In the arts faculty of NUS, there is a canteen. It is known as "The Deck". It is frequented by mostly arts students and is always extremely crowded in the afternoon."The Deck" is built on the top of the slope. It has a number of stalls providing a variety of food. The canteen has a layout resembling a steppe since it is built on a slope. The highest level is where all the food stalls are located. There are three levels in all. And at the lowest level beside the canteen, there is a small area beside it where trees, shrubs and wild grasses grow freely. Wild mynahs populate there and make it their home. The mynahs are notorious for their bandit like character. From far, the mynahs spot the unattended food on the tables, the unsuspecting careless man who left for a moment will return with a shock when they witness the sight of the mynahs gobbling up their food before taking off its flight. The table-cleaners are not happy about the presence of the mynahs. The Indian cleaner say to the Chinese cleaner, "Stupid mynahs, I hate them. Always make a mess with their feathers. I hope someone can do something to them" The Chinese cleaner responded with a chuckle and shook her head.
Now there are two life science undergraduates by the name of Nelson and Javier. They are two rather philosophical and deep people who enjoy nothing but a good round of discussion of issues in their spare time. They went to the arts canteen for lunch. It was quite empty when they reach there. Javier said to Nelson, "Look at the mynahs. Are they not interesting creatures? Free to wander on this earth, with nothing to rein them in. They are enjoying themselves. They do not need to trouble about money nor food for they have their clever means to survive, by choosing to live near to the human community." Nelson replied, "That is an interesting observation. It seems to be that way, my friend." Javier pointed at one mynah, "I wonder if I can come close enough to this creature and pat its head." Javier tried and it was of course, a futile attempt.
Then, Javier spotted something peculiar. It was indeed an unusual sight. On the side of the wall, there was a pair of mynahs. One was turning its back against the other mynah, and that mynah behind it was calling out to it. "Did you see that? A courtship between the mynahs is going on. Let's watch and see what will happen." Javier exclaimed. The lady mynah flew to a green table and stood there. The male mynah followed it and called out again. Yet, the lady was unmoved and remained cold, turning its back as like before. The male mynah was still passionate, trying to impress its love. It followed the mynah everywhere she went. The male mynah suddenly flew away. Shortly after, it returned with something in its beak. It approached the mynah from the front and released it. It turned out to be a tiny chunk of meat. Alas, the lady mynah was unimpressed and turned it back around, treating the mynah in oblivion.
Javier made a remark to Nelson, "The mynah has a choice. Yet, it chose to go through all the trouble and make its own life miserable, trying to please someone who does not appreciate it. It is just not worth it. There are so many other mynahs around. Yet, it sees no interest in the rest, and continued with its futile courtship. I hope one day, the mynah could understand this." Nelson replied, "They say love is blind. Only the outsiders can see things clear enough. Those in love lose their judgment. Love is, I think an entrapment, once trapped, it is hard for you to get out of it. You will be so helpless then." Javier nod in agreement and they left hurriedly for their next lecture.
