A lion’s Anger

On a Sunday morning, channels on the LCD television rapidly switched on a low volume. She laid lazily on the sofa & fingers swiftly pushing buttons on the remote control. Her channel surfing was unaffected by his presence or his endless search of the whole house. After he accepted the defeat, he walked to the living room. He stood beside the television & enquired, "Where is my blue shirt?" She raised slightly, with support of both elbows & looked at him. She questioned with knotted eyebrows, "What blue shirt?" He took a deep breath & expressed, "The sky blue one. I could not find it among the pressed clothes or on the freshly laundered shelf." After a few moments of thinking, she asked, "Have you checked the laundry basket?" He shook his head & walked towards the utility area to locate the blue shirt.

She shifted slightly on the sofa such that her folded left arm supported her head & right hand continued its play on the remote. Discovery Channel's program 'Pride of a lion' caught her attention. The narrative caused curiosity, "A lion may be called the king of a jungle. In reality, he sits, sleeps & lazes around. It's the lioness who hunts & feeds the cubs & the lion." Meanwhile, he searched for the blue shirt. Eureka! The blue shirt was at the bottom of a massive pile of soiled clothes. He held the blue shirt in his left hand & walked to the living room. He articulated in a raised voice, "I was planning to wear this tomorrow." Without looking at him, she casually stated, "Wear another shirt; it is not the only one you own." He added, "All my clothes are in the laundry basket." Only her eyes quickly darted towards him with the look, "So?"

Her lack of interest, laziness, eyes glued to the television & improper response irked him. He furiously asked, "Have you done your laundry?" She replied with a smile, "Every Saturday, diligently. I folded my crisp & sun-dried clothes an hour ago." He inquired, "When you washed your clothes, could you have washed mine too." She laughed, "When you do not have the time, interest, or responsibility towards your laundry. Why the expectation from me?" His demeanour was of a volcano ready to erupt. He remarked, "At least you could have reminded me to do the laundry." She sat upright & muted the television. She responded, "I did remind you for the last three weeks & you conveniently ignored it. So, I did not waste my energy or time on the fourth reminder." He argued, "What would have you lost had you done my laundry?" She grinned, tilted her head slightly & questioned, "Well, I would like to extend the same question to you. What would have you lost had you done your laundry?"

Her argumentative attitude stumped him. He voiced, "I have a client visit tomorrow." She coolly challenged, "How & why is that my concern?" He breathed heavily & remarked, "I do not have anything else to wear." She continued, "Weeks before your client visit, you spend long days for the preparation of agenda, presentation & whatnot. Perhaps, you should add laundry to your client visit to-do list." He angrily persisted, "What do I do now?" She replied, "First option, you may do the laundry now, hoping that it dries up & you can afford the time to press it. The second option, go to the closest mall, shop for something, change into it & head to the office. The last option & the easiest option is not to go to work. Up to you!" She heard his teeth grind & chose to ignore it. She set a pillow to rest her head, comfortably settled into the sofa & unmuted the channel. The narrator continued about the lion's lazy life & lioness prowess. He stomped to the utility area & showed his temper on the poor washing machine. She smirked with the thought, "Oops, I stepped on the tail of a lion & vexed him."

Take Away: Since the present generation (most) of lions are unempowered to take care of themselves, the responsibility falls on the lionesses. The lionesses are to raise the next generation of cubs (both male & female) to fend for themselves.