She came. She Saw. She conquered.

Her name was Mili. She was a little green pigeon  chick. 

My grandfather was a forest officer. One day we all went to the jungle to look at the birds as it was their breeding season.

As I was looking through my binoculars, a small green pigeon chick fell from the tall tree right in front of us. It was called Hariyal by the locals, but I gave her the name, "Heera."

I put her in a cage, and fed pieces of fruits to her everyday. I fell in love with a squeaky voice and would love to watch Heera flipping her wings and eating small pieces of fruits like mangoes, chikoos with her beak.

She looked like a little Dodo bird to me.

After a month, I heard the sound of other green pigeon birds on the tree. Heera also started squeaking in her own language, as if asking for their permission to be a part of their group.

After few days, I opened the cage of Heera and she came out of the captivity of my love and flew away to discover the new experiences of the love of her own family.

After few months, I saw a small nest on a tree in front of our house. As I saw the mother bird tending to her eggs, I found out that it was my Heera. I was very excited and happy too that my little baby has become a responsible being taking care of her own family. In a matter of days, her chicks grew up and Heera along with her partner became the proud parents of three little green pigeons.

My happiness knew no bounds as I felt like a true matriarch of the green pigeon family as I witnessed my grand children growing up right in front of my own eyes, throwing tantrums and also trying to fly by stretching their little wings. 

I realised that true love is not justified by curtailing the freedom of our loved ones, it truly means giving them an open sky so that they can love you for who you are and not for what you expect from them. 

After all life long imprisonment is not love, freedom with responsibility is.

I loved my first pet but I didn't let my love to strangulate the life out of my beloved pet.

I let my love grow multifold right in front of my eyes and felt a true satisfaction in my heart as I released my hold and loosened up the strings of possessiveness and insecurity. It helped my first pet Heera to experience love on her own, as I experienced the true meaning of love with her.