Miss Bittermouth

Sneha entered the office and noted Seema moving around with a sulky expression. She took in a deep breath, and thanked God that Seema never had the guts of messing with her. Most probably because Sneha knew very well the process of handling her. She has long noticed that Sneha had a way of snapping at each and every junior, or soft speaking persons whenever she had some problem in her personal life.

So many times Sneha had to choke an irresistible impulse to give her a piece of mind, but resisted herself because Seema always avoided confronting her. She did not had the guts to show her tantrums to her superiors, it was reserved for person holding similar ranking or juniors.

There was a knock on her cabin door within a few minutes of her entering, after getting her permission four of her junior staffs entered the cabin together. For a second she thought that they have come to complain against Seema and she cursed her in her mind. Because these four young girls have won her wrath ever since their joining the office, they joined under her, they were very sincere and intelligent girls. But they had a very big vice, all four were extremely pretty and immensely popular in the office. So Seema always watched them like a hawk and made it her duty to ruin their days whenever she will see any of them.

The girls were extremely frustrated but could not do any thing because their upbringing did not allowed them to make scenes, even though they knew that they were right and she was absolutely wrong. So they bunched together and used to giggle behind her back.

They beamed at Sneha and announced that they are transferred to the company’s Mumbai branch after promotion. Sneha shaked their hands and wished them luck. Then they asked her permission for a small party on the Saturday for two hours in the evening. They wanted to thank everyone individually and offer some snacks and gifts. Sneha said that she will take care that no problem arises.

The party was held, the girls managed it very well, every one received a gift with one of the girls explaining the reason behind the gift. One by one every one’s name was spelled out but Seema’s. Everyone was sure that they have no gift for her, and every one knew that she deserved that. The way she used to insult those girls even though no one protested but every one hated her for that.

Finally when all the gifts were given away two of the girls left the room, they came back with a huge gift. Then the girl announcing said, “This gift is for the person who all of us will remember for the rest of our life, our very own Miss Bitter Mouth, on our parting day we are gifting you a cauldron of honey with the hope that its sweetness will save the girls who will replace us.”

There was a stunned silence in the room, Seema sat staring at four giggling girls.

Maitreyee

Maitreyee knew that every one will laugh at her, but she did it. She told her parents firmly and clearly that she wont marry Amal under no circumstances. Amal was a quite a tempting groom under worldly measures but in Maitreyee’s eyes he was nothing.

Maitreyee has observed him observing her for more than two years, he seemed obsessed by her, he was an educated, good looking guy from an affluent family. But that was only the upper crust, his manners were horrible, mannerwise he resembled the famous character Hagar The Horrible more than normal human beings. The sound of his munching and swallowing was audible from the other end of the room, so were the remaining sounds, gurgling, yawning, coughing, sneezing…all were loud enough to wake up dead from their slumber.

Where as Maitreyee was very mild mannered girl, it was hard to know that she is present in the room, she was born and brought up in a very polished environment so it was not possible for her to adjust with a person like Amal, with so very loud manners.

Her parents were absolutely mad at her for turning down the offer. But Maitreyee stood her ground. Amal got married and deliberately came to Maitreyee to introduce his wife, who was far more sweet looking and cuter than Maitreyee.

A couple of years later Maitreyee married some one of her own choice, Ramesh was a very simple guy, working in a government office in clerical post, he was as ordinary looking as Maitreyee, but their similarities begin there. They had more common in between themselves than uncommon.

After spending a couple of years happily with Ramesh, Maitreyee told the story to Amal’s wife, who was very happily married to Amal, that if she would have married Amal by the pressure of her parents, it would have ruined two people, whereas her decision has made four people happy.

Marriage should occur only amongst people who can respect and like each other whole heartedly, then only they will be able to take the remaining hardships of life, which are bound to come. These waves are tackled by the oars of mutual love and respect, without which the boat will sink, no matter how costly or beautiful it is.

magic

It hurts deep when your own blood betrays you, Reva never realized that the only place she had in the live of her siblings was of a free of cost baby sitter and errand doer.

She was a very soft girl, who was moulded by her siblings according to their wishes, she was always there to help them with a smile on her lips, her siblings felt it better to keep her as a helping hand, hence snipped off all her attempts to stand on her feet in the bud.

As a result, when her mother, the last of her parents passed away she was still single, penniless. Soon her brothers and their families started to harass her to no end and her living in the same household became impossible. Because they were planning to usurp the properties left in her name. They poisoned the minds of the neighbours and relatives taking advantage of her introvert nature. Within a couple of years they made it clear that they wont let her stay in the house, physical and verbal abuse became daily story.

One day she was walking down the street when she saw a small advertisement, educated social worker needed for ashray, a small orphanage, food, shelter and small honorary amount will be provided. She thought about giving it a try and went there.

She located the address, it was a small two storied house, she went to the door, and saw inside, she saw some small autistic children inside, her heart ached with deep pain, most of them were on their fours, crawling painfully, without much control on their limb.

A woman in white saree opened the collapsible gate and asked her in, she had a very serene personality. She asked her to sit down and when to inform the mother superior. Reva sat down, within five minutes four or five children flocked around her with big grin on their faces, their faces lacked proper symmetry but their inner purity made their faces brim with joy.

Reva was very fond of children, her heart went out to these helpless children, discarded by their own parents, too weak to take care of themselves.

A few minutes later she was called in, she met the mother, her name was originally Karuna but she was called mother by every one. She was an elderly lady, past sixty. Here entire personality was serene and peaceful. One look at her face and the heart of the person filled up with deep peace and happiness.

Karuna asked her to take a seat, she sat down, Karuna gently asked her about her qualifications and back ground. After talking with her she asked Reva from when she can shift and join. Reva asked her she will like to start working immediately but asked three or four months before shifting, because she wanted to look into her heart before leaving her home, because she knew once she will be out of that door, her siblings will ensure that the doors are sealed for her.

She started to come to ashray in the morning and left the place in night, within one week she started to love those children with all her heart, her duty was to do petty office jobs and help those children in home works who were able to attend school, with sadness she noticed, ninety per cent of them were not even capable of feeding themselves, forget about other things.

She used to observe with great happiness and pain that the love of these children knew no impurity, the moment they used to see her walk in their small faces used to light up, most of them could not talk a sentence but they used to shout didi, when the time of parting used to come she never felt like leaving them and going back to home.

Even though these children were some times moody, some times violent but their unselfish affection compensated for this all. Hence a month later Reva told Karuna that she wont go back to home any more.

When she left home her siblings smirked at her and taunted her that she will be back within a week, or latest a month but she ignored their comments and moved on.

Months passed to years, she never regretted her decision, one day she got the news that some one has left a small child in the area of her home, she went there, and while she was coming back she met her child hood friend Neepa, she invited her to her home for a cup of tea, when Neepa saw the helpless baby in her arms, she asked Reva about her works in the orphanage.

After listening all she asked Reva whether or not she regrets her decision, Reva replied she has given a lot more affection to her siblings and their children, but in the return she had to leave her own home, whereas these children has cured all the wounds caused by them and filled up her life with their unselfish, pure affection.

She told Neepa that these children have a heart that is not tainted with greed, lust or selfishness. They cant be corrupted, they follow the simple rule, if some one loves you love them back thousand times more.

After a little silence Reva added that that was all she ever asked for in life. And her family was slowly convincing her that unselfish love does not exists, a dark despair which these children has spared her from.

Wise Young Lady

They were sitting side by side on the park bench when Mrs. Gupta said, “Here they come!”, the remaining two turned their head and saw another trio taking a stroll in the park, two young men and a young lady.

“Life does puts us in strange dilemmas sometime, does not it?”, Mrs. Ghosh said in a low, thoughtful voice.

“You bet! I wonder what will be best for Maria, to stick to Dinesh or move on and accept Rajesh.”

Maria loved Dinesh, he had that type of personality that any girl will be attracted to him. A little hot tempered but very well mannered and possessed an extremely good character. To add on he was extremely good looking, not rich but amply well settled.

Maria was a little better than ordinary looking, very sophisticated and gentle girl. She was deeply in love with Dinesh, so much that she once approached him but he casually brushed away her feelings telling her that they are not compatible.

Rajesh was a very gentle, well mannered guy, whose lack in looks was compensated with a warm and loving heart. He was Dinesh’s colleague, and madly in love with Maria. He could not do any thing because of his loyalty to Dinesh and Maria’s love for Dinesh. He could neither propose to her, nor was he able to stay away from her.

He just used to join them due to two reasons, first they always insisted, and second was he loved Maria so much that being in her presence was enough to her. His love has reached the level of seeing his lover’s happiness before his own.

They looked at this trio and smiled before moving on to some secluded spot where they can sit down and chat for a long time before retiring to their homes.

Mrs. Dutta mused, “If I was Maria I would have tried my level best to make Dinesh change his mind. After all, nothing is impossible for a woman if she makes up her mind.”

“Its an exaggeration!”, Mrs. Ghosh said, “You cant make any one love you, you may tempt or attract him for a while, what if he gets bored after that?”

“If I was Maria I would have told goodbye to Dinesh and would have married Rajesh, because she is belongs to that category of woman who are loyal, devoted and affectionate. So with the amount of love Rajesh is eager to give her she will eagerly response.” Mrs. Gupta joined in.

“Have you ever seen how much eager he is to see her happy, and how much he relishes her childish, innocent and sometimes impractical things, which irks Dinesh.” Mrs. Gupta added.

A few months later Mrs. Ghosh informed the other two about the not very sweet progress in the life of the youngsters, Dinesh has fallen head over heel in love with a dazzling beauty and they are about to get married next month.

A deep pain heavied their hearts, they all knew how much Maria loved Dinesh. Then all of a sudden, like sun’s rays light up the earth after a dark night they saw Rajesh and Maria coming toward them. Their faces were shining, one with deep love and happiness and the other with deep respect, happiness and gratitude.

Shelter

Pabak was returning home from Kashmir, he usually preferred traveling in plain clothes, with civilians. He was sitting on the window seat, no one has entered his first class compartment as yet, and the remaining berth was reserved from a station after Kanpur, his home. The train has barely started to move when someone entered his compartment and bolted the door from inside.

He jumped up from his seat; it was a woman in burqa. One of his hands gripped the automatic in his pocket firmly, “Who are you?” his voice became harsh unwillingly. “It’s a reserved compartment.”

The intruder uncovered her face, Pabak stared at her face. He has never seen such a beautiful girl in his whole life. She dropped down on her knees and folded her hands, “Bhaiya please save me. Only God knows how I fooled them and slipped out of their clutches.”

“Sit down.” He said. He handed her over a glass of water. The train has started to move in a nice speed.

“Bhaisaab, please, will you draw the curtains of the window?” she begged.

There was something in her voice which made Pabak listen to her. She had her reasons. She herself voluntarily blabbered out her horrible story to him. She was studying in class tenth, in a small town of Madhya Pradesh when her own mother took her to a trip, a one way trip to Kashmir. She ended up in a brothel and her mother vanished.

It’s been more than four years since that nightmarish journey; she was being taken to Bihar for a dance program. Her escorts being confident that she does not have any where to go have gone slack and she has escaped. She just hopped in the train on the opposite platform when it started to move and barged into the first compartment.

The TT knocked the door; Pabak opened the door and reserved her ticket till Kanpur. They descended in Kanpur and left for the army barracks. Her name was Chandni, Pabak rechristened her as Sugandh.

When he reached his home his wife, small daughter and brother were waiting for him in the verandah. He hugged his wife and understanding her surprise told her they will talk later. “Give her something to wear honey, will you?”

Shraddha was quite comfortable with his husband’s huge heart that was the reason she married him in the first case. So she took Sugandh to the guest room and gave her a set of her clothes, showed her the toilet and asked her to change.

A shiver ran down her spines when she heard her story. She softly clasped Pabak’s hand and said that he did the right thing.



Pabak was one of those human beings who knew true meaning of humanity. She still remembered their first meeting, her friend and he were in love with each other, she asked Shraddha to tell him that the relationship was off because he did not wanted to walk away from his autistic brother and she was not interested to carry his burden for whole life.

She was quite interested to see the man who could let go a dazzling creature like Leena to look after his brother. She saw him and it was love at first sight. He took more than four years to propose.

She was born and brought up in a family which knew to share, so taking Shamik under her wings was nothing special to her, to her he was her first born, her second born was her daughter Pausha, who was brought to life by her.

She had a deep hope that Pausha will love Shamik enough to take care of him when they are no longer around because Shamik was ten years junior to Pabak. He was not severely autistic but he needed someone to save him from cunning people and guide him.

Sugandh slipped into their family gratefully. Pabak and Shraddha told her to become mum about her past. She was introduced as Shraddha’s distant cousin whose parents have passed away.

Months passed into almost a year when Shraddha noted a strange thing, she has noted that Sugandh liked Pabak and Shraddha was suspicious that she has started to love Shamik. She had very serious reasons to stay away from men, she did, Pabak and Shamik were the only exceptions of that rigid rule. She bluntly refused every marriage proposal which was offered to her because of her divine beauty. She told Shraddha that she did not wanted to be touched by any man ever again. But now, Shraddha has seen her more than half a dozen time playing with Shamik’s hair, or hands while he slept or sat with her.

She told Pabak about it and he said, “Lets see! Nothing better can happen for those two, but give Sugandh time.”

“After the hell she has been through, a person as pure and innocent as Shamik must be irresistible to her. But she is a woman of normal intelligence and needs; she may soon wear out of his innocent, childish nature.”

“I have become quite fond of Sugandh, she is a lovely girl but I dote after Shamik.” He said thoughtfully, “And he is my responsibility too.”

“Let’s start some small business for them so they can take care of themselves in case they marry.” Shraddha smiled.

So they just kept observing them, a few years later when Shraddha popped up the question to Sugandh she shyly agreed.

Love lost

Dibyo came down from his rooms to see that his father has left for his office as usual, and mother has left for some charitable function. He went out and drove away to his office, there was nothing unusual, it was his way of life since he came back from hostel ten years ago.

He had to hold an interview for his secretary that day, he was hoping that he could get the help of his mother, who has worked as an administrative officer before retiring five years ago. He went to office and started to conduct interview, he liked Supti the instant he saw her and after talking with her he finalized her appointment.

Within two months Supti became his left hand, she was of a very childish but sincere nature, her innocence and sincerity bowled Dibyo over. They became inseparable. Dibyo started to rely on her a lot. Then slowly the next step happened, he started to realize that he has fallen in love. Initially he tried to suppress it, but the more he was trying to suppress it, the more it was growing stronger.

After knowing Supti he knew one thing that she will never accept his family, Supti has lost both of her parents in young age and struggled hard to reach the position she has, and naturally she was of a very strong personality and had a strong sense of self respect. Whereas his parents were extremely conscious of their social status, he still remembered how he lost his best friend because of that, he invited him to his home for tea and his parents did not came out to meet him, sent a cup of tea in a cup meant for servants. He disappeared from Dibyo’s life within a month.

The constant struggle within himself made him mentally agitated, and that agitation took its toll on his health, he fell severely ill, he did not dared to inform Supti, he only told her that he is going out of station for a few months, and she will have to handle every thing. When his mother came to know about the reason of his suffering she talked with his father and he said he will look into it.

He asked Dibyo if he could take care of his office till he is back to health and Dibyo said yes, he informed Supti that his father will be looking after the organization for a few months. Supti welcomed him warmly but in the return received a cold nod.

She all of a sudden realized her true status in the company, which Dibyo’s gentle nature has never made her feel. Within fifteen days she bitterly realized the difference between father and son. Dibyo has never raised his voice in the years he has spent with Supti, whereas his father never spoke with her with due respect. His behaviour reeked of disrespect, slowly it started to get on her nerve and she decided to change her job.

Almost all of her colleagues were sad of the entire matter, because they wanted their marriage, but could not dare to say any thing because Dibyo paid hefty salary to his staffs, and speaking against his father will certainly cost their job. Hence when Dibyo came back after recovery they did not said a single word about the way Supti was treated.

Supti also did not opened her mouth because she respected Dibyo immensely and did not wanted to harass him an inch.

Love and lust

Sujit did not knew who his parents were, they left him to die when he was only five months old, he was saved from sure death by Mr. Rastogi , who was not Mr. Rastogi then, he was Ramu aka Ramnarayan working in a chips factory.

Mr. Rastogi had some vices, very big vices but some goodness inside him compelled him to pick up that ugly child and bring him up with ample care even though he had a daughter and son of his own. He did not brought up Sujit as his own son but did not turned him into a free of cost slave either, he brought him up modestly. As a result Sujit joined his factory after graduation, Mr. Rastogi has already started to utilize his expertise in his first factory to produce chips which he used to sell in packets of big brands, of course illegally.

One night when Sujit came back Mr. Rastogi and Mrs Rastogi were waiting for him in the drawing room, they begged him to save their son Pratik from sure doom, their factory was in his name, and a police raid happened, and Pratik is in lock up. They begged before him to own the responsibilities and surrender himself, they will get him out on bail and make the arrangements for his escape.

Sujit did not had any choice, he was a very just guy, he knew where he would be if Mr. Rastogi did not saved him, he silently accompanied them, they got him bailed out within a month and made arrangements of his disappearance smoothly.

They sent him to a very small town in Uttar Pradesh, rented a home there and asked him to keep a low profile, his expenses were looked after by Pratik who used to visit him atleast once a month. He was very fond of Sujit hence was repentant that he had to suffer because of his father.

One day Sujit was sitting beside his window when he saw a taxi pull up in front of the house opposite to his, a pretty girl descended from the taxi, with her were an old lady and a young guy.

They were his new neighbours, the family was from Delhi, the brother, Raj has joined a big factory in Tejnagar. He brought along his family which consisted of his widow mother and sister Raina. There was some thing in Raina which instantly attracted Raj towards her, her face was not very beautiful but was immensely kind. Her eyes were full of gentlest dreams.

It became an obsession of Sujit to watch her whenever she was visible, he understood very soon that she was a very kind girl, gentle and sensitive. Her world was woven around her family and irrelevant things like books, music, birds, animals and other such things.

Without his knowledge Pratik also saw her and got smitten by her sweetness, his frequency of visits increased and he started to stalk the girl, the girl ignored him because she was least impressed by flashy cars, unfortunately it only increased Pratik’s obsession, he made up his mind about having her as his wife. He knew every thing about her, hence he thought that he will make her leave Tejpur and go back to Delhi, because Pratik’s family lived near the girl’s home in Delhi. Once she is snatched away from her family she will feel lonely and insecured, then he will step in as a rescuer, he will ask his parents to get him married to her.

He acted upon his wish and made the girl so miserable with the help of some of his local chums that the girl left Tejnagar and went back to Delhi. Her mother had to stay back to look after her brother, she went back to her home in Delhi, which was empty at that time. Pratik followed her, he showed her photo to his mother and told her that he wanted to marry her. His parents bluntly refused because the girl was from middle class family.

They forced Pratik to marry some one of their choice, Pratik married the girl without much fuss because she was really beautiful, but fate had some other plans, after his marriage every thing went wrong with them and his wife passed away within five years leaving two small children. Their business also took a downward plunge, Pratik was sure that it was because of that girl’s curse, because he knew that the perfect way in which he has blackwashed her image has made it impossible for her family to find a match for her and she herself has also backed off from the idea of marriage, because they have displayed the dirty side of human nature too explicitly to her.

He shared his secret with his mother and requested her to approach her for marriage. Mrs. Rastogi brushed him off, saying she will find better bride for him, and started to look for one, Pratik requested his father, he softened and asked him to appoint the girl in his office so he could see whether the girl is nice and they could mix, Pratik did the same, to his dismay he noticed that experience has made the girl really rigid and strong willed, she was not interested to give him any type of lift even now, when they were face to face, and he realized another thing that the girl has not casted a single glance at him when he was busy stalking her, because she took him as a stranger.

After seeing her he had a change of heart and consented to his mother to look for another bride, she soon found out a really pretty and cute girl who instantly won Pratik’s heart, but some thing got inside Mr. Rastogi, he said that he wont co operate in his marriage in any way until and unless he marries Raina.

And if he marries some one else he will try to compensate to Raina by giving her half the property he wanted to give Pratik.

All requests from Pratik and his mother fell on deaf ear. Mr. Rastogi has already formed a great affection for the girl, hence he made it very clear that he wont change his mind.
Pratik got desperate and started an attempt to kill that affection, he deliberately used to bother and insult that girl whenever his father was not around and when his father was around he used to transform into an angel, whereas the girl used to act rudely to him, because he was a shameless, rude stalker in his eyes. He once again requested some of his scoundrel accomplices to make that girl leave that job and they started to disturb her.

Mr. Rastogi was observing them pretty keenly without his knowledge, he understood the game his son was playing but could not do any thing much, hence he went to Sujit’s doorstep again, who has settled in Canada, he told him the entire story and requested him to save that girl from Pratik’s clutches, Sujit’s love for her re surfaced, he promised Mr. Rastogi that he will try.

Mr. Rastogi introduced them on pretext of extending his business to Canada. He became her friend very soon and within a few month their friendship intensified, because Sujit loved her with all her heart. Still he could not dare to face her because he had a serious complex about his looks. Within a few months Raina fell in love with him all the harassment she was facing in Pratik and his friends hand only intensified her trust for Sujit.

Sujit asked her if he could look for a job for her in Canada, because he knew every thing about her, he suggested her to relocate and leave those rats behind. She sent him her cv. He soon got a good job for her and she left India.

Pratik got married very soon after her leaving India, he planned to visit Sujit for honeymoon. When he reached there with his newly wed wife and kids he saw Sujit standing beside Raina and his father. The vermillion on Raina’s forehead told him the remaining story. A deep pang went through his heart when he saw the tenderness in Sujit and Raina’s glances when they looked at each other.

Komal

Shubham was married at a very young age. According to Indian traditions his parent’s made the choice, he only saw her once formally before marriage and got married.



His wife Rani had nothing in common with him, actually they were as different as two sides of a coin. Shubham was a very soft speaking, gentle person, whereas Rani was lively and fiery tempered. Shubham was very serious and Rani was of a fleety nature. Rani was coquettish, she wanted to enjoy the life to the core, even at the cost of causing other’s pain and shubham was of a reserved nature, he believed in values and principles.

They had a baby daughter, Komal. Shubham was dragging his nupital life with Rani just because of Komal. He knew she only wanted his money, he knew that she was infidel, but he knew that if they separate he might have to lose Komal.

One day Shubham came back from office and saw that Rani has left him and Komal, she only left a note that she is feeling suffocated with life, has found some one who matches her wavelength, hence she is leaving him on her free will, as her fiancé is not ready to accept Komal she has no choice but to leave her with Shubham, finally the letter said her lawyer will contact him.

Shubham was shell shocked but some how relieved, all the pain he felt was of embarrassment, even though Rani has decamped with all her belongings, he some how did not regretted that.



The news spread like wildfire, as a result wherever he went he used to either hear murmurs or imagined that he was hearing. He was silent by nature, and this embarrassment made him even more silent and withdrawn.


He tried to overcome his embarrassment by becoming more and more silent. All his attention revolved around his work and Komal. There was only one relief, due to Rani’s outgoing nature Komal was more attached to her father and ayah than Rani, hence Shubham and her ayah easily managed her after Rani’s disappearance.

A couple of months later, one day when he was coming down by lift somebody tapped him on the shoulder and he turned back to see Sikta, his college friend, who he knew was madly in love with him but he was not, and they remained friend for a long time, then he married Rani and Sikta slowly moved away.

Next few months passed like dream, with every passing day Shubham could see that Sikta had all the qualities which Rani could never have, and started to regret deep within that he had this intelligence in college, to admire her and propose her. They became inseparable friends again.

Rani has in the meantime started the divorce procedure and Shubham asked for right on Komal, Rani granted her permission. It was during these days Sikta first saw Komal, and to Shubham’s utter joy they clicked right on the first day and soon they became inseparable.

They used to meet everyday, Sikta was unmarried, she used to drop in Shubham’s home every day to be with Komal and him. Her love for him was growing again, and Shubham has deeply fallen in love with her, but could not dare to propose her thinking that she will think that he wants a mother for her daughter.

One day when Sikta came she saw that Komal was having high temperature, that night that baby clinged to her as if she was her biological mother. She spent the night there, and in the morning when Shubham asked her if he will drop her to her office and she said she has taken a week’s leave and will leave after Komal is alright.

In the night when Shubham returned Sikta asked him to sit with Komal for a while and went to the next room to talk with her family. All of a sudden Komal woke up and started to call her mother, Shubham tried his best to console her but failed. Suddenly Sikta entered the room and seeing her Komal instantly stopped crying and started to pout at her.


Sikta came there and took Komal from Shubham’s arm with a sheepish smile, Shubham realized that Komal was looking for Sikta not Rani.


He went to the next room to hide his tears. A few minutes later he felt some one touching his shoulder and turned to face Sikta.

Kitso

Mili was returning home from her morning walk, she has already reached the door of her home all of a sudden she heard a strange noise, from the drain opposite her home. She went there out of curiosity and saw a tiny kitten, hardly a fistful, most probably landed in the drain in search of its mother. So Mili just screwed up her nose and rescued him from the drain with the help of a polythene bag.

The dilemma started after that, she was deeply worried what will she do now! If she will just leave him there either the crow will peck him to death or he will be swallowed alive by the next dog which will see him. So, she took him home reluctantly.

She first placed him inside a bird cage, gave it a good bath, which it simply hated and bristled up all his hair to show the limit of his anger. And after that he snorted at Mili for next half an hour whenever she dared to venture near his cage. After drying his fur, Mili gave him milk and bread to eat. Eat ate it all up and curled up to sleep. Mili slowly brought him out of the cage in the noon and left him on his own. He straight went to her pet dog, tawny who was a very sweet natured bitch, had previous experience of pestered by rabbits and birds, so she took kitso non chalantly. But kitso was not at all grateful, he used to bother her to no end. Tawny was completely blind, but as she was in the home for 10 years she knew it by every inch. But whenever Tawny used to go out to the garden to relieve herself he used to sneak upon her and pounce at her, tawny used snarl at him, and he used hang from her neck with the help of his tiny claws.

He used play the same trick with Mili also, and as Mili used to get equally furious he used to run away and climb the nearest tree. But Mili used to watch with amusement that when Kitso used to pounce on her, his claws were never out. As if he knew that Tawny’s fur will save her from getting pierced, but Mili wont be able to save her from wound if he doesnot hides his claws.

Slowly Kitso grew up, but contrary to all the myth, he never stole a single thing from the household. Or ever scratched any one. Tawny was his playmate. They used to share a very cute relationship, playing, fighting all the day but never hurting each other.

But with age Kitso slowly started his nocturnal activities with great gusto, he used to disappear at the sunset and return at midnight. And finally started to disappear for the entire night and one day disappeared like he entered Mili’s life, suddenly.