A SAD OLD DAY

Ours is a family of which pets are an integral part. My granny is especially fond of them and she was the one to look after our pets when I was young. We had a majestic mongrel breed pet called Kalu. He was a faithful and adorable member of our family. He was fond of moving around and chasing hares and farm animals but never used to hurt them. His tales of bravery were famous in the area. He had valiantly fought the leopard twice and had managed to escape. The wounds would heal after treatment and Kalu would be active and back to chasing and playing. However lucky he was not in his life’s last encounter with the cat. The signs of aging had started to show on him. He was 12+ and used to spend most of his time sleeping and resting. Our house has a forest in the neighborhood and leopards often sneak on in farms to get goats and dogs. They mostly come during dawn and dusk or in the night. Hence we had our concern for aging kalu as we feared a leopard attack on him. At times when kalu needed a walk in the night or early morning, we were particularly careful that someone went out with him. Once our entire family had to go out for a wedding, and kalu was left at home with a servant. On that fateful day kalu urgently needed to go out in early morning and our servant let him loose. He just raced out to do his stuff but never came back. Our servant had heard his last whimper fading in seconds. A leopard had gotten him. Our beloved kalu was gone. We really miss him. Twenty years after his death he is still alive in my memories and I look forward to meeting him in heaven.