Recollections of a Bravery Award Winner

Young Adult Fiction
4.8 out of 5 (142 रेटिंग्स)
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It was late evening by the time I had bid goodbye to my friends. Layla wanted me to stay back a little longer, but it was getting quite late now. I needed to be home, before Dad got into a bad mood. And I’d really not find Dad in a bad mood.

Well, to be honest, it is not that Dad often gets into a bad mood. But then again, he does, doesn’t he? When the room’s messy, or the bathroom's dirty, or the fridge is empty or sometimes, when I speak too much - oh boy, you better watch out then! But he wasn’t like this always, you know, if I am being completely honest with you. It all started when that thing happened and Mom moved out of the house and Dad wasn’t the same ever again. In this old house with five windows and one bathroom, only he and I were left. And then slowly, all his bad habits caught up with him. All of them have been sharing our living space since.

Today, I left home earlier than usual. I’ll tell you why. You see, Dad had lately been smoking a lot of cigarettes, about two white packets a day, and I really can’t tolerate that smell. So when it was getting unbearable, I shouted at him. ‘Dad! Why do you always do this?’, I yelled angrily, ‘Don’t you know I can’t breathe? Dad?! Look at me! I have told you this before as well! Why do you –‘ Before I could go on, a book whizzed past my head. Then a plastic mug. And then another heavy black hardbound with shouts that made no sense. I ran away to save myself, found the main door open, and thought, why not? It seemed like a windy evening. It smelled like rain. I bet it would be easier to breathe outside than in. And guess what? It really was.

On my way back now, I took my usual route. I left the alley behind the garage and took left on the road that goes straight past the post-office. I continued to walk for a minute until I arrived right at the mouth of the lane where we stay. But today, it was blocked. A huge thing of wood had been made overnight. On that, a woman was moving around and a loud booming sound was coming from some terrifyingly huge, black cubes, with lots of people clapping and shouting and jumping. I somehow weaved through them, ignoring all the nasty things thrown at me, and reached inside the lane that leads to our house.

It was dark on our lane, with the streetlights blinded since the past few days. Quickly walking in the thick darkness, I was worried sick that perhaps, I was way over my usual time to come back home. Dad was surely mad.

‘Dad! Dad!’, I shouted a bit nervously, once I stood outside our gate.

The lights in the veranda were on, meaning Dad was home. So anytime now. I waited for him to come outside and unlock the gate for me.

But strangely enough, he didn’t.

‘Dad!’ I shouted again after a few minutes.

Nothing.

No response.

Strange. This wasn't usual. Is it possible that Dad had gone somewhere? Wondering what was going on, I climbed over the wall, jumped over to the other side, landed on a pile of leaves and mud (which is why Dad always scolds me if I do this) and ran straight for the door.

‘Dad! Open the door! It’s me!’, I shouted again.

Between the faint sounds of the music booming and people cheering, I could hear another familiar sound. The television. Evening news. So then Dad was home. But why was he not answering?

In trying to pry the door open, I gave it a hard push with my shoulders. To my surprise, it creaked slightly. A little push more. A little more gap. Good enough for me to slither in. Voila!

Inside, the sound of news became louder. But no Dad. The television was on, but he wasn’t sitting in front of the screen.

‘Da-a-d!’ I shouted once again. Louder than before.

Something moved.

As soon as I heard that, I ran past the sofa into the bathroom - saw he wasn’t there either - then sliced through an empty kitchen before taking a quick turn at the stairs and leaping up across it until I made it to the bedroom on the first floor - where I froze.

There he was.

Lying in the doorway, sprawled across the floor.

His back facing the ceiling. Spit drooling out from his face. Barely breathing.

But still alive.

‘Dad! Da-a-ad!’, I ran up to him. ‘Dad! Look at me, Dad!’, I shouted at the top of my lungs, pulling his shirt to make him sit up. But I couldn’t, and he wouldn’t. His face was red, he was covered in sweat and he was groaning in pain.

In that moment when time stopped, all I knew was that this was not how Dad was supposed to be. I needed to help him.

Without a second thought, I sped down the stairs, darted through the driveway, climbed up the wall and dropped onto a pothole on the dark road.

‘Help!’, I shouted, ‘He-e-lp!’, as my feet hurt from impact.

I could hear people jumping and shouting, yet nobody answered.

And then I saw them.

In the house opposite ours, I could see them through the window. A Man and a Woman sitting in front of a television just like the one we had. I knew Dad liked them, so without a second thought, I went up to their door.

‘Help! Please help!’ I shouted, ‘My Dad is not moving! He is lying on the floor and groaning in pain! I don’t know what to do! Please! Please help me! Help! Please help my –‘

The door opened. The Man came out.

‘Hey! What’s wrong? Why are you yelling like this?’

I repeated everything I had just said at triple the speed and double the length. Some of the words got muddled and mixed, but I thought I was able to get the message out.

‘I have no clue what you are trying to tell me, sweetheart!’, the Man smiled and nodded his head.

Now the Woman came outside too. ‘What’s the matter?’ she asked, and then she saw me and added, ’What’s up with him?’

‘He’s trying to tell me something but I really don’t know what that is’, the Man replied, confused.

‘I am trying to tell you that my Dad is unwell!’ I started again, ‘Please, help! My Dad is not moving! He is lying on the floor and groaning in pain! I don’t know what to do!’

‘Maybe something has happened to the old man he stays with’, the Woman interjected.


‘Yes! You are right! Please come with me!’ I shouted again, agreeing with her, as I tried to tug the Man towards our house.


‘Let’s take a look’, he said.


And so they both tumbled right outside in their slippers and pyjamas, running behind me, until they too dashed through our hallway and reached straight up to where Dad was.

Too many things happened soon after that.

The Man and the Woman started looking for a phone, which I finally dug out from the bottom of the sofa. Within a few minutes, I heard a loud, looping noise. As I ran outside, I saw the people who were shouting earlier now removing chairs and making space for a big, white car to come inside our lane. Once it entered, I ran ahead of the lights showing them the route, all the while telling the driver to hurry up, for God’s sake! When the big, white car stopped, two men came out and followed me up to the first floor. Soon after, they were on their way out with him, pushing along a bed with wheels. I wanted to follow them when they took Dad away somewhere, but the Woman hugged me tightly and wouldn’t let me leave. ‘Dad! Come back soon!’, I shouted as the white car vanished from sight. Around me, I heard things like ‘They arrived just in time’, and ‘I think he will be alright’, and ‘Should we not call someone?’, which perhaps meant Dad would be okay. All the neighbours had come over, including the fat lady I don’t like.

It was late now. The stars looked brighter than usual, tonight that our lane was blind. It had started to rain lightly. The Man and the Woman wanted me to stay with them, but who would look after my house if I wasn't around? So they brought me some milk and biscuits which I gorged on hungrily, and then they gave some more. And when all of it was done, I tucked my tail between my legs, licked my fur, scratched my right ear with my paw, and while looking at the stars and thinking about my Dad, I had no idea when I fell asleep.

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