An Unexpected Friend – Milky

We had a Veranda in our house, where we used to sleep, especially in the summer, to get fresh air as our house is situated in the forest glade. The hot winds from the city, passing through the forest, become cool and fresh when the green leaves of the trees touched it. The cold air of the forest would definitely beat the air conditioners of the modern City. The veranda was made up of cement and hard bricks. It becomes colder when we sprinkle water on the surface and slept on it without a bed.

A white dog, with black patches

It was evening, and the glade was quiet. Since it was a mile away from the city, no one came here except the newspaper man and the milkman. I was lying on the bed in the veranda when I heard someone’s footsteps. I could hear them clearly as they crushed the dry summer grass. But the sound didn’t seem human. I stood on my feet and approached the gate. I looked around, then I found a dog, a white dog, with black patches on him.

He was walking on the grass, sniffing here and there, rubbing his legs against the grass, he seemed to be enjoying the fresh air. He must have escaped from the polluted city to this glade where the beautiful trees, chirping of birds, sound of crickets make it a quiet peaceful to live.

Then his eyes fell on me. He came toward me, sniffing my feet. I bent down and ran my hand over his head.

He had thick hair. Then he started wagging his big, round tail. It seemed that he had accepted me as a friend. We moved into the house. There, I saw my grandfather eating some potato chips and my aunt beside him holding a glass of water. Then my grandfather looked up and saw me with my new friend.

“Praven, a dog!” He exclaimed  pointing his hand towards the dog.

“Yes, I found him outside”

“He is beautiful”

“Yes, meet my new friend”

“Is he now living in our house?” My aunt asked, as she does not like dogs. She is more interested in birds and we have one, a parrot named ‘Mithu’.

“Yes” I answered 

“But I’m not going to bathe him,” she said. She took the plate, handed over the glass, and went inside the house.

“I named him ‘Milky,’” I said, tucking him into the corner of the lawn. I went inside to get him a packet of biscuits I had bought yesterday, and soon, night fell.

When I woke up the next morning, I saw Milky playing in the grassy field, chasing butterflies. The chirping of birds made it seem as though they were singing a welcome song for my friend. He was jumping like a kangaroo, running here and there, doing his best to catch at least one butterfly. He was playful by nature. I rubbed my eyes to shake off my sleep, went near him, picked up a ball, and threw it toward him.

“Milky, catch,” I shouted. He turned his head at the ball, jumped and caught the ball between his teeth.

“Bravo!” I exclaimed. He approached me and handed the ball to me. I threw it again, and he caught it once more. Then I threw it with all my strength—the ball rolled, floated through the air, and finally dipped into the pond.

“Stop!” I shouted. He jumped into the pond. I rushed to the edge. After a few seconds, he emerged with the ball from the cold, chilled pond water. The water was crystal clear, and I could see a few fish swimming in it.

“Praven, come, child, breakfast is ready, ” Grandfather shouted, waving his hand.

“Coming”, I said, looking at him.

“Come on, milky, let’s go.”

He jumped out of the pond and shook his body. Water droplets flew from his fur, landing on the dry summer grass, and they turned green .

We went inside the house and had our breakfast. I had bread and vegetable curry, and I gave my friend a bowl of milk and bread.

The night

On that night, something unexpected happened. I was sleeping inside the house because there were a few mosquitoes, whose main job, it seems, is to keep a person awake, isn’t it?

There were three of us in the house: me, my grandfather and my friend ‘Milky’. My parents and aunt were out of town to attend a family wedding. I was exhausted after playing with Milky for a whole day. So, I was in a deep sleep. I was in my dreams, and the dreams were better than the real world.

Suddenly, Milky started barking loudly. His barking spreads throughout the glade. Then grandfather shouted “thief, thief”. I suddenly woke up. I could not understand what was going on here. When I heard the word ‘Thief,’ I suddenly stood up and went outside. Where I found a man climbing up the wall to escape. I then took a stone from the ground and threw it at him.

The stone rolled and rolled before hitting him on the head. He cried out in pain and fell onto his backside. But he managed to escape when I heard footsteps fading away. We sighed in relief

“Thanks, milky,” grandfather said, rubbing his head and, in return, milky licked grandfather’s feet.

The next morning, I went to the city to buy groceries with my friend. The morning was peaceful. In cities, people wake up to the sound of traffic, but birds chirping is an alarm for us in the glade. We went on foot since my cycle had broken down. Just as I was about to enter a stall, Milky suddenly started barking at a man. The man was of medium height, wearing a shirt and pants.

“What happened?” I said.

The chase

Then, suddenly, Milky started chasing the man, and I also followed him. As the man ran, I noticed his shoes. Then suddenly, a picture of last night appeared in my mind. The thief had worn the same shoes, and this man had a bandage on his head. He was the thief from the previous night. Then, suddenly, a stone rolled under his feet, and he fell.

A constable nearby was having tea at the local tea shop when he came near us. I told him everything that had happened the previous night. Then I learned that the man was a wanted thief, and he was arrested. Afterward, I went to get the groceries.

Peaceful glade

Now, I am with my friend, the savior of our house. We were on our way home, and the birds, trees, insects, pond, and summer grass made the glade feel peaceful.

The End

***

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Photo Credit – Copyright Free, Royalty Free images from Pexels

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