When a group of angry foreign birds demand that Maya and her friends participate in their evil plots of revenge and destruction against humans by exploiting their weaknesses, Maya and her friends quickly realize that if they don't think of an alternative plan, the entire world will be destroyed. Maya and her friends utilize their lifelong experiences to come up with an alternative plan by learning from human's strength and ingenuity. With that, they not only convince foreign birds but also the entire animal kingdom to participate in their new vision. Thus, together they not only save their forest, but also the world. This is a hopeful and inspirational tale of a group of birds and animals who- despite all the odds against them- overcome their agony and sorrow. They not only save their forest and habitat, but also assist humans in their struggles to protect the environment and save the planet from more destruction. This novel is a metaphor that discusses our past, present and future in an easy to understand language as seen through birds' perspective. If you enjoyed The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho or Life of Pi by Yann Martel, you will certainly love this book. If you cherished The Lion King or Finding Nemo, you will love this book as well.

Birds Chasing Hope

By Ashish Modi

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2011 Dr. Ashish Modi
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4670-5303-7

Contents

CHAPTER 1 An Unforgiving Storm.......................1CHAPTER 2 Globe Trotting Maya........................9CHAPTER 3 Another Dreadful Day.......................19CHAPTER 4 Maya and Molly.............................33CHAPTER 5 Sunshine Returns...........................39CHAPTER 6 Maya and Toby..............................45CHAPTER 7 Friends Reunite............................55CHAPTER 8 Strangers Arrive...........................71CHAPTER 9 An Evil Plot...............................93CHAPTER 10 An Ultimatum to Humans.....................111CHAPTER 11 We Must Overcome...........................139CHAPTER 12 One Week Later.............................165CHAPTER 13 One Year Later.............................173

Chapter One

An Unforgiving Storm

Maya had many close calls. A huge limb right above her head almost crushed her to death when lightening struck the tree. The power of lightening had destroyed many old trees by splitting them into small checker-like pieces. The typhoon had become more and more violent, as the other storms merged to create a single, deadly, unforgiving storm. "A few more days ..." Maya kept telling herself.

It had been thirty-eight days since Maya last saw the sun. She had been counting each day, as they brought new miseries into her world. Charcoal clouds were still blocking the sun from penetrating the sky. The entire forest remained soaked with rain. Though the rain had receded for days now, many uprooted trees in the forest were still embedded in the mud. Soaking wet for many days now, Maya had been imprisoned on the same limb. Her feathers had become so saturated with water that, even if she wanted to fly, she could not. It was as though her wings were stuck to her body with super-glue. Lonely, sad and depressed, she sat there, thinking that only the sun could bring her relief.

After thirty-seven days of relentless storms, the appearance of the forest was one of the universal calamities. "Thirty seven days and some more to come," Maya told herself repeatedly. What had started as just another thunderstorm had become the most deadly hurricane in history. Maya remembered the hottest summer days before the whirlwind. At first, the winds intensified. Then, the sky darkened and the rain started. As the descending cool air met the hot air rising from below, falling droplets met ascending droplets forming bigger drops. As they grew in size, they fell faster before the rain started hammering the forest. The combination of rain and furious winds destroyed everything that stood in their way. By Maya's reckoning, the wind accelerated to cyclone. The trees in the forest swayed back and forth, creating an appearance of ghostly dancers-especially at night. As the rumbling of the storm continued, Maya could see the spiraling funnels traveling at high speed, uprooting thousands of trees. As the storm began, sunlight sprayed its eye and produced scary olive-green clouds and a spectral pink light. This created a visual effect, as if the sky were bleeding.

All hell broke loose when the river began to overflow and the forest's natural dams started to leak. As the water in the river rose rapidly, the winds raised surges that turned even more destructive than the storm itself. When the river broke its banks, Maya closed her eyes. The water rushed through the forest like a raging bull.

Already saturated ground could no longer absorb the water, turning the forest into a floating island. The once vibrant forest filled with animal and birds became a deathtrap for many of them. The flash floods also created significant risk to the inhabitants who lived beneath the surface of the forest. Millions of insects, spiders, and snakes lived in the dark tunnels of their underground homes; decomposed leaves and bones where they had built dwellings for themselves in the cavernous tunnels. Their survival also depended upon the fate of the forest. The torrential rain and flash flood became cadaverous for them, as well. Those who were strong fled the forest whereas others like Maya, who stayed put, made the mistake of their lifetime. Nature is finally avenging itself, as it can no longer tolerate the abuse by its children, Maya thought. Unfortunately, she and the other innocent animals were the ones paying the ultimate price.

Maya kept wondering, Is this thunderstorm the worst I've ever seen? Is this even worse than the tsunami after that major earthquake? That tsunami took so many innocent lives in many different parts of the world. Maya saw the tsunami waves from the sky above and had tried to caution humans on the beach, but all of her efforts were ineffective as she could not speak their language. When she'd tried to warn them by flying close to them, they welcomed her with stones. She'd felt helpless and frustrated. A few minutes later, the gigantic ocean waves were swallowing up people and their belongings like a whale devouring planktons. For the first time, Maya blamed herself for not speaking the human language. But then, she questioned, What if I did? Would they have listened to my pleading? Maya remained dubious. She knew that the humans were too preoccupied with racing through their lives. Why would they pay attention to a crying bird? They had no time. They were always on the go and even at night, they barely slept. They had no time to listen to a bird.

Maya kept on thinking, Is this storm a worse catastrophe than the earthquake I witnessed a few years back? That earthquake had completely flattened the entire city and leveled all the tall buildings and houses in it. It had killed thousands of people and destroyed countless lives. Once again, Maya felt numb. She wanted to help. But how could she?

Is this even worse than the wildfire that had burned forests and many houses in the nearby village? Maya lived in a forest and knew that it was natural for fire to happen, but it was the worst fire she had ever seen. For a moment, she felt fortunate to be a bird. But then, what about other animals? From the sky above, she saw zebras, kangaroos, monkeys, and elephants running desperately to save their lives. Where could they go? All the escape routes were engulfed by the raging fire, so many of them were burned alive. Within a few days, the forests and cities had become ghost towns. Even Maya could not escape the smoke and her beautiful soft feathers had become ashen with gray dust. Despite all, Maya had tried her best to save as many lives she could. A sleeping owl became her friend for life, as she woke him up in time and saved his family. Maya felt fortuitous because she spoke the same language as the owl.

Is this storm a worse catastrophe than the volcanic eruptions a few years back when volcanic ash clouds blanketed the skies for many months? Those dusty clouds had turned many forests and towns into dry gray deserts. Many birds fled the region, as breathing became more and more tiresome. The floating lava burned every living creature on that mountain top. As it merged with the ocean water, the lava created hot fumes that made the ocean look like a pot of boiling water.

Maya could see the devastation in her forest. She watched as the decaying carcasses of dead animals slowly disintegrated. Maya felt lucky but wasn't sure whether to appreciate God for her own survival or to blame Him for everyone else's misfortune. Sitting above the ground, she could see that few animals survived. Zebras and monkeys had clung to tree trunks to keep from drowning. A few elephants stood in front of them like a brick wall to keep them from getting washed away. Every one was fighting to save each other's lives. Maya remained seated on the branch, grieving for her own loss and for the suffering of her animal friends. She knew that death was certain for all living beings, but she could not withdraw from her emotions. While witnessing the premature deaths of her loved ones, the tears began to roll down her cheeks.

In recent years, Maya had been through countless natural disaster. She remembered witnessing humans' agony and suffering after a powerful hurricane devastated an entire city. As she flew across the sky, she saw humans standing on rooftops pleading for help. She saw helicopters hovering in the skies hoping to save a few who were nearly drowning. Much like her animal friends, she saw people fighting over food and water. She saw them looting and resorting to violence just for a piece of bread. She also remembered seeing dead carcasses of humans and animals floating in the water and on the streets. Maya always admired humans, but she wept when she saw humans behaving like animals. What a contrast, she thought.

Maya kept her eyes closed. Thoughts kept flying in her already distressed and tired mind. She could not resist them. Her mind kept wondering, Why so many natural disasters lately? And why am I experiencing all the agony and suffering? Even though Maya knew that nature was always unpredictable, she could not understand why it was changing so dramatically. She knew that there were even bigger catastrophic events in the history of the world, but the climate was not this bad when she was growing up. Oh boy! She had many unforgettable memories. She had many animal and bird friends in this forest. Most of them either flew away to find a better place, or died. Maya also had an extended family. She had many brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces, uncles, aunts and, of course, her own parents. But now she was alone. All of them had moved away to find a better source of food and water. Maya recalled that her parents had also migrated to this forest in search of food and water many years before she was born. She remembered her parents telling her how they fell in love with this place when they came to this forest for the first time and decided to make this forest a permanent place for their nest. They had named her Maya which meant Illusion. But today, Maya was no longer in an illusion. She was becoming an intimate part of the changes taking place in her forest. She missed her family a lot and traveled to visit them many times. Other times, she received news about them from other migratory birds, as they rested on Maya's tree on their way to their final destination. She heard that the situation in their part of the world was also depressing. But now, they were attached to their place just like Maya was to hers and, therefore, they did not want to relocate.

Maya remembered that once upon a time, this forest also used to have many delicious fruits and nuts, but they had also disappeared. On some dreadful days, Maya also felt like flying away forever, but she didn't know where to go. She was not young anymore and did not have enough strength to fly a long distance. That was exactly the reason she had stayed behind this time and not traveled with her lifelong friends, Molly and Toby. Today, however, she felt contrary and wanted to fly somewhere far away forever. She wanted to become like a saint who visits many different places alone to help needy humans; never staying in one place and never getting attached to anything- just keep moving, yet staying very happy. Why can't I become more like the doctors without borders? Maya questioned. Those doctors did their best to save human lives, but never get attached to their patients. They just cured them and moved on. But then again, how could she detach herself from her childhood memories and her friends? There is no way I could do that, Maya thought. Then she made up her mind and declared to herself that when her friends returned, they would all leave this annoying place forever. For now, all Maya wanted to do was keep her eyes closed and focus on her golden past and unforgettable memories rather than beholding the unfolding calamity in the front of her eyes.

Maya still wanted to overlook the ongoing disaster in her forest, but a loud thunderclap shook her up. It sounded like an atomic blast. All of a sudden, her thoughts were diverted in the direction of the stories that she had heard from her parents about the real atomic blast many years ago. She wasn't born then, but she still vividly remembered her parents describing the mushroom cloud hovering in the sky because of an atomic explosion. Even then, Maya questioned, "Why would humans develop such weapons of mass destruction that would kill thousands of their own kind? A few years back when she visited that region, she saw the sufferings of humans in the aftermath of that blast. Maya always wanted to picture the world in peace and harmony. She always told herself that, even if she acquired great powers like humans, she would never use them to hurt anyone. It wasn't that long ago when she saw people chasing each other with guns and shooting at each other in her own forest. Their chase became deadly for many innocent animals and birds caught in the cross-fire. She wondered what the animals did to deserve their premature deaths.

Again, there was a loud cracking noise-like a gun shot-followed by a huge crash. But this time, Maya knew that a big tree had fallen somewhere close by. It was still very dark, so she could not see anything. But in the distance, she heard the screeching of a mother bird desperately searching for her baby. Maya became overwhelmed with compassion, as she could not ignore the mother's pleading cries for her baby. Maya wanted to fly and help her in rescuing the baby. But instead, she remained seated. She knew that it would be an impossible mission, as the dark forces of nature started to take over the forest.

The unending storm had destroyed century-old, gigantic trees that used to be playgrounds for Maya and her friends. She was aware that with each fallen tree, countless animals and birds lost their homes. Maya learned that the crown of every tree was like a miniature city with its own population of permanent residents. Visitors such as monkeys, birds and lizards would come and go, moving from town to town in search of food, but some creatures spent their entire lives in the same treetop. Maya was disheartened by that fact. In desperation, she looked up toward the sky. It was still pitch black, with greenish-gray clouds still winning their battle with the sun. Maya was hungry and thirsty, but too weak to fly in search of food. She thought that only the sunshine could bring some relief. Only the sunshine could help her to regain her energy and enthusiasm. Soon, the forest was taken over by bloodthirsty mosquitoes and insects. They buzzed and whined around the decaying bodies of dead animals, clinging to every part of their soulless corpses, getting into any openings-such as ears, noses or mouths. She heard the chatter of small birds and animals in the canopy of the trees above her, as they were also trying to ignore the miseries surrounding them. Maya remained motionless when she saw the coral snake that slithered by. She was no longer afraid of death, but she did not want to become dinner for that hungry snake. As her eyes started following the path of the snake, her thoughts started traveling in the direction of her bird- hood memories. Itineraries of her past travels started flashing across her eyes ...

Chapter Two

Globe Trotting Maya

Maya had always enjoyed traveling to different parts of the world for relaxation. Ever since she was young, she enjoyed visiting new places and learning about them. Sometimes, she would fly east for a season, then west the next year, then south, and then north. Initially she traveled alone, until she met Molly, and then Toby. She loved flying over different landscapes and natural wonders, but mostly she was fond of observing humans and their accomplishments in various parts of the world. Because of her keen observations, she had developed an enormous respect for the strengths, courage and ingenuity of humans. She was impressed by humans because of their inventions and their ability to adapt to changing times. From early on, she realized that humans were always one step ahead of their time. Humans had the ability and the vision to change their destiny by constantly embracing changes. Maya was aware of the fact that humans were not biologically "special" and had descended from monkeys. They had just evolved in Eocene to make their lives more comfortable. They used to reside in temporary shelters made of sticks and branches. Their houses were made of mud walls and they used tools made of wood, bone and stone. Even their utensils were made of clay, and they burned wood to prepare their meals. But now, they occupied bigger, sturdier and very comfortable houses. Now, they rode in cars and planes and, in many ways, their lives changed daily to accommodate their needs. Maya always respected humans for their foresight and ability to predict the future. She wasn't jealous of humans, but had always wondered if birds could also make changes in their lives considering the changing climate.

(Continues...)

Excerpted from Birds Chasing Hopeby Ashish Modi Copyright © 2011 by Dr. Ashish Modi. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.