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Pure true love
“Well, this is all I’ve got in my bank account!” I exclaimed with a drastic sigh which hung in the air for a while.
After a lot of heavy thinking, Bajjo, my elder sister cried in her typical I’m-doing-you-a-favour-once-again voice, “I have no choice but to put in extra money so that we can still buy a pair of kittens.”
After a great deal of grumbling and mumbling, our parents were convinced that we could keep pets as long as they would not disturb the peace of the house nor hinder our school assignments or household chores.
So, all the essential preparations such as their ‘home sweet home,’ and their daily food were made. So far, so good. But when I found myself in the pet store where there were a thousand wonderful pairs of kittens, my main problem was which one to choose. Furthermore, I had to match my choice with someone like Bajjo. Hence to come out safe, I left the choosing entirely on her.
“Go ahead, I’ll be only too happy to have any of these sweet kittens!” I exclaimed in my sweetest voice, enough to bring about an attack of diabetes. See, at least I could act to be cooperative. Then, what if the kittens gave me severe headaches? I would let Bajjo face the music!
But that wasn’t the case here. Lady luck was quite generous for we were blessed with two of the most adorable creatures in the entire universe. They resembled each other like carbon copies — the same thick white fur, identical, sparkling blue-grey eyes. We named them Thunder and Rock.
As the days went by, we got closer to them. Rock was the naughtier of the two. It loved doing things which it was not supposed to do, especially running over the rose beds in my mother’s precious garden. It also loved to sit and curl by my side on my favourite rocking sofa whose weak springs creaked in protest when Rock decided that it was time to rock n roll!
And, guess what? I automatically got more attached to Rock while Bajjo cherished Thunder like anything. I usually scolded Rock on its disobedience but ended up laughing when it groaned, making a horrible face after recognising the telltale lecture expression on my face. Another thing which Rock loved doing was watching cars go honking by hastily on the busy streets. So we had to be very careful that the door remained closed all the time.
One day when I went outside to play with Rock, just after I had completed my school assignments, I found that the main gate was ajar. Furthermore, Rock was nowhere in sight! I felt like a cat on hot bricks and when I failed to find it around the house, I had no choice but to race down the street in search for it.
It didn’t take me long to trace down my lovely pet and wrap its bloody head with the never ending stream of my tears. A jolt of adrenaline ran through my spinning head. I shouted for help but it was already too late. Rock had dropped like stones, into a deep well of sleep.
After this incident, for me, life had no meaning. The days wore on sluggishly. No matter how hard I tried to control myself and return to the normal lively Sana, I couldn’t. It was beyond my power. One day I saw my mother crying. It was seldom, if ever. I could not remember the last time she had cried, but I knew this was because of me. At once, I went to her. As I promised her that I would get over Rock’s death, we saw Thunder jumping over the rose-beds. The kitten looked at me as if it was saying, “I’ll be your Rock.” I went up to it, not to give it a harsh scolding, but to pick it up and hug it warmly. Bajjo saw the whole scene and hugged me even harder.
Today, it has been almost five years since Rock died. But now when Thunder curls up beside me, I close my eyes and wish it was Rock instead. What is the one thing that never leaves me? Perhaps love, pure true love!
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