For the infinite time, I have experienced the universe aligning with our innocent, heartfelt desires.
Bloom has a huge love for all the wonderful lives. He had been insistent on having pets, ever since he started nudging on growing plants. The garden idea was inspired from his love for insects. He was enthralled by the number of lives a plant/tree entices from reading the short story, "The Special Tree" by Ruskin Bond. So, one led to the other that led to the other.
It started with my giving into his plant request in June 2020- an indoor garden featuring a few ornamental plants. When they survived (very unusual in our household), we were encouraged to plant a few seeds in the pots outdoors (our flat). When they seemed to survive, we gifted a couple of mango and papaya saplings to friends. The parting was painful, especially, the first time- he made a huge bawl at the absence of his carefully tendered sapling in the empty pot. After repeated explanation of its need for earth to grow and flourish, he enquired about the possibility of grooming a garden to keep as his own. The talkings led to him planting a few seeds in the pots that miraculously survived for a while. Frequent visits to the nursery are common recently. We received a slug in one of our pots, and he was raving nonstop. There were a plenty of snails, as usual. He picked a few (this time with the soil), and nurtured them in a box with leaves, frequent water splashing. They seemed to be doing well.
On a sunny afternoon, as we were walking back home from his swimming class, I narrated our childhood episodes of experiments with fishtank. Of all the talking we do, this caught his undivided attention. So began his nudges to revive life into our fishtank. Kids have their way in getting their wishes granted. So, we ended up buying two pairs of angel fish, a cleaner and a pair of tiger. The tigers didn't survive through the night, when dad switched off the oxygen pump that night. Everybody that visits us home, or meets us along the pathways or even calls us, are being tormented with long lectures of fish adventures- 'do you know that our cleanr fish is mighty scared?', ' do you know blacky always nibbles on cleaner'?- on and on and on...
The moment we planned on a trip to the beach, Bloom came to me: 'Amma, I'll ask something. You should grant it' in a kindest tone you can imagine. It was a request for a pet crab. I just dismissed, and he tried convincing. I thought the matter was forgetten, until I saw him pack a box to bring back crab, with confident enthusiasm. Does a mother have a choice, in the face of such optimism? All along the van trip, he was talking about the fish and the prospective pet of crab with his friend.
As soon as we got to the beach, he asked for the box and looked around for a crab- the hush of the waves ignored. When I told him to enjoy the beach and the crab will find its way to him, it was a casual say. While he was splashing water and enjoying the sand, I walked around paying attention to living things in the soil. There, in the dry soil under the scorching sun, I spotted a tiny moving mushroom. On close attention, realized it could be a crab. I called out for the boys. On close quarters, it was a HERMIT crab!!! We picked it and placed it in a disposable box. He is confident it's a 'she', he has named her Sayari.
The universe does listen- the desires, wishes from our stillness will be granted.
