Short Story: If A Stray Dog Could Talk, What Would It Say?

C. Fela

3 years ago

Trigger Warning: Death

The sun makes its way and presses its heat hard, giving equal treatment to every traveller, citizens and animals. Guwahati Railway Station is always busy with the humdrum of vehicles and humans with their daily chores. My mother recently gave birth to me among a litter of five puppies.

I didn’t know what my father looked like. We lived on the outskirt near the train station. All we could do was whimper for milk from Ma. She loved each and every one of us equally and dearly. We stayed in one place as we were just tiny creatures waiting to be fed by her. She was our goddess as she cleans us lovingly. She was our world and we were the centre of her universe. The night times were always the best because we would cuddle with each other next to Ma. Mankind did not notice us.

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Days and months passed. The turning point in life came when nature opened our eyes. I could see Ma who still loved us the same. She was a medium-sized white dog with brown marks on her ears and eyes. We were able to walk and eat. Ma used to go out daily to get food which was our daily survival. At times, she will bring raw or cooked meat that she snatched from somewhere. The kind drivers from the street side as well as the street vendors would feed us pieces of biscuits that they had, but rarely. Rag pickers would feed us with whatever they found in the garbage. Garbage was also our source of food.

There is a slight similarity with Ma when it comes to my colour but I have dark marks near my nose and brown spots on my puppy feet. We were big enough to roam and play but not able to wander too far from our spot. We would wrestle upon one another to see who is the strongest. It is always a relief when Ma comes with a large amount of food which brings satisfaction to our little tummies. We don’t belong to any special breeds. We were mainly known as ‘Stray Breed’ or ‘Local Breed.’

Our daily activity was defined by eating, playing and sleeping. We were a little too young to fend for ourselves. Mostly, we depend on her for food. We never wonder about the things she could have gone through to prevent our hunger. Human contact was out of reach and we avoid these creatures that walked with two feet. The only idea we have is, they are more superior to our species. They walked past us every day and if harm is on the way from them, they would have to face our brave Ma who would do anything to save us, even it will cause harm to her. For now, life is not too difficult.

One summer afternoon, Ma barked loudly from a distance. When we went out with our sleepy little eyes, she was holding big juicy meat in her mouth, enough to feed her five little puppies. She was on the other side of the pavement. Vehicles were rushing and humans walked past in the busy street that separates us. The distance was too wide for puppies to make it through. Our little tummies were starving.

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She came running when suddenly she got hit by a big bus. Red liquid spilt from her nose. She gave us one long loving glare and her eyes closed. We went near her to feel the warmth of her body. She stopped breathing and her body remained cold. We tried our best to wake her up but nothing happened. We whimpered, pushed her head and bite her ears. She was motionless. The driver who killed her paid no heed to our lives. She tried her best to prevent us from starvation. She was our only home.

The loss was unbearable. Our only guide and hope for survival are now forever gone. All we could do was lie down near her cold body and gave little cries.

Maybe if these humans are kind enough to pick up an innocent harmless puppy and give us our forever homes. Luck can favour anyone. Nature will decide our fate. We could end up as strays eating garbage or end up like Ma.