Aristocrat silence all over the conference hall; all the delegates are seated. The master of ceremony comes in; invites the speakers of the session to the stage one by one.
The speakers in this climate change conference are of very high profile that includes even two influential ex heads of state. While the third speaker is being requested to come forward to the stage and take his seat, the first one screamed “Oh God” and jumped on his chair. Suddenly, the whole scenario of the hall changed. People, some people, unknowingly screamed. All the bright faces became pale at once with unknown fear.
The main focus of this climate change conference is to look into the issue of climate refugees. Global warming is becoming a threat to global stability day by day. People will be forced to leave their countries due to rise of sea level. The conference will examine how the issue of climate refugees is going to create social, political unrest throughout the world; and what the world leadership needs to do to address that.
However, our guest has jumped on the table by this time. Holding his folded knees by two hands, he is giving a frightened look around the table. Leaning his head, he is trying to look under the table. Cameras are trying to follow under the table; but those were fully covered with imported orchid flowers. Nothing could be seen except eye-catchy flowers.
The security people start running through the aisle to get to the stage. Bomb disposal unit rushes in. A senior security official tells someone “evacuate”. The announcement from behind the curtain started saying “Do not be frightened; our security team is taking care of the situation.”
The security people are showing safe passage by standing hand to hand to cordon the delegates to the assembly point. Security alarm… screaming men and women… loud instructions from security people… all together a horrible and frightening situation.Though the announcement from behind the curtain is requesting the delegates to remain calm.
Suddenly, keeping all the people at a loss, the guest pulls the microphone and starts talking “this snake is after me for the last two years”. People got partial relief; not a bomb at least! Suddenly all the arrangements were paused. A senior security personnel is shouting “snake catcher, we need snake catcher”. He is telling it to someone on a radio set, still it is sounding like he is telling everybody through a loud speaker. Everybody looks very pale. Some jumped on the chairs and started giving panicky look through the chairs.
“Wherever I am going, it is following me. Even yesterday, I talked to it. Look! The hell! It is smiling!” the guest continues his speech.
He is one of the most influential leaders of his time; still relevant even after retiring from politics. Once he had taken decisions that shook the whole world. Never has the world heard that he has a mental problem.
The security people have cordoned the stage. The guests will be taken to the safe zone. Delegates are looking into each other’s face; trying to understand whether the others have understood something.
The guest continues, “it was freezing cold; snowing; I first met it in the garden. On the first sight I did not notice that this is not a type of snake that lives in a cold country like mine; it is actually a black cobra.”
Cobra! Black cobra!! Delegates got startled once again.
“For the next couple of days, I saw it infrequently passing across me in the gardens. I called the council people; they could not find it.
I was about to forget. After a couple of months, it entered into my bedroom. Next day I saw it in the gardens again. I took a photograph. The snake catchers said, it is not a type that lives in cold weather; rather it lives in the deserts of Middle East and North Africa. They were surprised. How come it came here and how it was surviving! The zoologists found interest in it; they wanted to study its survival strategy. They put nets to catch it; failed.”
He is famous for his speeches as well. Everybody in the hall is mesmerized by this time. And it took them away from their present state of mind for a moment. Organisers, delegates, even the security personnel are all listening to him with big eyes.
After having a sip of water, he continued “avoiding the net, it was sitting under my cot.”
A snake under the cot! Everybody looks down, tries to see underneath the chairs.
“It was grinning at me. Can you imagine?”
No. Nobody could imagine that a snake is smiling at somebody.
“I came out of fear by seeing it smiling. I raised my eyebrow and asked, hey, how are you doing?
Making me astonished, the snake started talking. Look, my hair is standing on end. It said,
- How are you doing?
- Fine.
Who are you? How did you come here?
- Didn’t your specialists tell who I am?
- Oh. Where did you come from? They are saying that you live in the deserts. How did you come here?
- Don’t ask too many questions. Are you sleeping okay?
What to say. I lost control over myself and said, who can sleep with a snake under the bed?
- So why did you bring me?
- I…why should I bring you?
- Your questions are piling up. Let me answer some now; before I forget.
- It is you who brought me here.
- Me?
- Yes, you. I was sleeping under the sands…. in Mosul….
- Mosul! Means Iraq!”
Everybody come to consciousness. Iraq, Mosul, ISIS, US, NATO, Russia, Middle East… some scattered words come to their mind. Some utter one or two to themselves.
The guest continues, “now it has followed me up to here.”
Up to here!
The delegates start looking around themselves as if they are hearing this for the first time... once again.
