Sinful Seven And The Dog

“Get out you greedy hack!” shouted the master. “Here is your extra hamper of food. Never come back to work here.” He said. Edger picked up the two baskets of food from the floor. He didn’t know how to reply to his master’s allegation. So he left the shop in silence. He had failed his master’s trust today. The otherwise jovial man had been unusually somber the whole day. When Edger had asked for the extra hamper of food for Christmas holidays, it just tipped him over the edge and he unleashed his rage upon Edger. He was too humiliated to return to work after the holidays. He needed a new job immediately. He had a little brother to feed.

Veny had not seen any paying customer in her shabby dungeon in the brothel since she returned from meeting her sister at the station. Veny was grateful to her for the financial assistance, yet again. With it added to her savings, she had enough to elope with the man who loved her in spite of full knowledge of her occupation. She would start a new life in a far off land. She felt a pang of guilt for envying her sister’s perfect life with a well off husband, a nice little home and a couple of lovely kids. She traveled back in time and recollected all the incidents when her sister had selflessly protected and provided for her. They were orphaned and homeless, without her sister she wouldn’t have survived the rough world. It was only when she reached adolescence that Veny fell out with her sister. She misjudged her to be too overbearing. Although, now she knew it was care and love. Had she not made a string of bad choices then, life could be different now. But all that was about to change. There was a loud banging on the door. She realized she had drifted off for quite some time. It was yet another drunken customer, she guessed. She looked at the clock; it was well past the time her lover had promised to come. Her heart sank. She secretly hoped to open the door and find him, her lover. But she knew it was not to be. She was heartbroken all over again.

Diper was brimming with pride. He arrogantly rolled his brand new wheelchair past the pedestrians in the park. He no longer needed those creaky old clutches. His son had slogged night and day at the factory and bought him this lovely Christmas gift. This amputee, war veteran had never felt so proud since his citation at the army hospital after the war that made him immobile. He was rushing through the park to his favourite spot to meet his only friend, the little one. He needed to flaunt his gift.

Rawth banged the door after the boy left. He was still fuming with rage. He could not come to terms with the recent revelation about his wife. When his friend first mentioned it, Rawth had almost choked him to death. It was only when he saw the evidence; his loving and faithful wife’s chequered past dawned upon him. When he confronted her, she had left in haste. She said she would explain everything once she returned. Rawth decided to kill her when she returned. Life had suddenly turned meaningless and harsh. He had a glass of water. It cooled him down a bit. He felt bad about being so rude to the poor, Asian kid who worked at his bakery. He was very hard-working and honest. He decided to bring him back to work after the holidays. He would also apologize to him for his behaviour. Suddenly he felt that his wife also deserved a patient hearing. But he was still very angry on her. “She better be able to justify.” He thought.

Tolsh was disoriented when he woke up. He couldn’t tell what time it was. In fact he couldn’t even tell whether it was day or night as it was always dark in his shoddy one room apartment where he stayed with his father. When he lit the candle, his eyes darted towards the clock. He sprang from his bed. He had slept for straight eighteen hours. Continuous two shifts per day for a month with no day-offs. It took a toll on him. He rushed out half-clothed. He was couple of hours late. He had promised his ladylove that he would put an end to her misery today and rescue her like a prince charming. Well, he was off to a very bad start. He realized that he had forgotten to put on his jacket. It was chilly outside. He started running. He ran fast, very fast. He was soaked in sweat and out of breath when he reached his destination. He couldn’t speak. He just managed to bang the door.

She dragged herself along the sidewalk. She was not sure how to face him. What could she tell him to make him feel any better? For a moment she contemplated suicide. She started having flashbacks of those horrific days. “Slut” that’s what they called her. It was her screen alias. She had shot to fame in just a couple of movies. Her fans were enamoured with their beautiful seductress. All of them hoped she walked right out of the screen and landed in their bed. No one cared to know that she was just an ill-fated, little girl, who had to grow up a little too soon, for her little sister. Her tears dried up. A hint of a smile re-appeared on her elegant visage. She did not regret her decisions. She was ready to face the consequences. She would tell him everything and apologize for keeping a secret for so long. She knew he loved her a lot. He would definitely understand.

Tuty was sitting on the park bench and gorging on the roasted chicken drumstick. He had brought a couple of them, one each for himself and his buddy. But he had already finished his portion waiting for his friend to arrive and now was biting away at the other one. Probably he would share the apple pie with him. He was hungry. In fact he was starving. Last few days, he had fed his share of food to his older brother. He worked hard at the bakery. He needed more food. Tuty didn’t want to bother him by informing him that they were short on rations. So, when today his brother had arrived home from work with 2 lovely hampers of food, Tuty was more relieved than happy. He had been munching away since then. When his brother hugged him, Tuty noticed tears in his eyes. He also noticed the smile. But he was too young and too hungry to make sense of those mixed emotions. He had completely cleaned the flesh off bone from the drumstick. He threw it away in the bushes. Just then he heard a familiar voice. Only one person addressed him with his full name, Tuty Long. It was his old, limbless friend.

The dog was feeling snappy. It had chased people, barked at them and even clawed a few as the day passed along. Everyone and everything seemed evil. It was tired. It had wondered a long way from its home. It felt like biting someone. But it would rest a while at this secluded spot first. Suddenly something fell on its head. It hurt. The dog was disgusted and started barking. It would surely bite the one who played this stupid prank. Just then it realized that what fell upon him was a bone. An immaculate, fresh bone. Suddenly it felt a lot better. Everything felt right. Everything fell into place. It looked around, everyone seemed merry. It was almost dark, but festive lights lit the whole park. A snowflake glided down from the ether and stuck to its warm and sweaty nose. It was amused by the icy tickle. The dog tried to lick its nose but in vain. It picked up the bone, started wagging its tail and vanished in the darkness of the woods. Home was far, far away.