....I was in my twelfth grade back then and didn't have the guts to stop them. I could see that it broke you when we didn't want you. I saw your chocolate brown eyes cloud with pain, fatigue and resignation. But you stayed, living off the scraps and tidbits from the community dustbin.
One night, I saw you searching for water, lapping your tongue eagerly in a dirty rain puddle. That tugged a chord somewhere in me.The next day I saved a cookie for you at snack time and rushed off to find you. Maybe I was trying to make up for my cowardice, for not stepping up to save you. When I offered the cookie , you looked at me so deep and for a moment I wondered if you were trying to convey something beyond the limits of human comprehension. You sniffed and turned away, ignoring the cookie and I. Being neglected that way hurt me a lot.
(to be continued...)

- Indhumathi Nagarajan