Let's Be Friends by Shristi Nangalia

“It’s Sunday! And it's friendship day! Let’s go fishing!” I was excited to test the new fishing rod that I bought. Coco, my Labrador, came running to me. Behind him, came my 9 year old son, Dhiru. But he did not look very happy.

“What happened, Dhiru? Why are you unhappy?” 

“Papa, why do we have to go fishing?” he asked in a sulky tone.

“Because... it is a holiday! Don’t you remember the fishes we caught last time?”

“Umm.. but don’t you think fishes like it more when they are under water? I mean, we only kill them for our dinner. We can have... veggies too...” he said.

“Woah, where is this coming from? You had so much fun the other day. I bought this new rod only for you.” I was confused and did not know what to say. Coco was staring at Dhiru too.

“Thank you for it, Papa. But I think we should not use the nature.”

“Use? Yeah, but we cannot do without using nature, buddy.”

“But we are using too much.... Everything of it. And in return, we give nothing.” Dhiru made me start to think.

“Who told you all this, Dhiru? The TV guys?” I really wanted to know.

“We had a guest at school yesterday. He talked to us. He is a conversationist.”

“Haha, you mean a conservationist.”

“Conservationist, yeah!” Dhiru continued... “He said... Our car harms the air, our garbage harms the soil, we use too much water everyday.... and now we are eating nature too...”

“We are eating nature?” I was dumbfounded.

“The animals, Papa! We are eating the nature! Nature has always given to us and we only use it without thinking.”

“But.. Coco likes to eat fish. And we love it too. Don’t we?”

“Yes Papa, but that’s not love. If we love fish, we should let them go. I cannot think of being killed and cooked... and eaten... and..”

“Don’t say that!!!” I shouted.

He went silent. He slowly put his head down in disappointment.  I put my head down too... in shame.

Coco got really stimulated seeing us sad. He vigorously started licking me and Dhiru’s face. Dhiru’s words, Coco’s expression, this silence... everything made me stop and... think.

“Papa, he said we have already used the amount of nature that was given to us for the whole year. It is only August. Now after this, whatever we will be using is not ours... not ours yet.”

“Really? It was the overshoot day?”

“Yes, the overshoot day. Look at Coco... the trees.. the lakes.. they are all our friends. They provide us with food, material and health... and company.” He made sense.

“Hehe, yes...”

“But only they do their part...like a friend. But we are not good friends to them. We only think about us. The wooden floor we are sitting on was once a green tree. They oil we use were beautiful flowers... Nature is all around us.. Helping us live.”

“That is true, Dhiru.” I understood what he was trying to say.

His face was still dull. I wanted to cheer him up.

“Come with me.” I said. Coco stood up at once and his eyes widened.

“Where are we going?” Dhiru asked.

“To the fishes.” I said with a straight face.

“Let’s just not go fishing, Papaaaa.” I could see tears forming in his eyes.

“No Dhiru, we aren’t going to fish. Let’s pick some fish food on the way and you can feed them all at the lake.” I smiled then.

“REALLYYYY... YAAAYYYY.” screamed Dhiru. Coco retorted with running around us.... jumping.

“Let’s just do what we can, from now on. Let’s be good friends to nature.”

“Yayyyyyy... Yes Papa, we will.” Dhiru’s eyes gleamed.

“Let’s go fast!” I said clapping my hands. Coco jumped more.

“Yes.. Let me get the car keys.” Dhiru stood up.

“No bud. We are walking.”