Glider and Mr.Green [Episode #2]

He remembered a conference he had visited recently; 'The Annual Science Conference', where intellectuals from across the world had visited. The prolonged debate had been about the use of wings - many had come forward to present their stance.

"It helps us parrots keep balance," a scientist from the East cage wing demonstrated through a presentation of his research.

"It keeps us warm and prevents our bodies from getting too cold," another scholar explained.

"Perhaps they are there to help us fly," said another. Silence took hold of the once noisy hall suddenly. Everyone stared at the speaker with petrified faces and whispered to one another, their pointy eyes wide in horror.

"That is completely nonsense!" They all yelled. This was the custom in the world of parrots. Inside the cage, no one dared talk about the possibility of flying outside. The outside world which the caged parrots referred to as "the unknown" was a place feared by everyone.

"We can't go outside," Mr.Green's mother had said to him once, when he had asked where his late grandmother was. "Only the dead can see the Unknown."

That night had been particularly wet. Dark clouds invaded the sky, thunder roared its victory through out the region, heavy rain hindered vission, and the cold had penetrated everyone's bones.

"A world awaits us out there." Triumph and fear flashed through his eyes; his questions were finally being answered, and his blind eyes were seeing light.

"you cannot!" She stared at him in horror. Her heart had been thumping wildly that night, as she trembled through either cold or fear. Her husband seemed like another person altogether - she could hardly recognize him. He was too different, too foreign; an alien.

"They restrain us, they hold us back when we... When we can fly." He stared at the sky, his face illuminated only momentarily by strikes of thunder.

"Think of your mother," she struggled to say. "And... And your father." It seemed as if all of her power and strength had been wrenched from her. "Think about Glider!" He throat had dried, and her voice was hoarse.The fear of Glider losing his father paralyzed her.

"Forgive me," he said, and in a flash, he had gone; gone into the Unknown.

Several wooden stalls made a line down the busy market. "Chillies! Chillies!" they wailed, their lound voices echoing throughout. The market place was crowded with all sorts of people; men in suits, women, children, and parrots from all around the world visited as it was the only market in the world. 'The Red Market' the entrance sign read.