There were two friends Palna and Jhoolna. They cohabitated. They had so many things in common: the same owner, the same happiness, the same sadness—yes, the timing was different though.
“Jhoolna, you are so lucky!” said Palna one day while sitting idle with no one to play with.
There was a time when Palna used to be busy with the baby all day long and most of the time she enjoyed it. How she wished those days would come back.
“Now you have all those things, what I loved once,” Palna said, “not that I am envious of you, it’s just that I feel left out. I miss those baby cries and giggles. I miss those joyous moments etched on my memories.” Palna kept reminiscing.
Jhoolna understood Palna’s pain and sympathized with her, but she could do nothing about it.
“My dear friend, don’t be so sad,” Jhoolna thought for a while and said to Palna with a happy and cheerful tone. “I know how much you miss that swaddle and cuddle, the giggle and laughter, the coos and sighs, the grunt and gurgles. Those ‘mammas’ and ‘daddas’ used to be your favorite words…I know, I know.”
“You are right! You are the only one who understands me. How can I get over this with stoicism?” said Palna.
“I know why and what you fear,” said Jhoolna. “Getting lonely is what you fear. But you know, distance is a part of growth and sometimes you have to let it go…you need to.”
Jhoolna tried to comfort Palna.
“Don’t fear dear, because the baby is in safe hands; I assure you of that and you can still see him with me whenever you want,” Jhoolna said. “The baby is a sweet boy now and I can show him amazing things.”
“He can touch the sky above— through me, as if he has his own wings.” Jhoolna said.
Time flew by—days into weeks, weeks into months and months into years. The little boy was a grown-up man now. Palna and Jhoolna were still together.
“I believe the boy has tied the knot,” Jhoolna said one day to Palna. “And soon you’ll have company, just like your old days. You have been on a long break now. It will be good for you, I assume.” Jhoolna couldn’t stop giggling.
In a few years there was a new baby, and Palna was back in action. Her days were again full of coos and giggles—only not to last for a very long time.
One day Jhoolna smiled and said, “it’s my time now, because life goes in a circle, and it must be a full circle. The baby has become a boy now and he needs to touch the sky above.”
This time Palna didn’t laugh, or smile but she smirked and said, “Oh yes! Next time it’s going to be me!”
And the story of Cradle(Palna) and Swing(Jhoolna) kept going on in full circles forever after
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