it may be one.

On a bright Sunday morning, Tanya’s parents took her to the public gardens first and then to the zoo.
Tanya had a lovely time looking at the colorful blossoms and a variety of bush and tree. The gardens were crowded, as most of the people, decided to have a day out.

Mom and dad met some friends in the gardens. Gregory works with Tanya’s dad in the same office. Mom and Helen went to the same school. Chuck, their son was playing with Tanya.

‘How’s it going Sophie?’ Asked Helen.
‘As good as it appears’, replied mom.
‘What’s the matter?’
‘Nothing, except that she is not trying to walk yet.’
‘There is nothing to worry about. Sometimes things take time. Give her a little time’.
‘Has Chuck taken so long to stand?’ Asked mom.
‘By the time, he was one year old, he was walking briskly.’ Said Helen.
‘There you go. That’s my point. Everybody does it except her.’
After a while they parted ways.

At the Zoo, Tanya enjoyed the company of birds and animals, as dad pushed the stroller. Tany squealed in joy looking at the animals living in spots created to make an impression of natural habitat.
The white swans and the pink flamingos glided leisurely in water looking least worried about the small visitors standing at the water’s edge.

‘Have you been to the bears yet?’ Asked lady, her question directed to Tanya’s mom.
‘Not yet. I think we will go there in a minute.’ Answered Sofie.
‘You know, there are a couple new additions to the collection, a mother bear and her baby.
‘They are worth watching you know’, informed the lady.

As they entered the bear section of the zoo, a crowd was gathering to see the new animals. A zoo attendant was explaining to the onlookers,

‘These bears are given to us by the Pyranese animal park’ he said. Kids gathered around him, as he stood closest to the bears.
Tanya watched the two bears in open-mouthed curiosity. The baby bear, which looked smooth, fascinated her.
‘Mummy, the bear is brown’.
‘Yes darling, they are both brown’.

‘The brown bear is facing extinction. We need to protect the species from abuse and poaching’. The attendant’s voice rang clearly in the morning air.
‘One special feature of the brown bear is, it can stand up on its hind legs for extended periods of time.’

Just at that moment, the baby bear yawned and put its right paw on its mother’s hump. It started going around its mother on its hind legs, its height about that of Tanya. And then it started shuffling fast around its mother.
The attendant then said, ‘ they can run quickly and are adept climbers and swimmers too’. 

Tanya started becoming restless.
‘Mommy, the baby bear fall?’
‘No darling. His mother takes care.’
‘Mommy, I like the brown baby bear.’
‘I love my little Tany baby.’

That night Sofie, as usual, was giving Tanya, a bath in her bean shaped tub. It was here, that Tany made the surprise move.

As Mom bent from her kneeling position to fill the tub, Tanya who was sitting in the tub, put down the yellow duck she was playing with. Then putting her arm on her mom’s shoulder, she got up on her feet. Watching her daughter, from the tail of her eye, mom stilled. She controlled her excitement at what her daughter was up to. This was the moment for which she was restlessly waiting.

‘Mummy, Mummy, I am baby bear’.
‘Yes darling. You are baby bear.’
Sofie’s eyes misted with tears. She worried for no reason, these couple of months. 
Tanya stood up steadily.
‘Mummy, the baby bear moved like this? Like this?’
Tanya tried imitating the movements of the small bear she watched at the Zoo.
Dad and mom slept soundly on that night.

In about a couple of days Tanya took her first steps by her self. On Saturday, they called a couple of neighbors over for a drink and celebrated Tanya’s new moves, now on her legs. On Sunday morning, they revisited the Brown Bears.

‘ Mummy, Mummy, the baby bear running.’
‘Oh, yes Tanya. It is very fast.’
‘Mummy, I wan a run like the baby bear.’
‘Soon, darling. You will also run like him.’

Mom’s fears were put to rest thanks to the Brown Bears. Animals are truly our companions, she thought.

Thank you bear, for showing my baby the way to walk.
‘Thank you God, for taking us to the Zoo’ whispered, Sofie happily.