Reeti Dey, IX D (2019 – 20)

It was a dreary evening. It had drizzled all day and there was no sign of the rain stopping. John was walking along an alley at the end of the street near his house in Washington DC. He was peevish as usual. He refused to greet the people who greeted him politely even in that terrible weather. John turned up his nose at the sight of people rushing, their trousers and sleeves rolled up as they used their bags to protect their heads from the rain.

John said to himself, “How disgusting it is even to look at these people” as he moved slowly through the wet streets. While walking, he came across a rather pathetic sight. A little dog was sitting at the side of the road. The puppy was completely soaked and it was whimpering. The little puppy’s mother lay cold and dead at the side of the street. It was indeed an awful sight and even a cold man like John could not help but feel sorry for it.

At first, John thought of moving on and leaving the puppy to die on the streets. However his inner conscience pulled him back as he was not entirely indifferent to its plight. John knelt down and lowered his umbrella to shelter the puppy from the rain. He cleared his throat and asked, “Do you want to come home with me?” The puppy, as if it could understand his words barked happily in reply. John took the puppy home with him.

Since then it stayed with him and accompanied John on his daily walks. He felt cheerful and not cynical at all. John became a changed man. He started his life anew with his best friend whom he named ‘Grumpy’. John had finally found the light at the end of the tunnel.