I live for thee

“Ting ting ting ting” rang her bell as she walked. My Grandfather himself tied the bell around her tiny neck. I still remember the pride in his face as he saved the world’s most beautiful cat from the mulberry bush. She lay entangled there, looking as helpless as ever. She was as white as an angel, always acting as if she knew what’s coming. My grandpa lovingly called her “ Amminni kutty” and took care of her as if she were his own child. I think the loneliness, which had fiercely grown in him after grandma’s death vanished as quickly as Amminni kutty grew.

As the years passed she turned, whiter and full of life. She adored grandpa. He took pains to see that fresh fish was brought specially for her and fed her himself and in return she would rub herself against his feet as if trying to say, “ The meal was delicious. Thank you for the good time”.

It was fun to see her stride with so much pride .She truly defined the “Cat walk”, this is another reason that grandpa was reminded of grandma. When she came it was a signal that grandpa was coming .I don’t know how she always managed to read his thoughts as to where he was going.

Often the two were seen playing with each other around the mulberry bush, where they had their very first date. She soon became an inevitable part of our family as she made her way through all our hearts. It was either her undying devotion towards the house or her extreme affection that did the trick.

Time passed. Age caught up with my grandpa. He gave into many diseases and got bed-ridden soon. His coughs were no more a topic to make fun of. Apart from all us, Amminni kutty seemed disturbed as well; she could sense something very wrong. She was allowed to wander near grandpa’s bed and she did so all the time, sometimes even jumped onto the bed trying to cheer him up by rubbing her head against his arm. Nothing worked.

The air in the room stood still and the moaning though not loud, were heard everywhere. Grandpa’s body was placed between two white drapes. The day lasted forever. After the cremation, a garland was put around his smiling portrait.

It was after a day we realized that Amminni kutty wasn’t eating at all. However we let her be, since she too had lost her best friend. The next day there was an absurd killing silence in the house. There was no “ting ting” of the bell. We searched high and low but there was no sign of Amminni kutty. She had run away.

It was a gloomy afternoon of the next month, that Shiva, the neighbor’s son, walked in and along with him came the sound of the bell. We rushed out of our rooms, only to see Amminni kutty’s rock-still body, in Shiva’s hands. She had fought with hunger and hunger won the battle. He said he had found her lying so, in the only place we hadn’t searched for, the mulberry bush.

She had waited for grandpa there, hoping that he would come and play with her. He did. She had left all of us and her favorite fish bowl, just to be with him. She missed him too much. She had served him till his last and still hadn’t had enough of him.

I know deep inside that as I relate this story, the two of them are still playing with each other around the mulberry bush.