Man, you are a
cheat
After retiring from service in 2001, it was my routine to sit
out in the evenings, to see the night slowly replacing the day. To see the
stars begin to shine upon the dark robe which Mother Nature prefers to wear
during nights. On full-moon nights, the sky will appear like a boundless dancing
floor, where the stars dance in the cool light of moon. On rainy days, while
looking at the sky, the earth will emerge as a huge ship moving through the pitter-patter
of rain towards eternity. In the darkness of new moon days, but for the
chirping of insects and occasional warble and twitter of birds, the
surroundings of my house will be strangely silent. Even the sound and noise of
television, which the other members of family savored, reached me only as a
soft vibration, since my seat was far away from it. Even those stray dogs, who wandering
around our house during day time, running hither and yon, barking and howling
and yowling, kept quiet during nights, obeying the mysterious command of nature.
It
was on one of such late evening of a rainy day that he came to me. In fact, it
was raining throughout the day, but by evening it had reduced to a thin
drizzle. He entered into the sit-out as if to escape from the rain, while his
companion, another waif - who was bigger than him- had run away. Once inside,
he began to shake off the water from his body that he saw me. He stood still
for some time, looking directly into my eyes and probably seeing no trace of
animosity there, completed the process of shaking off water.
