The Visit

“Chhotuuuuu,” said the man with a bag on his back.

The 6-month old puppy lying between two charpais stood upright realizing it was a familiar voice, if not the name. Still not sure of what Chhotu meant, she looked down at the black and green shoes and raised her head to see the guy with hair shorter than Chhotu’s fur.

Chhotu used to jump with joy seeing this man, but she kept her head down and 

between the charpais, refusing to move. The guy with black-and-green-shoes 

vanished vacating the little space for the street light to pierce through.

He came back few moments later, picked up Chhotu with both his hands after keeping the charpai  aside and surreptitiously crossed the road. Chhotu had no option but to trust him, same as the last time when he took her to a new place where she was not approved and fostered at his neighbor’s home with an old dog that was shy and calm, but only for one day. He returned to what was his original home the next day.

But he walked a different path this time than the last, she kept staring and smelling everything on the way. She looked up at him; he looked down in her eyes, and she saw the ends of his lip curve upwards as he stroked his hand on her head and then in front of her mouth for her to feel safe with a familiar smell.

As he held her his arms, Chhotu laid her head on his chest and felt safe. He turned to push a transparent door by his shoulder, and from the black sky, they walked into a room shimmering white. She noticed someone like her, as big as herself, sprawled in the corner with a bowl filled with water. She looked around and saw the long snake-like ropes hung around with a circular end. There were pictures of other drooling creatures on yellow fluffed background, the space was filled with images of those same as her, but she was afraid as other adult 4-legged beings haven't been kind to her and left a wound on her leg and back some time ago when they snatched her food and she was left on side of the road, wailing.

He talked to the guy sitting in the chair and took her inside in a room with dimmer lights, and put her down on a five-feet long steel table that was too big for her. Before she could reckon, there were two more men standing in front of her. She stood with her forelimbs at the end of the table, ready to jump, but she was lifted and allowed to rest at the other side of the table with her back against the wall.

“She's been lazy”, said the guy with black-and-green-shoes, “and hasn’t eaten anything for past 2 days, only water.”

“Chhotu”, said the bigger guy as she looked above in hope, “Check her temperature.”

 The smallest of them took out a thermometer, cleaned the bottom with a wet cotton, and put that end in her rectum with one hand and her tail with another.

“102…” claimed the biggest as he grabbed her skin between his thumb and index finger, wondering maybe her skin was loose, fixed it like a man fixes his shirt until it looked perfect, “Her immunity maybe is low.”

“Should I take her to a vet?” asked the wonted face as the biggest one filled a syringe with no needle, emptying it in her mouth.

“I’ve given her a med, watch for some time”

He held Chhotu in his hands again and she rested her head on the same cushion she came in with, walking out into the black sky again via the glistening room filled with ropes and the little one still sprawled beside his water bowl.

The passage now seemed a little recognizable to Chhotu, she again rest her head on his chest, but not before looking up again to the guy looking down at her, smiling.

“Bye,” said the guy with black-and –green shoes oscillating his fingers right, then left, then right, then left again as he put her down on the ground near the charpai. Aware of what the sign meant, she grabbed an end of the lace of his shoe in her mouth and undid the knot. Before he could kneel to tie it, she swiftly moved to the other shoe and undid it too. It had become a habit of her now to untie the laces whenever someone oscillated their hand because she knew she won’t see them again for some time. He stayed long enough to tie his shoes and started walking again, oscillating his hands. Chhotu ran with him, blocked his way, but he only looked down and smiled at her. She stopped and saw the distance increasing with his each step. She tilted her head to the right as he looked back and passed on the last smile before walking away. Chhotu found his place among the charpais again….hoping…when joy would come again…when the night would come again, for he only came when darkness had settled.