At one moment, life seemed full of bliss and the very next moment, it seemed like a burden and a curse. Sophia was frustrated with the irony in her life. Why did both the guys have to be the same? There are so many men around and why was it that she raced her car with an ex-flame of her dear friend. Why? Why did he have to call Taanyaa after such a long time? Why? There were only questions but no answers.

As Sophia was coming out of the restroom and contemplating whether she should go back to the table or leave, hunger pangs bothered her. Dejection and excitement were two emotions that invariably made her hungry. She decided to go home and then call up Taanyaa to tell her that she had to leave because of some emergency.

While she walked towards the parking lot, she took out her cell phone from her purse and was surprised to see that Taanyaa had already called her seven times. She wasn’t sure if it was the purse or her emotions that muffled the ring tone but she definitely did not realize that her phone had rung so many times in the last few minutes. She erased all those call records and turned around to see if Taanyaa and Raul were searching for her. They were not.

She scanned some other faces outside the club and they all looked happy and seemed to enjoy the night. She was perhaps the only dejected soul there. She slowly walked towards the car and groped around inside her purse looking for the key when she realized that it was with Taanyaa. In desperation, Sophia banged her fist on the car and stumped her legs on the ground and both times she hurt herself.

She was still in pain and not sure what to do about the car key when a car parked right next to her car. Sophia could see the man’s face through the windshield and it definitely seemed familiar. He was in a peach T-shirt and looked more handsome than in his uniform.

Sophia couldn’t believe she was meeting the traffic cop again. She just couldn’t believe her luck! She smiled at him and he responded back with a bigger smile. He was alone and Sophia was trying to forget her pain – both physical and emotional.

He looked at Sophia and said, “I hope your car is in great condition now!”

“Yeah, it is! As you had seen last week, it was just a minor accident. Thanks for asking.”

He then turned around and asked if she was going to the club. “Yes, I am!” Sophia enthusiastically uttered and started walking with him towards the club.

“Are you alone?” he asked Sophia.

Though Sophia wasn’t alone, she lied to him. “Oh well, my friend was supposed to meet me here but she cancelled her plan at the last minute leaving me by myself. What about you?” Sophia asked and hoped desperately that he would say he is alone too.

The traffic cop was about to say something when a girl seemed to come from nowhere and hugged him. “I have been waiting here for so long. Where have you been?”

“I am sorry sweetheart…got delayed a bit.”

Sophia did not know what was going on or maybe she knew it but did not know how to react to all this. Why is the girl hugging the traffic cop? What does it mean? Sophia was also surprised to see that it was the same girl whom she had seen a few minutes ago in the restroom.

The traffic cop immediately introduced each other. “She is my fiancée, Julia” he said. He then looked at Sophia and said, “I am sorry, I get so many cases every day that I don’t remember names….you are……??”

Sophia’s heart broke into million pieces not only because he was already engaged but also because he did not know her name. And all this while, she had already fallen in love with him. Sophia wanted to simply hit both of them. Her patience had already gone thin by now but fortunately she was able to control her emotions and said “Sophia. I am Sophia.” She then looked at the girl and said, “Your fiancé gave me a speeding ticket recently! That’s how I know him.”

They all smiled and soon there was an awkward pause. Sophia looked at her watch and said, “I should be going now. You guys have a great time together!” She furiously walked back to her car only to realize that Taanyaa was standing there along with a guy. As soon as their eyes met, Taanyaa sighed as if Sophia was a lost and found property.

Taanyaa was curious to know where Sophia had been for so long but she knew she could get the details later tomorrow. She was more interested in introducing her ex-flame to Sophia.

“Sophia, meet Raul. He is the one I was talking to you about.” Taanyaa said.

Sophia stood there utterly confused. If he is Raul then who was that guy! What was that handsome guy doing in the club near our table? Why did Taanyaa smile at him? How did Taanyaa know him? Sophia couldn’t hold back her questions and asked Taanyaa about the handsome guy.

“Oh, he was my colleague, Jake!” Taanyaa said. “Just a coincidence!”

Sophia had it enough for tonight and was ready to faint!

It was Saturday and as promised, Sophia visited her friend. Last weekend, after seeing the handsome guy near the traffic signal and meeting the traffic cop, Sophia immediately called up her friend and told her about the second encounter with them. During the week, they had spoken Monday through Thursday and everyday Sophia enthusiastically repeated the entire episode to her friend. And every time, her friend Taanyaa, responded to her narrative as if she was hearing it for the first time. She never reminded Sophia that she was listening to same story probably 770th time.

Sophia and Taanyaa had an unwritten pact that they would never interrupt each other on three occasions – when gossiping, when complaining about neighbors or colleagues and when talking about something exciting– even if the same conversation was being repeated umpteen times. They both understood the pleasure of engaging in those activities and never deprived the other of that pleasure by interrupting them.

Taanyaa also had something very exciting to share but did not say anything about it to Sophia. She waited for her to come home. But when Sophia finally reached Taanyaa’s home, she quickly settled on the couch and enthusiastically repeated her tale.

“Who will I meet again, Taanyaa? And who do you think will be the love of my life – the cop or the handsome guy?” Sophia said

Taanyaa just smiled and asked her to relax and be patient.

“And why don’t you come out of ‘The Alchemist’ story? It will make your life easier,” Taanyaa said.

After a few minutes of their discussion they headed to a night club as per their earlier plan. It was in the car that Taanyaa told her about the phone call she had received two days ago from an old flame. Sophia was excited to hear this and asked her more about the guy. Taanyaa filled in the details and then told her that he was coming to the club to meet her. Sophia was startled to hear this. “May be I shouldn’t be going to the club with you. You might want to have some privacy” Sophia immediately uttered. She then chuckled and winked at Taanyaa.

Taanyaa was blushing but she insisted Sophia to come along. She was going to meet him after a couple of years and was a little nervous. She however told Sophia that after spending a few minutes with them she could make some excuse and leave. She also told Sophia to give her a call during the meeting just to ensure everything was going fine. If it turns out that Taanyaa did not like Raul’s company, she would also make an excuse and leave immediately.

They finally reached the club and headed to a corner table. The club was crowded with youngsters who seemed to have spent their entire week working hard and now partying harder. Sophia got up to go to the restroom when she bumped into the same handsome guy just behind her chair. She almost lost her control and was about to fall in his grips. But before it could happen, she quickly balanced her steps and now was regretting it.

Sophia couldn’t believe she was standing so close to him but what startled her more was to see him behind her chair. Before she could understand anything, Taanyaaa called out – “Hi! Good to see you.”

He turned his gaze towards Taanyaa, smiled at her and immediately turned back to Sophia.

Sophia couldn’t believe her fate. She was heart-broken when she saw that the guy was Taanyaa’s old flame who had come there to meet her. Sophia quickly excused herself from there and headed to the restroom. Tears filled her eyes and she cursed that evening when she got stuck in the traffic. Had it not been for the traffic jam, she would have never seen Raul.

While she was still trying to control her emotions, she thought about Raul’s character. “How could he flirt with me when he already has a girlfriend?” Sophia uttered to herself. “Looks like he is a casanova! Thank God! I am not dating him.” That thought brought a smile on her face but soon she got worried about Taanyaa. “What if she comes to know that he is the same guy I have been talking about all these days? It’s possible that they are made for each other. If I tell Taanyaa about this, she might not trust him anymore. Moreover, how can I be so sure that he was flirting with me? Perhaps he was just enjoying the race and wouldn’t mind racing his car with someone else too.”

After careful consideration Sophia decided that she would never tell Taanyaa about this coincidence. While she was still standing there in front of the mirror and talking to her reflection, a young woman entered the restroom. They both smiled at each other and Sophia was embarrassed because of her moist eyes. Sophia again wiped her eyes and realized that she has been in the restroom for the last twenty minutes and that she should go back to Taanyaa.

But she definitely did not want to go back there because of Raul……..

To be Contd….

Sophia couldn’t control her excitement, now that she saw the handsome guy again. She wanted to talk to him unlike the last time when they just raced with each other and eventually ruined it. While she was still looking at him sporadically, she realized that he hadn’t turned towards her even once. She wanted to grab his attention but didn’t know how to do it. Perhaps he doesn’t even know that I am beside him, Sophia thought.

Sophia feared if the guy would recognize her and thought that perhaps it was not a good idea to pursue it further. But then she remembered what the Love Guru had told her a few days ago. He had asked her to be bold and open and Sophia decided to take the first step. She quickly came up with a plan to roll down the windows and ask him for driving directions to initiate a conversation. There’s no harm in getting directions for my house, Sophia thought and chuckled.

Just when she rolled down the window, the traffic signal turned green and the guy raced his car. Sophia was heart-broken; she did not want to lose him again. She immediately drove behind him but was careful not to go over speed. She had a strong vibe that if the guy would see her once, he would definitely stop and initiate a conversation. She just needs to make herself visible to him but the biggest question was how!

Sophia continued to follow him and was about to get closer to his car when she almost shouted – “Not again!”

She missed him again; this time not because of any violation but because she did not have an E-ZPass! The guy seemed to have it and used it in a fast lane to get through the toll booth. Sophia was however stuck in the long line of cars before she reached the collection booth and handed cash toll.

Sophia lost him again and felt bad for herself! How could it happen again? She thought. She was now ten minutes away from home and thought about what she read in the book ‘The Alchemist’.

“Everything that happens once can never happen again. But everything that happens twice will surely happen a third time.”

She understood or at least thought she understood what the alchemist must have meant. Until now, she thought that the probability of meeting that guy was nil. But it suddenly dawned upon her that since it has happened twice, it will certainly happen a third time. “And if that happens, I will not let him go this time!” Sophia uttered to herself euphorically.

Sophia was still a few minutes away from home and was beaming with joy when suddenly a car hit her from behind. She lost control and fortunately did not suffer any injury but her car got slightly damaged. Sophia and the other driver got down and while they were still figuring out the details, a police officer arrived at the scene.

He was a handsome young guy and Sophia couldn’t believe what she was seeing! He was the same police officer who had issued a speeding ticket to her two weeks ago. The officer also seemed to identify Sophia immediately and gave her a warm smile. She couldn’t take her eyes off him. He looked so handsome and Sophia felt so good to see him this time! She wondered why she didn’t notice this handsome man two weeks ago! The officer talked to both of them for a while, trying to understand what had happened and took both their licenses and got back to his car to fill in some details on his laptop. Sophia stood there staring at him and thinking about the alchemist’s words.

……But everything that happens twice will surely happen a third time.”

What is surely going to happen the third time????

It was a weekend and Sophia was at her friend’s place having a sumptuous meal. While they were having lunch, Sophia told her about the guy she saw in the traffic jam two weeks ago. She told her friend how they both raced their cars with each other once they were out of the traffic jam.

Sophia’s friend was curious to know all the details and Sophia began to feed her with those. However, when her friend heard the climax of the incident, she was disappointed and felt bad for Sophia.

They spoke about it for a few more minutes but after some time Sophia somehow did not want to talk about it. To digress from the topic, she picked up a book from the couch. Her friend had just finished reading that book.

“Oh, it’s a great book,” Sophia said looking at ‘The Alchemist’

“I loved it too”, her friend chimed in.

They talked about other things while Sophia skimmed through the pages of ‘The Alchemist’. Though she did not feel like talking to her friend about that guy, she was certainly thinking about him. She wondered if she would ever meet him and really longed to see him again.

Sophia was still skimming through the pages when she glanced upon page 156. The alchemist tells Santiago – “There’s one (old Arab proverb) that says – “Everything that happens once can never happen again. But everything that happens twice will surely happen a third time.””

Sophia looked at her watch and realized that it was getting late. She promised her friend that she would meet her the next weekend and got into her car. While driving, Sophia began to think about the lines she read in ‘The Alchemist’. All this time, she was secretly wishing to meet that guy again and was hoping to get stuck in the traffic jam and see him beside him just like the way it happened two weeks ago. But now she started to worry if what the alchemist said could be true. “If it has happened once, what are the chances that it would happen twice?” she uttered to herself.

She knew that she was hoping for something that only happened in fairy tales. She had never heard of such coincidences in real life and shrugged off the thoughts of meeting that guy again. But she was completely unaware of what was going to happen in the next few minutes. Destiny was actually trying to unite her with the love of her life!

While she was still thinking about it, she saw the traffic signal turned yellow and like always, she was trying to decide whether to stop or accelerate. At first, she wanted to accelerate and cross the street before the signal turns red but then she pushed her brakes to slow down and stop. She never liked traffic signals but she knew that she didn’t like accidents either! While she was waiting there for the signal to turn green, she heard loud music coming from another car that just stopped in the lane next to her.

She casually turned around to look and was stunned to see that it was the same guy she was flirting with two weeks ago!

To be contd…

“Nothing’s gonna change my love for you, you oughta know by now how much I love you” …

It was a pleasant caller tune and was one of his favorite songs but he wondered if her taste was so good. He was also curious to know if that caller tune was intended to someone or was he thinking too much into it. While he was still lost in his analysis of the caller tune, he finally heard – Hello – from the other end of the phone.

“Hi, how are you?” he said.

“I am fine, thanks!” She replied exuberantly.

Her voice never sounded like this before. She certainly sounded lively, enthusiastic and happy. It was so unlike her, he thought. Before he could speak further, she continued – “I hope you are doing well too. I always meant to call you but wasn’t sure if it was a good idea. But I am so glad you took the initiative. How have you been?”

He was slightly baffled but simply responded “Uh…I am good, thanks for asking.”

There was a long pause…..he didn’t know what else to say and was about to tell her the purpose for which he had called when she excused herself for a minute in order to attend another call.

While he was put on hold, he started to think about her and the current conversation. He certainly did not expect the conversation to start on a cheerful note. After all they had exchanged nasty emails in the last few days and he couldn’t understand this drastic change, including the romantic caller tune. In fact, he had presumed that they would get straight into serious talk as opposed to the pleasant conversation they were having now.

The hold was however getting longer and he was about to hang up in frustration when he glanced upon his phone screen and was embarrassed at his funny mix-up. Instead of calling up Tanya, his coworker, he called up Taanyaa, an old college flame!

“Ahh, these similar names! No wonder her voice sounded so different. Why wasn’t I careful enough to dial the right person,” he uttered to himself. “Can’t even blame anyone, after all, their names are spelt differently. I was the one who did not pay attention. Taanyaa was always inclined towards numerology,” he chuckled to himself.

While he was still on hold and laughing at the funny gaffe, Taanyaa was back on the line. “I am sorry to have kept you on hold for so long. Where were we?” she said.

“Well, we were just discussing that it’s been long since we talked to each other and that you were glad I took the initiative in touching base with you,” he said. To further avoid his embarrassment, he blurted out “Maybe we should catch up sometime over the weekend. Wouldn’t that be a great idea?”

Taanyaa was happy to hear that and did not realize that it was just a fluke that he had called her up after such a long time. They planned to meet the next weekend at one of their favorite spots and spoke for a while before they hung up.

He was amused at his mix-up but felt good talking to her after so long and was excited to meet her now. He wondered if it was time to rekindle the old flame! He smiled and shook himself out of his reverie and realized that it was time for some work now.

She sat in the auto and stared at the busy traffic while occasionally covering her eyes to avoid dust from getting into them. Her eyes were getting moist. Pollution and dust were not the only cause of her tears. The memories of the incident from two weeks ago were still haunting her and it brought tears in her eyes every time those sad memories visited her.

It was becoming difficult to control her tears but she had to as she did not want to embarrass herself in front of the auto-driver. She slowly turned her gaze from the traffic and looked at the front mirror in the auto and was annoyed to see that the auto-driver was staring at her. She just turned away her gaze and looked outside. She realized that the auto-driver had been staring at her quite often and this made her uncomfortable. She was furious! She wanted to confront him but was not in a spirit to do so! She was just waiting to reach home.

Upon reaching home, she gave the fare to the auto-driver and was thanking her stars that she reached home safely! She had heard some not-so-good things about these auto-drivers in the past and viewed every auto-driver from the same lens. She turned around to walk to her house and was puzzled to hear “Excuse me!”

She stopped, turned around to the auto-driver and gave him a quizzical look!

“Excuse me Miss,” he said again.

Tara mustered the courage and looked straight in his eyes waiting for him to continue what he was about to say.

“Aren’t you the one who abandoned your cat and her three kittens at a place not so far away from here?”

Tara stood there paralyzed! She wasn’t sure if she heard the auto-driver correctly. She did not know what to say. She simply stared at the auto-driver.

“You might have not recognized me. I am the same person who drove you to that place along with your friend two weeks ago. I sensed that something was wrong and that you were abandoning those pets for some reason but I didn’t know what that reason was. I did not even think it was appropriate for me to ask you about it. Next day, I had another passenger who hired my auto to go to the same area and after I dropped them there, I stationed myself there for quite some time, waiting for another passenger.”

Tara was standing there listening to every word of his. Where is he heading to with all this? What is he going to say? Did he see Snowy and the kittens there? Tara thought to herself. Tara’s heart skipped several beats while the auto-driver was talking. She wanted to know if he knew anything about Snowy and her kittens.

The auto-driver continued – “I don’t intend to interfere but I just thought maybe you should know this. While I was waiting there for another passenger, I saw one of those kittens. Since I had nothing else to do, I went closer to her and called her towards me. Though she was initially scared, she came closer to me and made some sounds after which the other kittens that were hiding behind the bush also came towards me. I had a bag in my auto, so I quickly brought it and within a few minutes, I had all the kittens in my bag.”

Tara had a smile on her face. She was happy to know that her kittens were alive but she was yet to hear their fate. What did the auto-driver do with those kittens and what about Snowy? She immediately asked the auto-driver, “and what about Snowy, I mean the mother cat? What about her? What did you do with my kittens? Where are they now?”

“When the kittens were in my bag, I tied the bag so that they couldn’t escape. I immediately drove to the nearest animal shelter facility and handed over those kittens to them and told them where I got them from. They also told me then that someone brought a big cat to their shelter from the same area a few days ago.”

“They immediately took the kittens to the big cat and before they could even meet, the kittens and the cat started meowing in a strange way as if they knew each other. I wonder if these animals could catch each other’s scent! “Anyways, when those people finally reached the cage and let the kittens in, the big cat started licking each of them. The kittens also rushed towards the big cat’s tongue probably to be licked more. I think, she was their mother and that was her way of expressing her love to her children,” the auto-driver said. Tara knew that that was exactly how Snowy expressed her love to the three kittens.

Tara was crying now! She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Her fur family was safe! She wanted to hug the auto-driver but knew it was inappropriate in her culture. She now understood why the auto-driver had been staring at her. She thanked him from the bottom of her heart and ran inside to tell her parents about it. That night Tara slept peacefully and decided to go and visit them in their new home, which she knew was much safer than her home. She wondered why she never thought of the animal shelter earlier.

P.S. If you weren’t able to connect the dots in this story, then I would suggest you read my previous story Tara and hopefully you would enjoy this story much more after that!

Could it set a new record? Maybe it could make new box-office records in the first weekend! It was a huge wish but one never knows! She secretly wished it to come true.

She had watched the Premiere with other actors of the movie, elite members and the entire production unit. She was thrilled and happy to see their reaction towards the movie. They all talked highly of the leading star cast and the movie itself and that brought a smile on her beautiful lips. Though she was happy to receive accolades from ‘insiders’, she was expecting something more. She was waiting to hear something that she hadn’t heard from any of them.

She had constantly been watching all the entertainment channels, all the newspapers and magazines. Public opinion favored the movie and people were really having high expectations of the movie. They were eagerly waiting for the release. The promos showed the leading cast in various clips of the movie and that created suspense and thrill among audience.

One plug about the movie and the star cast in a popular magazine read:

“Lily D’souza is the new favorite of the public.”

Another read: “Lily D’souza is the new sensation and the heartthrob of the nation.”

One headline focused on the leading male actor and read: “Thousands of female fans swooned at the sight of John Abraham last evening at the Premiere! They want more now!”

She blushed when she read it. She had a secret crush on him and when she was offered this film, she couldn’t resist. Working with John on the same film intensified that crush. She was probably in love with him now! She even wanted to express her love but then she did not as she thought it was too early. Moreover, she wanted to focus on her career now.

Though everything that she read so far in the magazines and that she watched on the entertainment channels made her feel good, her eyes and ears were still searching for something. She looked at her phone, perhaps for the hundredth time desperately hoping to get a call but it lay there as if dead!

She was tired of being glued to her couch and finally got up and headed to the kitchen to make herself some hot coffee. Only after sipping the coffee did she realize that she hadn’t eaten anything since morning and that her mouth was dry! She savored her coffee and began to browse the Internet for movie-related news. There were so many sites talking about her movie. Her adrenaline was running high. She looked at one page, then clicked on another link and moved on to another page and so on.

It was almost two hours and she was now tired of browsing. Just when she was about to stop her search, she came across a web page that reviewed the movie and the star cast. She read it once, read it twice and read it one more time! This is what she had been waiting to see all day!

The third line of the webpage read:

“Kim’s cameo is worth appreciating. She did a wonderful job and made a strong screen presence in as little as five minutes. Kim is on her way to become the next heartthrob of the nation.”

Kim had tears in her eyes now, tears of joy! She finally saw her name and was happy to realize that at least someone noticed her work and wrote about her. Kim had been browsing newspapers, channels, magazines all day to see if at least one of them would talk about her. Unfortunately, no one did! They all focused on the leading actors Lily and John. But this one webpage was worth million dollars to her today! It made her day!

She was so happy that she wanted to call up the reporter and personally thank him. But when she looked at the website address, she was slightly disappointed to see that it was just a blog and not a popular website! Yet she was grateful to the person who wrote it. Out of curiosity, she looked at the writer’s name and was pleasantly surprised to see that it was none other than her dear friend!

That evening after coming home, Tara went out to play with the kittens. Snowy went to sleep in a different place away from the kittens. While playing with the kittens, a plan suddenly struck Tara. She wasn’t sure if it was right and whether her friend, Mira would help or not but decided to discuss it with her the next day.

Tara went to school the next day and was eagerly waiting for the recess. During the recess, she spoke to Mira about her plan who was flabbergasted to hear what Tara had to say. How would Tara do that? And what will she tell her parents? Mira was not sure if they could do this but after a few minutes, she decided to go along with Tara’s idea. After all, she was Tara’s best friend and was willing to do anything for her.

As per the plan, Mira and Tara came home after school that day. They both looked pensive and Tara’s mother was pleasantly surprised to see Mira. She was about to offer her something to eat and drink but Tara refused saying that they were in a hurry. “We are working on a project, don’t disturb us for some time; it’s important,” Tara said. Tara’s mother returned to her chores.

Tara took out her piggybank, smashed it and started counting the coins that she had been saving for months now. When Tara and Mira finished counting, they both looked at each other and smiled. Tara handed over all the money to Mira and went to another room carrying her school bag. She removed all the books from her bag and stacked them neatly in a corner. Tara took the empty bag and they both went outside the house.

Tara went to the usual place where Snowy and the kittens were sleeping. Snowy was about to get up and go to another place after she saw Tara but Tara stopped her. Tara lifted Snowy in her arms, caressed her, hugged her and kissed her as if it were the last time they were seeing each other. She then put her inside her school-bag. Snowy became slightly squirmy and attempted to come out of the bag but Tara used some force. Snowy did not resist it, after all, she trusted Tara.

Tara then picked up her kittens and slowly put them inside her bag. The kittens did not worry about what was happening because they saw their mother and Tara around them. Under their surveillance, they certainly knew that nothing could happen to them. They always behaved like lions not having to worry about anything when Snowy and Tara were around them. They quickly coiled inside the bag around Snowy and went to sleep.

Tara and Mira started walking towards the road while carefully holding the bag. When they reached the main roads, Mira stopped an auto-rickshaw and they both headed to their destination.

The entire ride was bumpy because of the potholes and Snowy and the kittens became restless inside the bag and started to whimper. Tara tried to pacify them and at times they kept quiet but then again started whimpering louder and moved violently inside the bag. Tara and Mira were also getting restless but they knew that it would just be a few more minutes. Finally, they were just a few yards away from their destination and could see Mira’s house at a distance.

As they were moving closer to Mira’s house, Tara saw some people outside Mira’s house talking to each other and it didn’t seem like they would leave anytime soon. They also saw some kids playing around and this posed a challenge to Tara. She could not leave Snowy and the kittens in Mira’s house amidst so many people as they would come to know who brought those cats and might question Mira.

Tara did not want Mira to be in trouble. Their plan was to secretly leave them at Mira’s place because Mira’s parents were also superstitious about cats and so were the other people in the neighborhood. With so many people around, Tara and Mira did not have the gumption to leave the cats there. Tara could not take them back because she feared the stray dogs. The only recourse that Tara had was to leave Snowy and the kittens in Mira’s neighborhood until Tara’s neighborhood was free of dogs or at least until the kittens grew a little older.

The auto-rickshaw was now moving closer to the house and Tara was getting tensed and confused about what to do. Mira knew what her friend was going through and suggested Tara to leave Snowy and the kittens in one of the neighbor’s house instead of her house. Mira assured Tara that she would bring them to her house the next day and they would be safe there.

On the spur of the moment, Tara asked the auto-driver to stop! Tara alighted from the auto, looked at the bag in her hands, looked at the house that was right next to where she was standing and loosened the strings of her school bag…….

Snowy and the kittens leaped from inside the bag and ran in different directions. Tara was shocked! She didn’t expect that Snowy and the kittens would run so haphazardly for rescue. Tara immediately called out their names and was confused whom to follow. They all disappeared within seconds and Tara stood there frozen!

There were tears in her eyes but she stopped them from rolling down her cheeks as Mira’s neighbors were standing at a distance. Mira also got down from the auto, paid the fare and went to Tara. She held Tara’s hand and that touch conveyed that everything will be fine. They both walked towards Mira’s house where Tara wept violently!

“How could I do this? Why didn’t I ask the auto-driver to turn around and take us back to my house when I knew I couldn’t leave my cats here? Will they adapt to the new place? Will they get food? Will they survive on their own or perish? What about Snowy? She was never used to any other place ever since she was a month and a half old. After so many months of living with me, can Snowy live in a wild territory? Would you be able to find them tomorrow?” Tara asked Mira. “I would take them back to my house. I cannot live without them and I am sure they won’t be able to live without me,” Tara told Mira.

Tara had so many questions but no answers. She wept relentlessly, hoping desperately to get them back. It was hard to console her and Mira had tears in her eyes too. She could not see her best friend crying like that. She decided to go out and look for the cats. Tara wanted to come too.

Mira and Tara went to that house again and looked around for Snowy and the kittens but did not find them. It was getting dark and Mira asked Tara to go home as Tara’s parents might be worried. Tara reluctantly went home.

When she reached home, Tara’s parents figured out that something was wrong. They also realized that they hadn’t seen Snowy and the kittens in the last few hours. They asked Tara about it and Tara finally broke down and told them what had happened. Tara’s parents were shocked to hear that Tara took such an extreme step but never discussed it with them. But they also felt sad for what Tara was going through. Though her parents never openly expressed their love for Tara’s fur family, they loved those tiny tots and missed them now! They consoled Tara for what she was going through but that was the least they could do!

Tara sobbed the whole night until she fell asleep. It was seven in the morning and Tara woke up to a new day. “Was it a bad dream?” Tara uttered. She was still half asleep when she ran outside to see if Snowy and the kittens were around. She saw her empty school bag in one corner and it hit her hard again that Snowy and the kittens are no longer with her. It was not her dream; she was the one who abandoned them in Mira’s neighborhood yesterday.

She cried again. She cried on her way to school. She cried during the recess. She cried in the class. She cried on her way back home.

That evening Tara went to Mira’s neighborhood with a grim hope of finding Snowy and the kittens. This time she did not hesitate to ask people in Mira’s neighborhood if they had seen Snowy and her kittens. To her dismay, nobody had seen them.

Tara went there every day for almost a week but she never found them…..

Writer’s note (read warning): This is NOT the concluding part! If you can, please wait until tomorrow to read this along with the concluding part

The story below is continued from here.

One night when Tara was deep asleep, she heard some strange sounds coming from outside her house. It sounded like Snowy but that was overshadowed by some other sound and within the next few minutes, she heard another slightly different sound in the backdrop. By the time Tara could come out of her sleep and understand what was happening, there was dead silence. Tara did not quite understand what had happened. It might have been a dream, she thought.

She was about to go back to sleep when she heard her parents’ voice. Tara now knew that it was not her dream and the sounds that she heard in the last few minutes were real. She got up and went to them to ask if something was wrong. Her parents were distraught but asked her to go back to sleep and assured her that everything was fine. Tara did not find their answer convincing but went back to sleep. She tossed and turned on her bed thinking about those sounds and wondering what must have happened outside.

It was seven in the morning when Tara woke up and realized fairly quickly that she did not get a full night’s sleep. She wanted to sleep more and turned to her side when she suddenly recalled last night’s incident. She immediately sprang up from her bed and rushed outside to fetch Snowy.

In her usual way, Tara called out Snowy’s name but there was no response. Tara called out her name again but Snowy did not come. Tara was looking pensive now and began to frantically search for Snowy and the kittens. She turned around to see one of the kittens playing behind the bush. She immediately breathed a sigh of relief. But as soon as she went up to the kitten, Tara saw Snowy laying on the ground a few steps from there. There were blood marks on her, the sight of which horrified Tara and she shouted in tears….. ‘Snowy’.

Snowy slowly turned her head towards Tara and meowed so low that even Tara could not hear it. Just minutes ago, Tara was almost frozen when she saw Snowy on the ground. Within a fraction of seconds, so many unpleasant thoughts flashed in her mind. But as soon as she saw Snowy moving, Tara ran towards her and relaxed a bit but it quickly dawned upon her that the other two kittens were missing! What happened to them? Where are they? Did the dogs take them away?

Tara caressed Snowy, told her that she would be back in a few minutes and immediately got up to look for the kittens. As soon as Tara turned around, she saw them at a distance, playing with each other oblivious to the agony that their mother Snowy and Tara were going through. Tara immediately attended to Snowy and cleaned her bloody fur and examined her body to see if there were any serious injuries. Fortunately, there was none except for a small cut on her front paw that left Snowy temporarily limp.

“The kittens don’t understand the pain that Snowy is going through but I know it,” Tara uttered to herself. Tara knew that the kittens were still too young to understand all this and she thoughtfully looked at them while they basked and played in the sunshine. That evening, Tara asked her parents if she could get Snowy and her kittens inside the house at night so that they were safe but her parents refused it. They told her that by bringing them inside, she would only stop them from becoming self-reliant and strong. “Animals know how to defend themselves!” Tara’s dad told her. “Moreover, the neighbors have already complained to us about your cats on several occasions. We somehow calmed them down and you want them to bring in? They will make it a very big issue! You know that cats are a taboo here!” Tara just couldn’t understand how her dad could be so apathetic and found it useless to argue with him.

Snowy’s injury made it difficult for her to hunt for food and so Tara began her old ploy of hiding food and getting it to her adopted fur family. All these months, Tara always thought that her parents did not know anything about this. Children often think that they can keep some secrets from parents but they don’t realize that their parents actually let them keep some secrets.

Tara did not realize that her mom had been buying some extra milk from the day Snowy got injured. Being a mother, she knew the pain that Snowy was going through. Tara’s mom wanted to help in some way but that was the least she could do. Ironically, Tara always thought that her mother never cared for Snowy and the kittens.

Tara never realized that just like she was worried about Snowy and her kittens, her parents were worried about Tara and her adopted family. She also never realized that her parents were once kids and they have gone through childhood and other phases of life much before Tara had gone through and will go through in the coming years.

Tara continued to be a care-giver to Snowy and her family. But that night’s incident and the sight of the dead kitten a few days ago continued to haunt Tara. She started spending more time with Snowy and helped her in getting back to normal as quickly as possible. At the same time, she was thinking of a plan………..

To be Contd…

She doted on them just like any mother dotes on her kids. She would let them play in the garden but would also keep an eye on them to keep them from dangers. Though their biological mother never explicitly asked Tara to take responsibility of them, they had a tacit understanding between each other. Every time the mother would go out, she would go to Tara, touch her and look at her for few seconds and then leave.

Tara would immediately understand that it was time for her role-playing. She would play with them, take responsibility for cleaning their poop, caress them and put them to sleep and above all, protect them from enemies in the absence of their mom. Tara simply loved her cat and her three kittens which lived outside Tara’s house.

Tara’s parents were superstitious about cats and so were the neighbors. Tara’s parents never wanted Tara to have that cat who came to their house almost a year and half ago. She was so tiny and young at that time that Tara immediately fell in love with her. That was the first time she had experienced motherhood. She named her cute little cat Snowy. Tara wanted to have Snowy and promised her parents that she would never get her inside the house.

Only after a lot of pleading, did Tara’s parents agree for it but they strictly restricted Snowy from entering the house. For the first few months, Tara hid some food and milk from her parents and gave it to Snowy who ate it as stealthily as it was brought. Tara and Snowy were partners in crime. However, as Snowy was growing up, she learned to hunt for her own food. This made things easier for the two.

On the days when Tara knew Snowy was unsuccessful in her hunt, she would give her share of milk to Snowy. Tara and Snowy were the best of friends and Snowy knew that Tara was making sacrifices to keep that friendship blossoming. Though Snowy and Tara did not share the same language, they always expressed their love to each other through their eyes and soft touch.

Almost a month and a half ago, Snowy gave birth to her first born who are triplets. In a way, Tara was experiencing motherhood again. In fact, she was more like a grandmother doting on her grand children and always biased towards them even when she knew that they were troubling Snowy.

Tara knew that Snowy was enjoying her motherhood but she also saw her getting tired due to the additional responsibilities like taking care of her children and feeding them. In unspoken words, Tara conveyed Snowy to go and rest somewhere away from the kids and that she would take care of them while she is gone. Snowy would be gone for two to three hours every evening after Tara came back from school.

Tara would work on her homework while the kittens would play in the garden. She would sit on the stairs outside and keep an eye on them. Every time they would go out of her sight, she would call out their names in a peculiar tone and they would come back quickly and play in her vicinity. They also liked playing with Tara and so they would sit over her books in an attempt to attract her attention and not let her study. Tara would simply slide them down but they would come back again. Sometimes Tara would let them win and start playing with them. Other times, she would stare at them and shoo them away. Tara would however spend at least some part of her time with them. She adored those tiny tots and all their mischievous acts!

One day when Tara was on her way back home from school, she saw half carcass of a kitten lying on the roadside. Tara was terrified and ran home in tears to see if it was one of her kittens. As soon as she reached home, she saw Snowy playing with her three kids. Tara sighed and ran towards them and hugged each one of them. She thanked God but also felt sorry for the dead kitten she saw on her way.

Tara was now worried about her kittens. She knew that Snowy was strong and fast enough to protect herself from the enemies but what about the kittens? They were very young and Snowy cannot protect all of them even if she tried too. The enemy was much stronger and if there were three or more dogs approaching them, it will be highly impossible for Snowy to defend them. Tara cannot be there for them all the time and she feared that the stray dogs near her locality would attack Snowy and the kittens.

After a few days, Tara forgot about the whole thing and did not heed to her concern until one night when………….

To be Contd…..