Unshakeable Faith

Little Bijoy had been running in and out all morning. Grandfather had finally lifted his head from behind the newspaper to follow his trot from garden to the kitchen and back.

After the nth trip, Grandfather hoisted himself out of the gently swinging jhoola, to go and have a look. In the garden, he saw the little boy busy with a ball, soft and fluffy. On a closer look he realised it was a little kitten.

“What’s happening Bijoo?” gently asked the octogenarian.

“Oh Dadu! See I have a kitten. My new pet.”

“Where did you find it?”

“It walked into our garden, by itself.”

“But you know Dadi does not allow pets in the house.”

 

The twinkle in the bright brown eyes did not diminish.

“That’s why I have kept it in the garden Dadu,” he giggled.

Grandfather’s eyes lit up too as he guffawed at the innocence. He knew his wife better and didn’t call her ‘The Dragon’ for nothing.

“See Dadu, how he has finished all the milk I gave him. Mummy would have approved.”

Grandfather patted his head and lovingly stroked the silky black hair which had a habit of falling straight down his forehead and nearly into his eyes.

“Bijoo, what is happening?” called out the sharp and shrill voice of grandmother.

Grandfather and Bijoy looked at each other, scrambling towards the house.

 

Ever since the fatal accident that had cruelly snatched away their son and his wife, the elderly couple had stepped into the role of Bijoy’s parents. Wiping his tears, swaddling him with the love of his missing parents, taking care of a long forgotten daily routine for a five year old, they allowed themselves to grieve only in privacy.

 

“What’s that in your hands?” asked the grandmother firmly.

He extended the minuscule ball of fur towards her, his eyes sparkling.

Grandmother lowered her specs for a better look. The striped, fluffy kitten with a perfect pink tongue poking out as it yawned, looked adoringly with its bright green eyes.

For one who had never allowed any pets in the house, she looked at the animal and then at her grandson brimming with joy. “Ahem!” said Grandfather as he cleared his throat waving his hands in some vague motion to signal SOS.

“A kitten Dadi! I have been asking God to send me a pet now that He has my mom and Dad!”

“Why are you crying Dadi? I promise not to get it inside the house!” said little Bijoy seriously.

Image: Courtesy Pixabay

https://pixabay.com/photos/cat-pet-kitten-cute-4912211/