Kaaluram - Part 2

Many days passed, there was no sign of Kaalu. I and Advika started getting worried about him. We asked all our neighbors - Advika's brother Atharv helped us too, but no one knew about where did he disappear, until we reached to Sharma ajji's house. As usual, we asked her the same question we have been asking. "Have you seen our Kaalu lately?" Sharma ajji replied, "Yes. Someone complained to the government that this dog has a mental issue and bites a lot, so the government took him to the dog's hospital. I suppose they won't treat him so good there, they say that the are going to give him many injections." she sighed. Our eyes widened. "When will he come back, ajji?" Atharv asked. "I don't know. Maybe never.." her voice trailed off.

"Thank you ajji." I and Advika replied. "What do we do now? I'm gonna miss him a lot! They should have left him in an animal shelter. But no!" I rolled my eyes in anger as we walked down the street. "Should we not care for a dog when he/she is old?" Advika added. Atharv nodded. Many weeks passed without any sign of our beloved Kaalu. But fortune took over when one pleasant morning when I and dad were having tea in our garden, a huge truck came in our colony. It looked similar. A lot similar. Wait. Isn't it the truck the same truck which took Kaalu away? My heart nearly stopped when I saw some people carry Kaalu out. But not the one I was expecting. He behaved a bit strange.

Later after returning from school, I took off my bag and called Advika. "Hello, wanna show u something. HUGE good news. Come in front of the gate, quick!" "'kay," she said as she hung up the phone. COVID 19 wasn't so bad at that time. School was temporarily opened. I slipped on my mask and stood in front of the gate. Advika came rushing with Atharv. "What's the matter?" They both said together. "Kaalu....." I said. "HE IS BACK!" I jumped. Advika grinned from ear to ear. "WHERE IS HE??? I wanna meet my smaal, furry baby!" Atharv said. I took them near the car where he generally sleeps. "THERE HE IS!" Advika exclaimed. Kaalu slowly wagged his tail and came towards us. He licked my hand. "Why is he so dull?" Advika asked in a worried tone. "You see, Advika, those dark brown patches all over his skin...... they gave him injections and pills, he's not recovered yet............" My voice trailed off.

Sorry for late message, but just wanted to tell tahat the story is finished here itself, not writing more on this topic. If you're wondering what happened to him next, Kaalu is not so healthy, he always cries and asks for food, so some people feel pity for him and give him some biscuits. And for us, we are visiting him daily, praying for his health🙂