The Peacock Love – A Short Story

“Shining bright like a diamond….beautiful like diamond in the sky”

This line seemed apt for him as he stood like a royalty decked up in radiant, iridescent attire, on top of a lush green coconut tree. He stood proudly and elegantly, looking magnificent, draped in rich, glowing feathers; every bit of him shimmered against the rising sun. He was shining bright like a diamond indeed!

Craning out his beautiful neck, he let out a shrill cry, beckoning for a mate. His cries were heard loud and clear across the vast expanse of the field. At one moment, when he thought he heard a response, swiftly, yet gracefully, he swooped down and landed softly on the grass. He craned his head to the left, and then to the right, and gingerly placed one foot in front of the other, conscientiously looking out for her. Not finding anyone in the vicinity, he lifted his head high up and let out yet another loud cry.

Out of nowhere she landed in front of him, quite evidently summoned by his cries. Yet, she couldn’t bring herself to lift her head and look at him. She walked around him with her head bent low as though she was looking for something she lost. She was a picture of beauty and elegance, and though she refused to look at him, he couldn’t take his eyes off her.

He just couldn’t contain his happiness and excitement on seeing her, and he started fluttering around her gloriously. She paused for a second, smiled at his antics, but continued to walk about with her head bent low, not once lifting it up. She was quite nervous around him, he could sense that, for some reason she seemed a little more hesitant than the other women he has met before. “Maybe she is playing hard”, he thought to himself. “I am going to impress her with all I can”, he decided. In one swift, elegant sweep, he spread his wings out and stood across her, but was careful enough to not get any closer, lest his proximity intimidates her. He finally seemed to get her undivided attention.

As he moved slowly around her, with his wings beautifully spread out and the glitter shimmering off every part of him, he hoped she would fall for him, the way he fell for her. His poised stance did get him what he needed. She was clearly entranced by now, “He is breathtaking indeed. If only….” she sighed as she admired his glorious looks.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the cool breeze that floated her way, urging her to give in. She knew in her heart she wasn’t ready for this, she is very young after all, she wanted to soar high, travel to places, and not be bound by motherhood and other responsibilities that comes along. Torn between her ambition and his magnificence, she finally decided to throw caution to the winds and nodded her head and sat across from him. Watching her give her consent, his joy knew no bounds, he started dancing more gleefully, spreading his feathers wider than before. And then he bowed in front of her and just as gracefully as he first spread his wings, he closed them up, before she could even realize what was going on.

She looked at him open mouthed and hesitantly remarked, “But you wanted to… I am sorry, I did not mean to…”, she couldn’t complete any of her sentences, because she knew she did something to put him off. He smiled, walked up to her and gently said, “Let’s not rush it, let’s get to know each other first, shall we?”. He could see relief wash over her beautiful features. “Thank you” she mouthed as uncontrollable tears were flowing down her eyes.

“I have not seen you around, are you new here”, he asked. She nodded in agreement and said, “I have come from a faraway land, nobody has been kind to me here”, she said with tears still streaming down her eyes. She then paused, took a deep breath and added with a smile “Until this moment that is”.

“Come on, let me show you around, this place is my beautiful home, I have many friends here, I will take you to them, they will love having you around and then we can go to this place where there are many delicious fruits….” He spoke incessantly as he led her to his favorite parts of the field.

Together they walked side by side as the sun rose high up in the sky. They walked across the horizon, sharing their stories, smiling, laughing and enjoying one another’s company.

A few years later, she found herself recounting this day to her child, “This is how I met your father, and this is how we fell in love”, she said.

“And then?” the baby peacock prodded.

“And then, we lived happily ever after”, chimed in the father as he winked at his wife.

And this is how they lived happily ever after :).