The Coronavirus pandemic has emerged as a global threat. Malvika writes an allegorical parable, which is evocative and imaginative. An exclusive for Different Truths.

I am a mother. My name is Nature. I had four children; Plant, Microbe, Animal and the youngest one, Human. I loved all my children equally, but Human, being the youngest, was the most mischievous and adorable. His other siblings also loved him the most. But just like any other youngest kid, human was the spoiled brat of our family.

Plant, Microbe and Animal were my triplets. Plant was my docile child. She never uttered a single word and bore all pain in silence. She was my most agreeable child. Microbe was the naughtiest and the brainiest of the three. He was sly in nature and diminutive in stature.

Plant, Microbe and Animal were my triplets. Plant was my docile child. She never uttered a single word and bore all pain in silence. She was my most agreeable child. Microbe was the naughtiest and the brainiest of the three. He was sly in nature and diminutive in stature. He did incredible and mammoth tasks without anyone knowing till it was done. The third one, Animal, was the ferocious of the three. She was headstrong and impetuous. I nurtured them with my love. As they grew, I felt more proud each day. They were perfect. They made my world more beautiful, more accepting, more fascinating. Ours was a perfect world, perfect family.

Then our family grew. In our beautiful life came the incredible and charming Human. He was the apple of our eyes. His wit, intelligence and innocence made us love him all the more. Even he knew that he was the darling of our family. His smile made us do anything and everything. With his puppy eyes and innocent face, he could make us do whatever he wished for. When his innocence did not work, he used his wit and intelligence to win us over. We all sheltered him and nurtured him. I the most. At times I scolded my other children just to make Human feel happy and safe.

Then our Human grew and though he remained in touch with us but started living in his own world. His life became different from our lives. He made new friends, Development and Industrialisation, and lived a new lifestyle, which was unheard of for us. He invited us to his world at times to show us his accomplishments.

Then our Human grew and though he remained in touch with us but started living in his own world. His life became different from our lives. He made new friends, Development and Industrialisation, and lived a new lifestyle, which was unheard of for us. He invited us to his world at times to show us his accomplishments. We went to meet him and saw his world. His world was beautiful, but made up. It all seemed perfect from the outside, but was non-sustainable from the inside.

With time, Human exhausted his resources. His ‘Friends’ consumed all his resources, left him and made his world crash. In such times, we all go back to our families and Human did the same. He came back to us. We welcomed him with open arms and promised to do our bit and help him in his fall. He did not ask much from us, but just small fragments of our bodies. We being the doting family we were, helped as he asked. It gave us some pain but his happiness made us bear it all.

He went back in his world and started afresh and to our bewilderment, built it all again. His world became functional again and the pain if any left in our bodies was completely forgotten when we looked at his world and his pleasure.

His old friends, Development and Industrialisation came back to be his friends. His life was thriving. But we saw him make the same mistakes. His world though new, was non-sustainable again. His friends kept using his resources, in fact our resources

His old friends, Development and Industrialisation came back to be his friends. His life was thriving. But we saw him make the same mistakes. His world though new, was non-sustainable again. His friends kept using his resources, in fact our resources, the fragments of our bodies, but he kept glorifying his world and felt proud of his accomplishments.

His friends suggested him to take more from his family. They made him understand that the fragments of his Family’s bodies were extremely resourceful and the more he gets them, the more successful and glorious he would be. They explained to him that it were these fragments that helped him build this unparalleled world of his. The more he works and the more fragments he uses, the better it becomes.

Plant, the forbearing of the three, gave all Human asked for. It wounded her a lot, but she didn’t have any remorse. Microbe parted with whatever possible, but didn’t give in completely. When Human came to Animal, she with her ferocity attacked Human. Human was injured badly, but didn’t react.

Human understood the importance and use of the fragments of his family’s bodies. He came back to us and asked for more. I heard him seek his want and not need. Plant, the forbearing of the three, gave all Human asked for. It wounded her a lot, but she didn’t have any remorse. Microbe parted with whatever possible, but didn’t give in completely. When Human came to Animal, she with her ferocity attacked Human. Human was injured badly, but didn’t react. Last he came to me seeking my fragments. I being the mother, scolded and thrashed him for being greedy, but in the end gave into his demand and gave all he asked for.

The very next day, Animal was nowhere to be found in our world. We looked for her wherever we could but couldn’t find her. Microbe the sliest of all understood the situation. He went to see the Human’s world and found Animal locked in a cage there. Being diminutive in stature, he went over to Animal unnoticed and got to know that Human had kept Animal as captive for the ferocity shown to Human by Animal the other day. Animal told Microbe that Human was going to use all her body for his world and his friends. Microbe was taken aback knowing all this. But he kept his calm and came back to me.

When microbe told me and Plant what all had conspired, we both were in shock and in the first instant did not believe what Microbe said. Plant was already in pain because of giving her body fragments to Human and this information from Microbe made her lose whatever strength was left in her. She collapsed then and there.

When microbe told me and Plant what all had conspired, we both were in shock and in the first instant did not believe what Microbe said. Plant was already in pain because of giving her body fragments to Human and this information from Microbe made her lose whatever strength was left in her. She collapsed then and there. I and Microbe tried reviving her. But the blow she got from the behavior of Human was irreparable. I was also taken aback by Human’s behavior. But being the mother, did not have the liberty to lose my strength in this testing time.

Microbe saw my predicament. He asked for permission to teach Human a lesson and to bring back Animal. I asked him what he was going to do. But all he told me was that he would make Human go through the same what he had made us all go through. I was not sure whether to give Microbe the permission he was seeking. But then I remembered the follies Human had done and despite loving Human, I gave permission to Microbe. I knew Microbe was sly, but our Human was also the most intelligent of my children. I waited with baited breath for Microbe to come back.

Microbe went over to Human. He told Human that he was fed up of living in my world. He told Human that Nature’s world was monotonous and Human’s world was filled with new things every day. He asked Human to let him be a part of his world. Human was elated to know this.

Microbe went over to Human. He told Human that he was fed up of living in my world. He told Human that Nature’s world was monotonous and Human’s world was filled with new things every day. He asked Human to let him be a part of his world. Human was elated to know this. He felt being supreme to all of us and in his magnanimity agreed to let Microbe live in his world. Slowly and steadily Microbe became an important and irreplaceable part of Human’s world. Human started depending more on Microbe. Microbe with his cunning became more important to Human than his friends Development and Industrialization. He started understanding the functioning of Human’s world. He saw how short sighted Human had been in building his world. His world couldn’t thrive without fragments from my and his sibling’s bodies. But Human did not seem to understand the non-sustainability of his world or the limitations of our bodies. Microbe understood that if time came and need arose, Human would go to the extent of encaging and even killing us all.

During this testing time, my dear Plant’s wounds healed. She got better by the day. But simultaneously, my Animal was in Human’s captivity. Human did not let her go even after taking fragments from her body. I got to know later that Animal fought with Human and her friends with all her might, but their superior brains won over her ferocity. Microbe saw that all happening and his resolve to teach Human a lesson got stronger every day.

Microbe had understood the functioning of Human’s world. With time and because of living in a made up world, Human’s body had degenerated. In order to thrive, he required inhaling Oxygen, which he made from the fragments that he took from Plant’s body.

Microbe had understood the functioning of Human’s world. With time and because of living in a made up world, Human’s body had degenerated. In order to thrive, he required inhaling Oxygen, which he made from the fragments that he took from Plant’s body. Human had an Oxygen room which had a continuous supply of Oxygen. He went to that room atleast for one hour every day. That one hour rejuvenated Human’s body and made him thrive another day.

One day Human and his friends, Development and Industrialization, were sitting in the room of Oxygen. They were boasting of the world they had made. Sly Microbe went and cut the supply of Oxygen to the room. It was the one most important hour of Oxygen for Human. The moment Oxygen was cut off, Human started writhing in pain. He asked his beloved friends for help. But being the fair weather friends that they were, his friends ran away. Microbe came to the room of Oxygen and told Human that something had gone wrong in this room and the supply of Oxygen was running low. They needed to make more Oxygen for Human to survive. Microbe further told Human that he had made an arrangement for Oxygen in a cage for Human. Not being in a condition to argue any further or question Microbe, Human agreed to go in the life-saving cage of Oxygen. The moment Human stepped in the cage, Microbe locked him from the outside. He freed Animal from her cage and asked her to carry Human’s cage to our world.

My three children, Microbe, Animal and encaged Human came back to my world. By then Human had his supply of Oxygen for the day and was in a mental state to understand the situation he was in.

My three children, Microbe, Animal and encaged Human came back to my world. By then Human had his supply of Oxygen for the day and was in a mental state to understand the situation he was in. Animal and Microbe asked me to kill Human for the good of our family and our world. Plant being the most compassionate of us all asked me to forgive Human and pleaded to set him free again. Human asked for his freedom and asked me to let him build his world further.

But I was a mother to them all. Human was the youngest of my children, but he had already done enough to unsettle my world. Being a mother I could not kill my child. So I decided Human will continue to live with us in our world, but in the cage he was confined in. He could not be trusted with freedom ever again. Since then, me and my four children, Plant, Microbe, Animal and encaged Human are living in a beautiful and peaceful world.

Photos from the Internet