In a Day

Hoveeel... ooolllliiii... ! The sound keeps ranting the air. It tries to prise the delicate membrane of the ear-drum with its icy chillness. It is on at the dead of the night and has been intermittent. The source of the sound is known though whence it comes from is carefully umbered by the night light. It is the shrilly voice of a puppy that has had an untimely weaning from its bitchy mother. It allows the neigh bours to get some sleep as it, being exhausted of its energy, faints to sleep. The morning breaks up and its hunger wakes it up and reminds it of its prising voice that could summon even the dead from distant land. Unsuccessful though. The shrilly voice summons bevies of hens and piglets, though not at the same time. The early risers of hens strut on the earth raking soft mud and clay to find savoury earthworms and insects. Their morning meditation on food-finding comes to a sudden halt as they see the puppy under an abadoned carton.

The bigger of the hens initiates a conversation with the puppy. 'Hallo there! Are you hungry?' The puppy ignores the cackle as it knows well that nothing comes off it. The younger of the hens swaggers close by and tries to stay close to the puppy. Not ruffled, the puppy begins its hoveeel... ooolllliiii... ! ' Goodness me!' the younger of the hens, 'I think this will not get you anywhere except prising the eardrums of all those nearby'. 'What is your problem?' Rather disinterested the puppy answers, ' i was brought here last evening by a group of urchins who wanted to get rid off me as i was bitten by my mother's lover, who considered me a hindrance for his love-making. And the urchins consider me ugly as the skin on my back grew to be scaly and the fur came off exposing an ugly gnash. I was here ever since last evening and has not had any soul giving me anything. Oh! i am sorry. I almost forgot. A young boy gave some food last night, that was too bad. I managed as i had nothing to eat. I am hoping to be restored to life by some goody-goody soul. Most of the neigh bours never mind my prising noise though they definitely curse me for not letting them sleep peacefully. Another young man attracted, i think rather annoyed, by my wail came to look under the carton and got himself satisfied that i was not dying and went away.'

'OK, we will call our master and try to bring the attention towards you. You stay here, by the way for sometime suspend that gnawing shrill of yours.' The younger one of the hens walks back to join her mates and dawdles its way to its place. The puppy waits for sometime and nothing comes by and resumes its hoveeel... ooolllliiii... . The bevy of piglets is attracted by the loud squeal and swerves to find the source of it. The initial confidence between the bevy and the puppy has been established through nosing each other. The piglets pout their mouth and push the muzzle to touch the nose of the puppy. Rather bamboozled, the puppy thinks for a second that it has met its brethren. 'Oh! No. take your crappy muzzle off mine.' The prettier of the piglets moves cosy in its position and starts fondling the fur of the puppy with its nose. 'Stop it i say. I do not need any of your comfort. I am sick and do not aggravate it by supplying me with your contagion of germs.' Oh! we are sorry. We have not dug our noses yet into the turds. We are clean, can't you see. We ooze fragrance. Does it not reach you?' declaims the prettier. 'Alright! Can you be of any help to me?' 'Sure what do you want us to do?' 'Get away from here.' 'Oh! our sympathies are always with you. Bye bye.', depart the piglets. As the morning travels fast the puppy gets some milk from the same goody goody soul and goes to sleep after slurping the milk. In the evening its hoveeel... attracts another group of urchins and it plays with the puppy for sometime. There starts a small skirmish between two boys on fondling the puppy. That separates the coterie into two. They scatter immediately dropping the puppy. The ruckus subsides and one of the fighting boys comes with his cousin to show the puppy and is shocked to find the carton laying empty. As for the puppy it starts another round of its fight for existence.