The Guests

That was the first night, my father had set off to work on the nightshift and my mother, my sister and I were all alone in the house, unable to sleep. That was the time when our house was half-built. So the door which led to the garden back was not built.

“Mom, we are very afraid”, I and my sister chorused.

“Nothing will happen”, replied my mother but she seemed to be afraid too. All of a sudden we heard a noise perhaps a barking. We ignored it as we were rather afraid. In the next moment I fell asleep how I don’t know.

In the morning my father returned, tired and it was really painful for him to see us beginning the day so cheerfully. While we sat on the chair we heard the same sound.

“We are familiar with it”, I said.

“What!”, father exclaimed.

“Yes, in the night we heard the same noise but we ignored it”, replied my mother.

We went straight to the back door. To the amazement of everybody we saw a mother dog with a puppy staring at us in a fearing look. The mother dog had exceedingly bright eyes and pointed ears and same for the puppy.

“From where did they come?”, mother said.

“Oh mother, leave it. Let them be there. What matters?”, I said.

“I think that they are hungry”, father said. He went straight to the kitchen and brought a bowl of milk and gave it to the dogs. At first the mother tasted it and after seeing it okay let her baby to have it.

From that day on, there grew an attachment of us with them. The mother dog was named Laxmi while the puppy was named Anand. They were a delight.

Every night when our father returned, his first job was to feed them. We also slept peacefully as Laxmi used to guard our house. We loved Anand. We used to play many games with him. I used to take him to the playground. His favorite game was catching the ring.

After a few days, one night while we were sleeping, we heard a noise. We went straight to the backdoor. There we saw only Anand. He was being bitten by the mosquitoes. Mother made a sort of a wall against him with bricks and covered him with a flannel.

The next day as usual, father returned and went to feed them. When he went to the backdoor, he saw only Anand. He called Anand but he didn’t move. Again he shook him but no change.

“Father, can you feel his heart beat?, I cried. After unable to feel his heart beat, father said, “Son, Anand is no more”. We all cried. A storm of tears were coming out from our eyes. Father carried him and buried him in the ground.

For several days, I saw Laxmi roaming around my father’s leg for her baby and her eyes filled with tears. But now I see her roaming around with her tail moving as if she have forgotten about Anand.