WILLY THE HAMSTER

There was a big house situated in the outskirts of a city. In that house only 2 members lived. A lady and her pet hamster, Willy. Willy was born in a shelter and came to this house when he was just 10 days old. Since then, he lived a lavish life as his guardian, or as she called herself, his mom was very wealthy and pampered him with all the good stuffs. Toys, big running wheel, a slide, endless supply of food, he had it all. He even had a room just for himself which looked like an amusement park for the hamster with tunnels and toys where he lived lavishly. He was very affectionate and loyal to his mother and they both lived happily. He roamed all over the big house when his mother went out and when she returns, he was allowed by her to run in the backyard. That is the best time of his day as he loved the feel of soft, warm grass grazing all over his body as he ran and played all over the backyard. The backyard had a huge boundary, which he never crossed. Once he tried to, but he was caught and scolded dreadfully by his mom so he never dared again. He had everything, a good life, a good mom, and a good place to stay. The only think he craved for, when he sat silently along the big window in his room, was freedom. Freedom to explore the vast green lands which were visible from the window. Freedom to see the unconquered territories, the lavish trees where the squirrels played, he just wanted a taste of them all.

It was not a big thing at first, a foolish dream he had when he sat alone along the window. But, as time moved on, the lavish things became dull, the food became bland, the room became uninteresting, even his mom became crankier and strict, in his eyes. As days passed, his visuals for the house he lived in was poisoned by his dream of freedom. Everything became suffocating. The environment around him never changed, but his perception towards them changed. He started rebelling to show his discomfort. He started moving out into the backyard when his mom was not there, he started littering outside the litter box. He even stopped eating his favourite foods. His mom noticed his change of behaviour and brought new foods, new toys, and also a new wheel for him to run on. When you love someone dearly and they start to drift apart from you, you become desperate and cling on to them pretty hard. This makes them suffocate and they drift apart even further. So, when this happens, it is best to think your love as a runber band around you and the person and free them. If your love is strong enough, they will rebound right where they were after exploring a little. If the love was not meant to be, the rubber band breaks, it hurts for sometime, but eventually you are fine. But Willy's mom knew that this hamster was born in a cage and  brought up in a house. The wild was too wild for him. Her concerns were on point, but his determination to live the dream was even bigger. One day, when the door was slightly open as his mom was bringing in groceries from the car, he finally mustered up the courage to ditch his lavish life and explore. As his small feet ran out, he gave a quick glance at her mom, who couldn't see him leave as the big groceries bag was covering her view, and in his mind he said, " Sorry Mom. And thank you, for everything. "

Finally! He was out. Running over the soft mud, the green grass grazing over his body and the warm sun enriching him with warmth, it all felt like a dream. The world he craved for was finally in his grasps, he was out of the concrete box and the vast open world was his to conquer. It was the feeling of freedom that fueled his franatic movements as he slowly reached a big tree. Suddenly a nut fell off from one of its branch, right in front of him. He picks it up, he felt hungry, and this nut looked even tastier than his 3 course hamster meal after his long run. Just as he was going to take a nibble out of it, a voice interfered with his proceedings. " Oii, what you think you are doing? " He turned to find one big squirrel standing behind him. " It's ours, go find yourself another one. " He snatches the nut from Willy's hand. " Ahh.. sorry for that, I thought it naturally fell from the tree. I am Willy by the way. What's your name? " It's a good thing his mom taught him to shake and greet. He extends his leg waiting for the squirrel to shake, but he just stood there lookinf perplexingly towards him. " What's a name? What are you doing? What even are you? You are too fat to be us, too big to be a rat, too small to be a hare. You think the nuts fall from the trees naturally? Wow. You are dumb too. You surely are an alien. Go away, I need to feed my family. " The squirrel picks up the nut and runs up the tree. Willy, his leg still extended, was in a culture shock. " They don't even know what is name, and he called me dumb? I solved even the most intricate puzzles mom brought. I am a smart hamster. I bet that he is only jealous, calling me an alien. " Feeling disgusted he ran forward. It was already dark now. His pace was slower now. As the darkness brought an even scarrier aura with it. The howls, the hisses, the occasional sounds of an owl. The night was cold to him. Suddenly he hears rustling sound from  up close. He was happy, finally someone could be there to actually help him. His hunger was also taking a toll on him. He slowly moved towards the sound, expecting to meet someone and ask them for food. When he reached the source, he was stunned! His eyes were wide open as chills ran down his spine. In front of him, a snake was gobling up a frog , still moving with his head inside the snakes mouth and the body coiled up inside the snakes body. The very sight was too horrific for Willy to even move, he tried to but was unable. He silently kept watching as the snake completed his snack. The snake already had his scent too. After he finished, he spoke, " Mmmm…  that was a good night snack. Ain't I lucky? The main course even presented to me itself! " These words breaks Willy's trance and he snaps back to reality. The snake was now looking right into Willy's eyes and it started slithering like a hypnotist, hypnotising his prey. As the snake pounced, his mother's face flashed in front of his eyes who said, " RUN " Willy dodged the prounce lf the snake and started sprinting back screaming help. The snake chased him for a while but it was too tough for him to catch up, just after a meal. The snake left the chase way early but Willy kept on running, not knowing where he was running, he was just too terrified to even stop. He cried and ran untill he fainted.

The next day, he slowly blinked and opened his eyes. As he opens, he gets startled to find many small squirrels looking over him and chattering continuously.  " Ahh…  you finally awake alien!" A familiar voice brought tears to Willy's eyes. He turns to find the same squirrel he met yesterday. " You are a loud one, last night you ran and screamed help soo loudly. In night it's dangerous to scream help you fool. You will attract more predators." Willy looked at him and started crying louder, " I saw a frog, he got eaten by a big snake. Then the snake pounced on me. I just ran, I was scared. " He kept crying and trembling as flashes of last night haunted his thoughts. He felt a small hand grabbing his fur from the back. One of the squirrel kids extended a nut towards him. " Eat up something. Always help when you are scared. My dad always gives me one when I cry."  Willy looks at the nut, then towards the big squirrel, waiting for his approval. As he nods, he gobbles down the nut in a second. He was way too hungry to even think about how it tastes. " You aren't wild are you? "  Asked the squirrel. Willy shook his head still eating the nuts in front of him. " You got lost or something? Or your master left you? "  Willy shook again his head, his mouth was too crowded with nuts for words to come out. He gulps in and said, " Neither, I left the house to explore. It was like a jail there. I mean. I had practically everything. My one food, toys, room, bed, and even a caring mother. But still I wanted freedom. " The squirrel looks at him from top to bottom as Willy narrated his story of home escape. " I thought at least he is not gullible. But you are dumb and gullible. You left a life of luxury to explore a world of uncertainity? The window preaches a story . The reality is gruesome. We collect food every day of our life, just to feed our kids. If you sre careless, death is always around corner. On land snakes and other reptiles, while on trees, birds like hawk and eagles might take us away.  Even wild dogs might kill us sometime. We have adapted ourselves to live in constant fear of death. Are you up for it? Are you ready to live as one of the lowest creature in the food chain? Just for freedom?  Willy it looks beautiful. But freedom comes with it's own choices, it's own dangers and it's own horrors. It is not like I am discouraging you but think. Is it what you wanted? Or was it just a fantasy, the window showed you. I mean, look at you. Your nails are trimmed too. You can't even climb this tree if a problem occurs. If you still want, I will help you understand how to survive in wild. But if travelling and exploring is all you need, I bet this is not the way. Choose your way. "

 Willy listened to all of this and pondered over some time. Then, he turns and bid goodbye to all of them and runs. He runs, faster and faster. His mind was clear finally. He kept on running untill he saw his mom sitting on the stairs in front of the front door with her face in between her arms. He goes closer and slowly starts climbing over her back. Startled she turns and grabs him lovingly. A barrage of kisses welcome him to his forever home. Willy lived the rest of his life in that house, grateful to his mom for the care and love she gave. Occasionally now, she would take him out with her to the beaches, the mountains and to places he never imagined he could ever explore. Also his backyard was much more lively now as everyday, a group of squirrels came to visit. All the squirrels have a name given by Willy's mom and they even know how to shake hands now. The rubber band of love was strong enough for Willy and his mom as it showed Willy what exactly he treasured in life. You only know the importance of them in your life when they are gone.

Freedom is a double edged sword. It gives you the ability to make your own choices and also to make your own mistakes. And when you do those mistakes there is no one to blame but you. Freedom makes you see the reality as it is. The good and the bad. It gives you clay to make a mould for yourself. It's up to you then how your sculpture comes out. In the end, Willy did not abandoned his freedom and came back. His freedom was intact , he just made the choice of what he wanted his life to be. He understood everything that shines is not gold. Sometimes it's fire. So to be actually free is to make choices for yourself and live with them no matter the hardships. If you are happy, the hardships will be even easier to cope up with.