The language of Eyes

When I moved to the U.S, I had to leave my dog behind.

It was the last day he was with me. Twelve o'clock was the hour of destiny. I've had the dog for 2 years. His name, Devil. I wonder if dogs miss their owners for a long period of time. Sometimes, it does hurt to be human.

I passed the bowl to him. Dog food... I wonder what that tastes like! He did his stuff. Gulped it down his throat. I gulped a breath. He had no idea that he was going. New home on the way. But boys don't cry, so i didn't.

At 11am, Shobha Ram came to the house. He had trained Devil. He knew what and when Devil ate, when he needed a shower, when he liked to walk or run... all kinds of things.

I had a tennis ball in my hand. Devil's eyes were on the ball. If i moved the ball an inch, his eyes would move too and his leg muscles would be ready to shoot. Well, what the heck! I threw the ball right over his head. He jumped in the air vertically and caught the ball. He brought it to me. I played with him for 10 minutes. He loved tennis balls.

It was 11:55 now. The rikshaw(a three-wheeled cycle.) was going to show up in 5 minutes. Parting is as heart-breaking as death itself. Death is a permanent form of parting. I did feel kind of a pain in my heart as the clock was tickingl. It felt as if a part of myself was being torn from me.

It was now noon and, amazingly enough, the rikshaw showed up on time. Shobha Ram entered the porch. I was standing there with Devil on my side. Devil was looking at a bird sitting on the fence. He was stiff and all set to attack. Crouching low, ne was standing with the alertness of a tiger. Suddenly his ears flicked and he ran for his prey. The bird turned out to be quite alert itself. It just flew away.

I gave one last hug to Devil. So did the rest of the family. Devil has innocence in his eyes. He probably didn't have a clue about what was goin on. He was made to climb the rikshaw. Shobha Ram got on it too.

Devil was looking at all of us, standing next to each other, taking one last look at the sport in the family. The rikshaw was headed straight down the road and make a left turn. I know the rikshaw was not going to turn around. It was that moment of the truth of life, the moment of parting, the moment of the true value of love, the moment for hearts to feel pain... I wish that moment never ended. I wished that the rikshaw never made the left turn. Parting is like that... One wishes he hadn't said or done all the things he shouldn't have, or atleast try to explain himself.

The rikshaw did make a left turn. The moment ended. I felt my heart being drained of life. A part of me was gone.

I couldn't sleep that night. When I woke up in the morning, I went to the garden to breathe in some air. I looked at a bird sitting on the fence. I ran towards it but it flew away. I shook my head. My eyes brightened as they saw what was lying on the ground. The tennis ball! I picked it up and put it in my pocket.