It was Diwali morning and I woke
up to my mom’s gentle push and heard her saying, Padmaj! Meow’s dead. I got up
with a jerk and rushed towards the veranda to find my little cat lay motionless
on the floor. I did not understand how to react to this situation. I just sat
and kept staring at her continuously until a drop of tear rolled down my cheek
ferrying my emotions to a flashback; a flashback that reminded me of the way
how I shared my chapatis with her, how she licked milk and shrikhand, how she
hopped through our stairs to get into our house, how she played with mats, how
she caught every visible cockroach and played football with it, how she ran
inside our house finding dogs around.
I was
distracted from the flashback when I saw my dad moving towards her to pick her
up and carry her to the burial site. I remorsed for not saving her from the
callous dogs who attacked her and left her to succumb over her injuries. I
started walking and every step closer to burial site seemed heavier than the
previous one and finally there was a moment when I was right in front of her
final resting place where her corpse was laid, showering few flowers and a handful
of sand over her, praying to the supernatural being to rest her soul in peace.
I tried to dissuade weeping, but every attempt was in vain.
There are
some things in this universe that touch your heart intensely and this little
kitten was one among them. Now who’s gonna come mewing to me to share my
chapatis? Who’s gonna caress my leg pleading for fish?
I
remember the moment when Dheeraj expressed his views on how much he missed his
cat when he was far away from his house for months together. I never thought
that he felt the same as much as I did. These are the moments which make u feel
the importance of something, something that really meant so much to you.
I’m
missing you so very badly sweetheart and I’ll keep missing you for the rest of
my life baby.
