A little Love

As the hostel bell rang early in the morning, I woke up and hurried for my Art class. While on my way to the Campus, I found a little puppy sitting and whimpering on the footpath on the outskirts of a garden. Fighting my urge to take him with myself back to the hostel, I tried walking on but couldn’t. I gave him my lunch which he, to my surprise, devoured quickly and I resolved to take him into my lodgings. Too occupied as I was to notice that he had a leash on and could be someone’s pet, we walked on like childhood buddies with the same stance. His little white furred body trotted beside me to catch up with my pace and made him look so little a treasure that I felt impulsively protective of him.

I hid him in my bag as I entered the gates of my hostel since animals were not allowed inside the rooms. Tired as I was from this long walk, I lay on my bed and could see his head jump up a second after another accompanied by a singing bark from his throat as he tried to jump up on the bed beside me but couldn’t because of his small size.

I did not realize that I’d fallen asleep until there was a knock on the door which woke me up and I noticed the little pup streak across the floor, tossing up the rugs as he slid, and not stopping until he crashed into the door with a loud thud. He then hopped up on his hind legs, yelping wildly. This is when I realized that this little creature was not a delicate angel but a vigorous, slightly crazed devil that was yet somehow joyous in its eyes. I knew that calming him down would be of no use and I opened the door with a slight queasiness to see a hostel member asking me to take the dog out.

I did not know what to do with him but surely I did not and would not let him be on his own all alone and not looked after. Nevertheless, I decided to take him to the same place where I’d found him in the hope that his owner might come around finding him. When we reached the place, I sat on a bench in the garden adjacent to the place and tried to keep the little urchin entertained and wagged a stick in front of his face. He stared at it as a starving man would stare at a loaf of bread. “Go get it!” I shouted, and hurled the stick as far out in the garden as I could. He jumped up the low concrete barrier in one spectacular leap and galloped down the steep in the garden out into a grove of plants. He came charging back up onto the bench with his prize in his teeth. “Bring it here!” I yelled, slapping my hands together. He pranced over, his whole body wagging with excitement, and promptly shook the leaves and mud all over me! And I thought to myself, this is what overexcited energized bunch of animals were born to do.

The little devil

It was like I was living with a wild horse and was assured that this little creature can teach me about living each day with unbridled exuberance and joy, about seizing the moment and following your heart. He could teach me to appreciate the simple things- a walk in the garden, a fresh energetic evening and to miss classes for an enjoyable nap.

I wondered if it was possible for a dog- any dog, but especially a nutty, wildly uncontrollable one like him- to point humans to the things that really mattered in life; and looking at him I believed it was!

And this is the reason why I did not name him because then it would have hurt me more to let him go than it would hurt me now when I’d not named him. Be it whatsoever, I found it amazing and unbelievable that how attached I grew to him in matter of just a few hours. However, interrupting my sad brooding, I heard the little devil’s bark that filled my heart with all the love for him and I continued playing our game with him, not knowing and caring of the future.