CHAMELEON

Chapter 1:A starry night

It was a starlit night. The stars had always shone bright in the vast emptiness of the dark sky but today they seemed to be glittering gracefully for the low-spirited bride ,the crescent shaped moon. The trees danced in unison to the song of the night. A nightjar bellowed out loud "pow,pow". The presence of a gigantic barn owl mad either known with a usual hoot. The sudden glare of a torch's light disturbed the nocturnal routine of the owl making it abandon its perch. Neeti, dejected, sat down on the cool ground and rested her head on the bark of a familiar mango tree. "This nightjar's too difficult to spot!" she thought out aloud. The constant calls of that nocturnal bird had ceased.

Neeti allowed herself to slide down into the roughness of barren soil and the unkept grass that grew on it. She yawned drowsily, it was exactly ten minutes past midnight and here she was -alone in a lonely place , a place full of danger, thieves, murderers and kidnappers! That's what Mom would say though Neeti as she giggled.

The calls of the nightjar began once again but they seemed to be coming from deep inside the jungle. Neeti stood up, a pair of binoculars and a torch was all she had and all she wanted. She walked in the direction of the low- pitched calls. She wouldn't give up today. She would identify the species of nughtjar today. She listened carefully to the calls fo the nightjar so as to never forget them.

The night was still young. The low spirits of the bride seemed to have risen. The moon bride rose higher and higher , almost restless to meet the burning Sun, her groom at the horizon.

A sound.  Not very loud not very soft just right right to arouse Neeti's attention. She turned around. The sound of the rustling of leaves was much more distinct now. She stood where she was like a human turned into stone. Slowly two figures clad in black and white appeared from behind the bushes and stopped to examine the remains of a fence. Neeti couldn't control her excitement. Two porcupines in the middle of the night in that little forest amidst a bustling city was no less than a miracle according to her. The porcupines looked exactly as described : black rodents wuth black and white headgears on their backs. Neeti didn't dare to switch on her torch. Without even the slightest motion she stared with awe at these wonderful taking there nocturnal stroll,carefully smelling the ground for dinner and danger! Suddenly the porcupines sensed some form of danger unperceivable to Neeti and hurried away into the nearby bushes.

If not the nightjar, two porcupines were worth her excursion thought Neeti. Well it's not only the porcupines but also the nocturnal activities of the forest on the whole that are a treat to the eyes thought Neeti on a philosophical note. It was a  quarter past 2am when she returned home. Her father,Mr. Mohan was standing right in front of the house gate with a torch in his hands, gazing questioningly at Neeti. Neeti sighed amd managed to gulp out a mellow sorry. Mr.Mohan gave a short smile and made it known that she hadn't been alone for long ad he had followed her into the forest. He was quite angry that she hadn't informed him beforehand , but the spotting of two porcupines was surely an incident that had to be discussed in detail. Both smiled at each other,  then the smiles turned into laughter. Both couldn't control their excitement. They slowly went into their room and spoke about the porcupines all night.
All we can say is , Like father Like daughter.