A few days have been passed since then. Monu slowly forgot that he was angry with Mother. A growing determination to look beyond the "Sky" replaced his all other emotions. One fine morning he came up with an idea. He started digging up the yard and then piled up all the mud from the hole near the wall. When it was high enough he climbed up and peeked over the wall.

He was mesmerized by what he saw. There were many other houses around. Some are small, some are bigger. All have walls around them. He couldn't believe his eyes. And then there was this house. Biggest of all, glowing red and with its own electricity it dazzled his eyes. His eyes were hurting but he couldn't look away either. The sight was captivating.

The space between the houses was strangely dark. And there were little white flowers all over the place. He named them "Stars".

Monu has a different plan now. Only looking was not enough for him. He wanted to go beyond the wall himself and discover the outside. There were so many questions arising in his little head. Who lives in those other houses? Are they same as him? Will they be friendly?

He kept digging up the yard and kept raising the height of the mudhill a little by little. But he completely ignored that the hole in the yard was growing deeper and deeper.

Finally one day he made the hill high enough for him to cross the wall. And he managed to gather a rope long enough to climb down the wall on the other side.

He couldn't sleep that night. Everything was finally in place. He will go outside for the first time. Who knows what other fascinating things are waiting for him beyond the wall.

The next morning Monu progressed as planned. He went outside the wall for the first time. With his tiny two eyes he captured all the pictures he could. But he couldn't go much far. The other houses have walls too. So he was strolling while enjoying the surrounding and a thorn got stuck in his foot. He had to return immediately.

~To be continued...

© Avik Ghosh