Short stories born out of mere emotions of Life

Fear, with love transmutes into Courage

In the midst of the jostling passengers, cries of the stall keepers and the constant arrival and departure of trains in the city railway station ...there struggled a poor little soul in the body of a puppy reduced to bones. This unfortunate being's pain and sufferings was lost and ignored in the mingling busy of the platform. He had lost his mother recently and the evil around him, took great advantage of him being unguarded from his mother's protection. The older dogs always tried to bite him, snatched away his food and his suffering body was enough to scare away people. There was also a gang of 3 men, whom he dreaded like Death itself, for they always beat him and abused him. Slowly, the puppy became scared of living beings- humans, other animals and even dogs, were a threat to him, its seemed. So, he always tried to run away from people and animals and always stayed in hiding. Every night he used to look at the stars through the broken sheds and pray for the return of his mother.

One such day, he was trying to run away from people when he fell down from the platform and into the tracks!! While he was trying to climb up, a college-going girl who was about to board her train to college, spotted him and got down from her train. The girl saved the struggling critter in the nick of time. "There you go, little one. Don't get into trouble anymore!" But as she turned back to board her own train, the whistle went off, and the train went away without a moment's waste. "Oh no! Now I have to wait for 15 mins for the next train, I will be terribly late." said the girl, but then her face lit up and she looked at the puppy. "Meanwhile, why don't we get you safe and make you a little shelter?" And so, the kind girl made up a little shelter in the corner with card boards, fed some biscuits to the puppy and made sure he was safe. The puppy too was, for the first time, enjoying the company of a person. While going, the girl promised to visit him every day.

And so, every day the girl visited the puppy, fed him and made sure he was safe after returning from college by train. They developed a loving bond and soon, the puppy grew up to be a fine dog with the food and love he received from the girl.

But one day, the girl didn't visit him. He waited for long, for the daily dose of snack, but she didn't come. Out of hunger, the pooch went to the place from where the girl usually boarded her train; she was nowhere to be seen. After moving around a little, he saw that the girl was standing at a corner, rather afraid. And she wasn't alone; the 3 men whom he dreaded in his early life were standing in from of her. They were not letting her go, and teasing her. The dog sensed danger and gathered courage for the first time. He barked at the men, but they kicked him. Instead of being scared, the dog really became angry; he dragged a lady cop nearby by pulling her by her saree. The cop then rescued the girl. "Your dog is really clever. You should take good care of this little fellow." said the cop. She didn't know that the well fed dog belonged to the station and wasn't the girl's dog. But something, clicked the girl's mind, she said "Y-e-s....Yes he is my dog and I will always take good care of him." Saying so, she patted the dog, and said for the first time "Let's go home." Saying so, she took the dog home. The prayer of the once-struggling puppy hadn't gone unheard of. He finally got his Mother's soul and care back.