Chapter 2 - The household becomes my family

The early days were a lot of fun. The new house was much bigger and had a huge garden around too. I got hungry every second moment and was being fed constantly. There were times when I puked, had a bad stomach and I could see the whole house running behind me to remove the mess I left behind. Didn't I feel royal?

For the first few days, I decided to cautiously observe everyone in the house. There was a tall man in the house with a gruff voice who commanded respect. There was the lady who had picked me up on the first day. I loved cuddling near her for her warmth and I had no idea that we were going to develop this unique relationship. The boy was a lot of fun, he was very active and energetic but handled me a little roughly. The young girl was childish. She was the easiest to cajole and tease too. Initially, I was made to sleep alone and in the wee hours of the morning when I got hungry I whimpered near the doors where the others slept. Almost immediately, the lady came out and gave me something to eat. My first meal in the morning was an amazingly tasty dish - white outside and yellow inside. After eating it, I found a nice spot near the stairs to relieve myself. Soon after that everybody woke up and the house got really busy with the kids changing to the same kind of clothes in the morning, hurriedly eating "their tasteless breakfast" in the morning and running off outdoors. The tall man then dressed up and went out too. I spent the day with the lady in the house. She did not go out much in the mornings or afternoons and spent most of the day moving things around in the house and in a really hot room. When she was done working in the hot place, a nice smell filled the air around me. And of course she cleaned up after me and gave me milk right after her work in the morning. The kids came back home soon after that. They threw their things all around the house, talked heatedly and troubled me. The girl gave me some white thing (which I later discovered was rice and milk) and then both the kids went inside the room with a book.

Once this peak activity subsided, the lady usually took a small nap in the afternoon (much shorter than what I like to take take). This was when a younger woman who was shabbily dressed with a huge belly, came home and slept in the front room of the house. I knew there was something as tiny as me inside her stomach and used to huddle close to her in the afternoon. Sometimes I felt the little thing kick me and it was a nice feeling to sleep close to it. Later in the evening, the little girl gave me something to eat which made my stomach as big as the woman having something inside. The buy then chased me and I deftly evaded him as I swiftly moved under the tables and chairs.

As the heat of the day subsided and it became dark, my master came home. The whole family played around with one small device pointing it in the air towards a much larger thing that always produced a cacophony. Then the family ate and I decided it was better to be in the room where they were than being alone elsewhere and usually slept under the dining table. I was given some bread and milk in the night before everyone slept leaving me alone in the night. Initially they left me behind in the main hall and locked themselves in the two rooms that had a big piece of furniture. I didn't mind being alone until that fateful day....

It was raining all day and the whole place was much colder than what it normally was. The earth outdoors smelt different. After I had my bread and milk, everyone went to retire and so did I. I closed my eyes after finding a warm spot and slept almost immediately. I have no idea how long I slept but a sudden jolt woke me up. I was scared. This was not normal. No one was around me. Did something happen to everyone else? It was dark and I didn't know where to go. Just as I was calming myself again, I saw a sudden streak of light and I knew where the door of my master was. Thanking my stars that I could find my way, I cautiously treaded towards the door. I was not even half way through and I heard that ominous sound again. My heart jumped and I whimpered again. If it was an enemy I could see, I had learnt from my mom how to attack. But who was this? I howled in the night and scrambled near the door and scratched it. I heard no movement inside but decided to press my nose to the door and sit tight. It was hardly a few minutes before I heard it again. This time I was prepared and had tried to find the direction of the sound but it was from everywhere around me. I was agitated and cried in the dark. Fear is awful when it strikes you off guard and alone. My heart pounding, my ears alert, my eyes searching in the darkness, I cried and cried. Suddenly the door opened and the man scooped me into his arms. I shivered at his touch fearing he had made the noise. He held me closer and pressed his lips on my forehead. It was the most beautiful gesture I have ever felt and I cooed softly as a blanket of comfort spread through me. I could not stop trembling even as the lady patted me on my head and back. I quickly snuggled my way between her hands and dug my face into her arms. I did not want to hear anything but just be with them. The man and the woman put a warm blanket over me and hugged me tight as they slept. I heard the same sound again and though my body shivered involuntarily I felt more at peace in their hands. It was at this moment that I knew this was my home and they were my parents. I slept soundly with my family in my house that night.

A few weeks soon after Ceiloo came, he became the family's lifeline. Fitting his schedule into ours was the most pleasurable time we had. As a growing puppy he was a voracious eater and extremely active. We each took turns in taking care of him and often laughed and joked about the burdens of pet raising. Ceiloo squeezed his way into our orthodox household making us break every rule that the family had upheld and not compromised on before. He first paved his way into my parents bed on that rainy day and has always slept on the bed ever since. Being the cunning attention seeker, he eventually would not let my parent sleep together, spreading his four feet body horizontally between my parents.

Chapter 1 - Home Sweet Home

The cold hands reached out for me and I shivered and squirmed as I was picked up. Shortly after, I was taken out - the bright light hit my eyes and there were so many different noises around me that I couldn't identify with. Not to forget the multitude of smells around me - I was trying to sniff around and register them, in vain. I finally reached a house that looked like the one I came from and my feet felt the smooth floor. I didn't know what to do but could feel a many pairs of eyes watching every move of mine. I was lost and confounded and decided to not to bring too much attention to myself though I knew I was the focus of everyone around. I slowly moved around the room, sniffing the ground. It smelt different but was at least consistent. I found the perfect spot and sat down to relieve myself. I was messy and hadn't yet learnt to raise a leg and pee like my mom. I heard some noises behind me and I quickly ran away from the place. As people were bending over and inspecting the spot I chose, I found another room. I quickly ran in there and I could here a lot of commotion in the other room. I felt scared and insecure. My eyes searched for a place to hide and I found it. There was a long piece of furniture and I quickly ran under it. I crouched there and I was quite confident no one would find me. They were shouting something and I saw a pair of legs stop near me and bend down. Oops the cat was out of the bag. Oops again, the dog was out the bag. I didn't want to go out and just stayed in there. When a pair of hand tried to scoop me out, I heard myself whimpering. The hands were immediately taken out. I waited there not knowing what I was waiting for. I was feeling sleepy but couldn't sleep with people constantly hovering around my den. Siggghh and I let my eyes droop a little. Suddenly I heard two other distinct voices - a low pitched gruffy voice and a slightly higher pitched voice. It was accompanied by strident footsteps. (If I knew what is Doppler effect I could have explained it better). The footsteps came to a halt near my lair. I was on vigil again and the next instant two pairs of eyes were staring at me. I stared back. They seemed excited and chirpy about something and were repeatedly making some noise. I kept looking at them intensely and then they got up and left. I was hungry but didn't know where my mom was or where to look for food. I whimpered and settled down again. In a flash, one of the two people sat down beside the furniture. There was a bowl of milk (it smelt a little different) and she kept saying something again and again. I was scared to go out and hung on to my position. And she sat there and kept looking at me. I hoped she would get tired or bored and move away but she seemed persistent. We both looked at each other in what seemed to be eternal anticipation that the other person would stop lingering around the same place. I looked at her again and she looked smaller than the others. She also seemed sober and I decided to take a chance. Slowly I moved towards her as her hands reached out for me. I went up to her with my head down and she stroked the back of my neck. I looked at the bowl of milk and she brought it closer to me. I smelt it and slurped the milk a little bit. It tasted different but I liked it. The girl stroked my back now. I drank some more milk and realized I was starving. I stopped bothering about people around me and when I finished the bowl I felt three hands all over me. I looked up and the three people didn't seem to mean any harm. They started stroking me and it felt great. A heavy meal and lots of pampering is all I needed at that moment. I let them play with me but they didn't seem to stop. I finally looked up again, smacked my lips and went back to my den and fell asleep. I felt safe, happy and pampered here - my new home.

Ceiloo came home on March 19th 1996. I remember every moment of the day - it was a Tuesday and I had my annual Science exam. I finished the exam and rushed home early because I knew Ceiloo would be at home. Venkatesh and my mom had picked him up earlier in the day (his parents Tyson and Tilly lived four blocks down our road) and had brought him home. After coming home, Ceiloo ran under the sofa and refused to come out. Me and my brother kept watching him under the sofa for a long time. Then I sat beside the sofa with a bowl of milk for almost half an hour before he came out voluntarily. He drank his first meal at my house with me beside him and with that we established our tryst for a lifetime. I have never known him to eat by himself or with anybody else as he does when I am around.