Moon
“Grrrr…”
The puppy growled as I slowly approached it. I look around me to check whether the mother of the puppy is nearby. Thankfully, she isn’t. As I got closer to the puppy, I realized that the puppy feared me just like I feared its mother. It was famished and dirty.
“Don’t worry. I won’t do anything to you.” I said as I started petting the puppy. I could feel its heartbeat and body shaking as I caressed its body.
“Do you want that dog?” A voice came from behind me. I turn around to see that it was my village friend. He had stopped behind me with his cycle.
“N…No. I can’t take the puppy away from its mother. It is almost like kidnapping.” I said getting up.
My friend said, “Don’t worry, bhai, the puppy doesn’t a mother. She died last week in a car accident. So, you can take it to your home.”
“B…But I am not sure the puppy will be fine with staying with me.” I said looking at the puppy whimpering in fear.
My friend replied, “But you can’t leave it here to die, right?”
“Are you sure you can take care of the puppy by yourself?” my grandmother asked me after I brought the puppy home with me. After all, I couldn’t bear to leave it on the streets. Especially after knowing that it was motherless, just like me.
“Yes.”
“Have you decided what are you going to name the puppy?” my grandmother asked.
“Umm… Yes.”
“What is it?”
“Moon.”
“That’s a nice name. Did you name it because it is a female?”
“No. It’s because of the white fur and I found her at night.”
“Oh. Anyway, I hope you can take care of yourself and the puppy. After all, I am getting old.” My grandmother said as she turned and walked away to the dining room to watch TV.
After dinner, I let Moon sleep under my bed. She was sleeping soundly after she ate the food, I had given her. That night I had my first peaceful sleep after my mother’s death.
Initially, Moon wouldn’t respond to any of my calls. She would just be scared of me and hide in a corner. But as days passed, she started listening to me. We spent most of the time playing with balls or running on the fields. The summers were the best days for us. We would go for a swim in a pond to escape the heat.
During the school days, Moon had to be locked in my room so that she didn’t follow me to school. Sorrowful howls that came from the room while I was leaving for school hurt me. When I came back from school and opened the door for Moon, she wouldn’t come out of the room. She would pretend to be angry. Only when I would bring out food, she would come. But before that she would tug at my cloth and take out all her anger on it then, only then, she would start licking me and dig into her food.
A year had passed since I brought Moon to my home. She had been a delight in my life. She would always find ways to make me happy, laugh or forget my pain. Once I had fought with my best friend and I had returned home crying, it was Moon who understood my feeling and soothed me. It was she who had barked away at the bullies who were disturbing us in the playground. She protected me from everything unpleasant.
But didn’t continue for long. One day, Moon escaped from the room after I had left home for school. When I returned home, I couldn’t find her. I searched for her everywhere. The fields we played in, the park we went to, the ponds we swam in. I found her nowhere.
I started returning home with teary eyes, I passed by a few of the boys that used to bully me. They were talking about something but when they saw me, they just grinned at me. One of them came toward me and put one of his hands around my shoulder.
“Where is that Bitch of yours? Has she run away from you after getting bored of you? Or have you gotten bored of her?” Both he and his gang started hooting with laughter.
I jumped on the boy taking him by surprise. I started punching him with all my power as tears leaked from my eyes. But I was overwhelmed by his gang. As they held me, the boy I was hitting, came forward and spat at the ground.
“I never thought a wimpy kid like you, would be able to hit me.” He said before punching me in my stomach.
“If you want to find your dog, go look for it in the dump near your school.” He said before leaving me writhing in pain.
After I recovered from the pain I stood up and headed straight for the garbage dump near my school. But I didn’t find Moon there. With no hope of finding her, I returned home. When I opened the front door, the first thing that caught my eyes was a body on the floor and my grandmother weeping near it.
My grandmother noticed me and came running towards me, “Don’t go there. There is nothing there.”
My vision blurred as I realized that it was Moon’s body. Her body was messed up. A truck must have gone over her body and distorted her body. It all felt like a dream. I couldn’t believe that Moon, who grew up with me, is now dead. That she is no more. I couldn’t take it.
I headed to my room and closed the door. There was a full moon that night. At the sight of it, I couldn’t control the tears that had started welling up inside me. Everything came at that moment.
I didn’t go for having dinner, I just sat on the windowsills and gazed up at the moon. That night, I slept under the moon.
This is story was written for one of my college assignments. I hope everyone likes this.
