When you talk of the most enigmatic feeling in this world, you got to be careful with the words that you choose. I choose to be simple and uncomplicated. Love is that little word which has the power to make the world go around, to turn lives upside down, to heal and to destroy. Everything that we have around is held in place by this feeling. It holds in itself the power to make the keenest of the observers go blind with emotion, to turn rakes into perfect gentlemen…in total- to perfect the imperfection. Knowing that my words are misleading, let it be clear that this is not about me, but of a grand fiesta that my eyes enjoyed for the past couple of days.
It is a simple tale of hearts, a tale of the sinfully pious feeling that left me bewildered yet amused at the same time.
I do not know exactly when it began, but I became an observer recently. One night when I lay on the bed, twisting and turning to grab some sleep, I heard a noise outside- the yelping of a dog. Weak, yet shrill and piercing. It was the first time, so I chose to ignore it. The next day almost at the same time I heard this yelp, same dog it was, the piercing sound was unmistakable. The bark continued for a considerably long time, robbing me and my sister of our sleeps. And then she exclaimed, “Damn it, that horrible dog again!” I became curious at this irritated remark and felt as though she knew who was barking. I asked her which dog this was exactly and she replied in the same irritated tone, “That shabby white dog of the neighbor…comes here every day.”
I pressed on the last word she mouthed- ’Everyday’. Having a lady dog in our own house made it quite easy for me to join the dots. Evidently there was something brewing between the two. To conform my straying guesses I asked her, “Is this white shabby dog a guy?”
“Oh yes.” She replied.
My idle brain had something to brood on since the exams got over. This something was way too interesting. My day began quite late as usual. While sipping the tea I noticed the white shabby dog. Indeed that was a perfect description for the sight that was before me. The dog looked very frail as if it wasn’t fed enough, and its fur that had a white shade only in the roots shouted for itself that it wasn’t cleaned since birth. The walking style wasn’t very impressive and the weak barking made things worse. I wouldn’t have chosen this one, I said to myself. It yelped again and pressed its head near the gate. As if on impulse, the lady dog in our house ran to the gate. She looked around to spot someone watching, since she presumed that there wasn’t anyone, she continued her way to the gate. She stared across at her admirer who was clearly smitten in all possible ways. The dog yelped again and she replied in muffles.
They were communicating complicated things I assumed and it went on and on. The closed gate made things quite reassuring. At this point how I wished that I knew some dog language. Eavesdropping would have been more fun then. As I opened the door, our dog silently walked towards me, guilt spread all over the face. She tried to look me in the eyes but dropped her gaze after a few seconds. Now this was really funny. The exact same emotions of a human- when they are caught off guard- was being shown by our pet. She had cast a very innocent impression on me till I knew about this unexplained saga of emotion. Can I call it love? I was not sure, so I decided to wait for a couple of days.
This became a routine for me, watching them while doing my work, trying to understand their emotions and I took great care not to intrude except on special occasions when going out was really inevitable. When I did, our dog would return from the gate but the white shabby one would wait earnestly at the gate for her to return. They had a lot to talk, share and discover. At some special moments our lady dog would snuggle onto the metal bars of the gate to express an emotion, and the white one would do the same from the other side. The gate inhibited them from each other leaving many emotions unexplained.
I always left them on their own until things became a little beyond normal. The white dog started barking insistently putting in all the effort that he could spare. Our dog would go to the gate to talk things out (I assume) but he continued to bark nevertheless. It was neither funny nor interesting any more, if it evoked any emotion in me, it was irritation. For I could no longer concentrate on things that I was doing, even earphones did no good, the sound pierced into my ears. Having left with no other option, I started chasing the white dog from his usual position at the gate.
But things turned out as I had least expected it to. Even after chasing several times he returned to the same position. Barking, and yelping even more. This intrigued me. There was no fear in him, and he didn’t get the least bit intimidated by sticks or stones. He kept returning whatsoever was meted out to him.
Days passed and the emotion grew within the both. The feeling that had started at the either sides of a gate became something else altogether. Something more powerful.
In the days that followed the white dog started making attempts to sneak into the compound. Whenever the gate opened, he made a futile attempt to do so. When the gate closed he started jumping, in an anticipation to jump over the gate one day and meet his lady love without inhibitions of metal rods. The high jump practice grew funny for us by each day, and it became his only pursuit.
Now I was sure that I could call this love. It was unfathomable and kept growing.
Every morning this act would begin and I would watch with utmost curiosity. The dog would bark, jump, run about the gate, and wait for it to open. It never did, but the white dog did not give up his hope. He lied nearby the gate and his lady love would attend from time to time. It felt as if he felt neither the rumble of his stomach nor the quench for water. He never left the place. The desire in his eyes was unmistakable and so was the growing tension of emotions between the two.
He would trade anything to make a way into this enclosure, I couldn’t feel the depth of what they shared but I knew. All the same I could not open the gates and let him inside.
Then that day came. One evening we opened the gates for some purpose and someone’s eyes sparkled at the opportunity to sneak in. Without wasting another moment the dog moved in. In between our activities we failed to spot this intruder. By the time I saw him, he was already near his lady. Neither of them barked or muffled. Silence spoke louder things between the two. They stared at each other once and for all without inhibitions. It was a sight worth watching.
But this bliss of unison wasn’t destined to last long. All the others in the house spotted the intruder and started chasing him. He ran with all his might but did not flee the compound, he ran in and around the house. We had to pick up sticks to shoo the dog away. The emotions were to be ignored. The sticks hit the dog hard with each blow and it winced, but did not make a noise. After a lot of effort the dog had no other option than to leave the compound.
I felt as though some Bollywood SRK movie was going on in front of me. The hero loving a girl whom he could not have, his endless pursuit which ends up in some dramatic action, followed by some blood sheds, the hero winning his girl at last and walking with her in slow motion while some piano notes are played in the background. Except the last part, everything took place in front of me. The saga of unexplained emotions, desires and love had come to a standstill.
The next day no one came to the gate, our dog was grounded for the time being, she was tied far from the gate to avoid any further scandalous affaires. Days passed and no one showed up at the gate. She tried to stop staring at the gate but each time she heard a bark, her eyes darted towards the gate. Those brilliant eyes shone with the anticipation of spotting her love, once again. The fate had planned things otherwise and things did not happen as she wished. I was perplexed as the dog had suddenly given up on her. Later I came to know that the white one also was grounded by his master. And hence the meeting never happened again. The story of hearts thus came into a halt for I and our dog don’t wish to imagine that the saga has ended. It may continue, she waits and so do I.
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