His Lovely Child

By Abiraamy Vijayakumar  

I remember the rainy days

Pelts and petrichor, followed by the barks of my grandfather's dog

Love him and who does not?

My grandfather had telltales to announce!

When stories grew short, the verbal essays of puppy eyes brewed across the atmosphere like the favourite song from his vintage tape-recorder

Like how he read his newspaper after cleaning his big squared spectacles!

A tea for an old man and biscuits served for his buddy.

A cup made of cardamom and sugar, followed by his regular diabetes pills; my concerns were unheard and his buddy barked in return

Who dared to shout at him? His eyes tried to strangle mine. Who grew such a crazy creature? I always sighed.

My grandfather loved me and his dog dearly

I hid behind my grandfather, running away from his wanted barks

He touched nobody, but loved teasing me!

'Tie him or I'll never come here' I once said,

My grandfather produced a deep throaty laugh, 'he loves you too!' he retorted!

It was confusing as much as it raised my heckles! What were we? I wondered often!

What we had was a love -hate relationship, love for my grandfather and hate for one another!

The barks were hearty and high whenever I passed by,

I threw him stares and made faces as a return gift.

That was until a late afternoon, when our dear love's heart stopped beating and the crowds had grown

A forlorn cries were followed by a folklore of a past life

I ran to the backyard, feeling nauseated and unsteady

I felt so silly to hide my tears who would embrace the shatter of unruly fears?

But there was a silent gloom running through a pair of eyes

White lab dog who had a stare cold as ice

He didn't bark nor did I make faces, the emptiness crackled like heating blazes

I sat still, watching his silent cry

My uncle loved him the same but the old man with a toothless smile was the pie of his sky!

Who wouldn't love him? I wondered for a moment.

Glassy, unclear visions blared in reflections.

Days turned to months and months crawled into years

He barked no more at me, my arrivals and departures were left untouched

And whenever I saw him, I felt a grip in my heart

He stared through my soul, gazing into the emptiness of what was taken away

They say time heals the impossible, but I found a little soul yearning in the same place

Waiting for the same space

What change would it make? I wondered.

The rains poured the same, nights and the crack of dawn played their habitual game

Through the murky clouds and the cumulus, he remained unchanged

Aging, limping, watching and yet, for an instance- there's nothing but the ache for spectacles, tape-recorder and a throaty laugh.

And I understood why my grandfather called him his dear lovely child!