His mother could never understand why her otherwise normal kid had such a stupid fixation. Dogs. Ugh! They were lice carriers and they licked you all over. Sheesh.. Who would like that? She would never let a dog into her house, never, she vowed to herself.
Sunil's dad was the typical mild mannered middle class father. He sympathized with his son, but he was not willing to face his wife's fury, so he merely gave Sunil money for buying biscuits and bread and left it at that. And Sunil too had begun to realize that his dream of having his own puppy would never materialize. But his heart, endowed with the stupid hope that God gives every human born, in abundance, still longed for a pup. His very own pup. Even while feeding the strays, he dreamt of the day he would play with and feed his pup. He had already chosen a name for it, Rambo.
It would run after him wagging its worm like tail, and nip his heels. It would go yip yip yip when he called out Rambo. He would play fetch with it. He had already identified a dog collar at the local store that would look very well around Rambo's neck. And so he dreamt on every day till his mother called him in for dinner.
He was not a Christian and neither did he know anyone named Jesus Christ. And yet when his classmate told him that he had written to Santa Claus requesting a bicycle and on Christmas he had received a bicycle, he fell upon the story with an appetite bordering on the vulgar. Every night before he fell asleep he asked Jesus (whoever He was) to give him his own puppy.
A few days later, while playing cricket with his friends, he heard a very high pitched bark which seemed to coming from a pile of old asbestos boards and other rubble that had been dumped there by a wrecking company. Instinctively he knew what could have emitted that sound. His heart racing, he abandoned his game and ran over to the pile. He knelt down on the soft dust and without a care for his clothes bent double and peered into the rubble.
A pair of soft liquid brown eyes looked back at him and the puppy emitted a soft yip. Gingerly, he reached in and clasped the puppy tenderly round its middle. The puppy emitted a low whine. Slowly, carefully he pulled the puppy out. His heart was almost overflowing with emotion, for there in his hands was the cutest puppy he had seen. It was so soft and squirmy, with pale golden brown fur and eyes that could melt you. At long last. His own puppy. He spent the entire evening playing with Rambo as he named the pup.
It was only late evening he realized that his reverie had to end. His mother would certainly reject the pup. His despair equalled his exhilaration when he had first discovered the pup. He was close to tears when an idea struck him. His mom had told him not to bring a pup into their house, she had not specified that he should not rear a pup outside the house. So he would rear the pup here, near the rubble pile where no one would trouble him. Happy with his idea, he carefully placed the puppy back in the rubble and and rushed back home.
All through his dinner he remained as if in a trance. His mother noticed it and asked him about it. He replied that he was thinking about the match they had played and retired to his room. He reached down under his mattress and pulled out a sock and emptied its contents on the bed. Coins and the odd rupee note tumbled out of the sock. He began to sort them absentmindedly, his mind planning tomorrow's details. He would get Rambo a packet of Brittania Milk Bikis. It would help him grow into a strong dog. And he would then set Rambo on that Mari anna. That guy was such a bully. But Rambo would take care of him. Yes he would. Lost in his thoughts, Sunil lay down on his bed and in a few minutes was fast asleep.
The next few days were the happiest Sunil had known. The evenings he spent with Rambo, (Rambo's mother was given a share of the biscuits and she contentedly watched her son and Sunil playing while she munched on the biscuits) while the mornings he spent daydreaming about the evenings, so much so that more than one teacher pulled him up for being inattentive. He pestered his dad to buy a packet of dog food (he checked all the brands carefully and bought a packet that read "with added vitamins and minerals to help your furry friend grow faster and stronger")
Sunil was the richest and happiest boy on the planet. And Rambo was his treasure trove. He guarded Rambo more zealously than did Rambo's mother. Woe betide the boy who tried to tease Rambo by pulling his tail or ear. Sunil would showcase all his WWE moves on that dimwit.
A little over a fortnight later, Sunil rushed back from school, ran to his room and threw his school bag in a corner. His clothes and shoes and socks came off in a maelstrom of activity. Changing into his house clothes, he sneaked the packet of cream biscuits into his shorts' pocket and ran to the pile of rubble shouting, "Rambo, Rambo". But there was no answering bark nor the touch of soft fur or tongue on his bare legs. Puzzled, he bent down to look into the rubble even though he knew that Rambo had gotten too big for the gaps in the rubble. Rambo was not there. Bewildered, he sat down for a while wondering what had happened.
Then he stood up and began to explore the places where he and Rambo used to frequent. The list of such places was short and he was soon back at the rubble pile hoping that Rambo had come back. He had not. Not only had he not come back, Rambo's mother was now whining piteously calling for her pup to come and feed.
Refusing to accept that Rambo was not there, he waited in vain all that evening hoping against hope that Rambo would come back. It was late in the evening, when, with dread in his heart, he walked back to the house, the packet of biscuits unopened. Unmindful of his mother's berating, he washed up and sat down for dinner, his mind still trying to explain Rambo's sudden disappearance. He picked at his dinner which aroused his mother's fury and led her to administer a couple of slaps.
Reduced to tears, he fled to his room to mourn in solitude. And he was still weeping when his dad came home from work. Informed of Sunil's odd behaviour by his wife, he advanced to Sunil's room and entered it. Spotting Sunil sitting in a dark corner, he walked up to his sobbing offspring and asked him what had happened. Sunil cried out even louder and burying his face in his father's lap told him between sobs all that happened.
"Is that all? Come on, son, tell you what, after dinner you and I will take the car and search for Rambo. Is it OK?"asked his dad. Sunil's heart lifted up at this. He could not wait for his dad to finish his dinner which seemed to take forever to get over. At last it was over. Sunil ran to open the gates and his dad reversed the car out of the garage. Sunil jumped into the passenger side and banged the door shut.
He guided his dad to the places he thought Rambo could have wandered off to. But Rambo was nowhere to be found. After an hour of fruitless searching they returned home. His dad asked the watchman sitting near a complex nearby if he had seen anyone taking a dog with them. The watchman replied that he had not seen anyone do so. His last hope crushed, Sunil's heart sank. He fell on his bed and cried himself to sleep.
The next morning he woke up and remembering what had transpired, rushed out to the rubble pile only to meet disappointment. Rambo's mother was still calling out to her son and trying to sniff out his whereabouts. He turned back home and mechanically got ready for school.
In school his hope sprung up and when he came back he immediately rushed to the rubble pile. Only Rambo's mother was there and looking up at him she gave a mournful whine. Tears fell in a slow stream into the dust around him.
He is still searching for Rambo.
