Mute Loyalty

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“Whoever says luxury is your best friend, never owned a dog.”

I still remember the day when I brought him home. A shiny cute little Golden Retriever puppy. I raised him from feeding cerelac to chicken chunks, fetching the ball to his early morning walks. It is never like I have so much absence around me, I cremated my wife 10 years ago. Both my sons are married now and they are busy expanding my business. Their wives are a bit more social so their shopping, kitty and clubbing never goes out of fashion. Grandchildren are strictly advised to stay away from me, so any of my preachings shouldn’t spoil them.

To cut a long story short they hate me. I’m just a 64 year-good-for-nothing old man for them, who is spoiling their privacy with his dog in a 2-acre luxurious house (which is actually made by me). But actually nowadays, I hardly care about these tantrums as long as I have him. I named him Shadow after his merry-go-round world around me. He is actually like my shadow. He wakes with me, He eats with me, walks with me, obey only me. Whenever I miss my wife or the times when I raised my children with her, I seldom start crying and I don’t know who taught him this, but he starts shrugging his tail and rolling his body near my feet (as if he’s trying to cheer me up). Whenever I open a book he lay near my feet as he an active listener of the book and about to give a review on it. Shadow’s constant muteness is evident to me. Yet, there lies conversation in his eyes. My shadow has been my most loyal friend and companion after my wife.

One evening, my sons barged into my room and start abusing me as usual, as I forgot to write a check for their new venture. Shadow was also present in that room and is no longer a puppy by then. So the moment they were about to scold me, in an instant the calm dog step forward and growl in such a ferocious manner that was enough to chill down their spines.

Two things happened after that evening. My sons never raised their voices on me again and Shadow made me realize that blood makes you related, but loyalty makes you a family.

Shadow is eight years old now, but I can sense that he isn’t comfortable since last 3 months. Mostly in the middle of the night till early hours of the morning he stays sitting in the backyard garden, where the greenery and plants are. He often mourns. And the irony is, I can’t even pamper him now. I’m facing muteness like him too. 3 months ago, my sons along with their wives strangulated and buried me under this garden.

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