Count on me

There's an extremely important message at the end! Please don't ignore it, if you can't finish the story, I'd really appreciate if you could least read the message at the very end. Thank you! Have a great day

Namara walked back home with her head hung low in shame, the girl had never been confident in anything, let alone in herself, but today was different, for she was certain that she had failed pretty much all of her end-of-year exams. This was nothing new. The trying student normally feels disappointed for a bit, before proceeding to enter her humble abode, fling her shoes upon opening the door, rush to her room, and collapse into her bed for a good hour's sleep. Unlike the stereotype following Asian parents, Namaras' were quite alright with her not excelling in the academic aspect of life like the class nerd Somiya, as long as she was happy. Besides, worst-case scenario, Namara would have to take over her dad's Mithai (sweet) shop, one that continues to be doing quite well. So, that isn't so bad.

"Ma, I'm sorry but, I think I-"

"Failed all of my exams for the millionth time again, right?"

"How did you kn-"

"Come to the table, I've laid out some matcha jalebi for you, have it while it's hot."

"Did you... did you just say matcha... jalebi? Mom, I love you both but dad really needs to stop experimenting with traditional sweets, they're traditional for a reason."

"And our slogan is what? Tradition with a twist. Plus, why do you think we've been able to maintain our popularity throughout Kochi for all these years."

"Because dad comes onto whoever passes by his shop and he looks like he belongs to the mafia?"

"N... no, because we make everything here-"

"With love", Namara synced with her mother.

"How did you kn-"

"Ah forget it, I'm hungry."

The scorching sun did not allow the jalebis to lose their heat, and though at first listen, the combination sounded bazar, the taste was rather fitting.

Another conversation unfolded at the table.

"Did you feed Piku?" The girl said as a sticky syrup engulfed her lips.

The mother rolled her eyes at the mention of that name, giving her daughter a reassuring smirk.

"Of course, you love that dog more than your parents, how could I not? She was there as always, pretending to be normal while I brought her food, we ended up feeding her some of our rice and biscuits."

"Thank god, I'll visit her tomorrow, summer officially starts then, so I can spend plenty of time with her. Thanks, mom."

"Mhmm. How long has it been now? 3 years?"

"4." Namara said hastily.

After an empty plate gleamed in the afternoon light with nothing but leftover sweet sap, Namara decided to see Piku. She couldn't wait till the next day to see her best friend; quite possibly, her only.

The fragile body pounced at the door, stomping onto each step of the staircase with such force that one could hear her footsteps miles away. Clearly, in spite of having failed some very important tests that may or may not determine her future, Namara was leaping with contagious joy.

"Piku!" She yelled as she descended onto her street, where she greeted the peanut-vendor, the Sastry sisters, the tired fishermen returning home, and of course, her dad.

"Where are you going?"

"Piku!" Namara screeched for her dad to hear while violently running towards the little alley beside her aunt's house- Piku's usual location.

"Wait what about your exams!? Namara! Nam- ah forget it, she probably busted them."

As Namara began nearing her destination, her lungs called out for oxygen in the form of wide gasps.

"Piku? Are you here?"

After a minute of waiting and panting, out came a four-legged, medium-sized, brown-and-black mixed specimen from between two garbage bags. The creature was just a happy as Namara, if not more. The alley was filled with ecstatic voices, which were in the pure process of loving and being loved. 

Namara first met Piku when she was 10. The girl was running in the rain while chewing on succulent mangoes. Hoping to share the juicy pleasures with her aunt, Namara continued to scurry to the targeted house, when she slipped on the frictionless gravel, right in front of an alley to the left of her aunt's house. Namara took a second to understand what had happened when the striking pain of her bloodied left knee clarified everything. The little human cried through her eyes as well as through her mouth, while the dropped mangoes and plastic bag rolled down the slope at such a speed, it was as if they were mocking Namara's scrawny legs. 

The heavy rain silenced her howls, and nobody but her seemed to occupy the small, drowning street. Not any human, that is. From out two smelly bags popped a tiny, muddied head with big beading eyes and a curious nose. Exposed to Namara's cries for help, the dog shook off the bags sheltering it from the falling water, and made its way to Namara. Once settled near her, the dog gently nudged Namara's left arm with her head. Namara, once again duped in confusion, now found herself trembling for a new reason. The girl froze still in fear as her eyes made strong contact with the mammals'. After a few minutes of exchanging expressions, the dog barked. Namara, surprisingly, did not budge. Instead, she stood up, wincing at the sight of her knee, and let the dog bite the hem of her filthy dress, pulling the two-legged individual into the road, towards her house. Namara limped, but the dog would stop when needed for her, looking back at her from time to time to make sure she was stable, fabric in mouth. 

"This is me." The little girl signaled the dog by stopping and pointing her even littler finger to the front doors of her house. The dog stopped in her tracks, released Namara's dress, bid her farewell, and watched her as she limped into her house.

The next day, Namara carefully made her way back to the same alley, called out for the dog, and gave her some of her lunch's leftover rice and boiled chicken. The dog gratefully ate up, and had it not been for Namara's mom that day, the two would've ended up sleeping together on the road. From that day on, until now, the two played with each other almost every day, their time together facing a reduction as Namara entered the 9th grade, which she just completed.

The parents, at first, were hesitant about Namara's new friend, but after succumbing to the story of how they first met and seeing the puppy treat their child better than some of their own relatives, the two allowed her to spend a total of 3 hours a day with her new companion, with a curfew of 6pm. They were never too worried as the alley was right next to Namara's aunts' residence, who would supervise Namara a good amount from above her balcony, and from time to time, visit her down. Besides, the adults did still worry about the dog biting their only child, and so, hired a pair of eyes to keep constant watch.

A couple of times the four-legs did end up scratching Namara, but she was able to hide them as best she could with a cardigan she'd always carry around, disinfecting them at home, in the shroud of the night. Namara wouldn't let anyone or anything get in between them.

They'd have their share of loud fights too, but it'd always end up with each whimpering for each other in guilt and reconciling over some boiled chicken (for the dog) and jalebi (for the human).

Multiple times Namara pleaded with her parents to adopt the little creature, but with a limited supply of income, the answer was always "no". Although, they were forgiving enough to let her give the dog any of their leftover food and accompany her.

After a week of exchanging non-existent conversations, the girl named the dog "Piku", simply because it sounded cute.

Current time

Piku galloped towards Namara with a wagging tail as she prepared to leap into the being's arms. Namara in return was as smiley as ever. She could now spend a whole two months without any interruption with her beloved unofficial pet.

5:45 pm

Namara's mother came to get her. The parents too cherished Piku. With a prolonged pat on the head and some extra treats, the two left for home, leaving Piku satisfied and ready for a nap.

"Did you have fun?" Questioned Namara's mother back at home.

"Of course, I always do." The girl answered smiling as big as ever.

That night it rained.

With an energizing night of sleep, Namara woke up, completed her daily routine of refreshing, eating breakfast, and watching some television, and by 1pm, headed out to see Piku, this time with a bowl of plain popcorn, Piku's favorite midday snack. 

"Piku! Are you here?" She amusingly yelled out.

3 minutes passed by.

"Piku!" She called out again.

A little distressed, Namara made her way to the filled garbaged bags, Piku's usual shelter, and was relieved to see Piku's beady eyes when removing one of the bags.

"Piku, you're supposed to respond when I call, you know the drill, it's been 4 years already."

It took a minute, but the girl noticed that the dog's pupils did not look up at her while she spoke. Now that she'd realized, Piku didn't move at all, even when moving the bags.

"Piku?"

Even more distressed than before, Namara fiercely threw the bags to the side, revealing Piku's entirety. 

"Pik-."

A haunting silence stained the atmosphere around Namara, her quivering fingers covering her hand and mouth to filter out the stench of rotting meat.

Piku's body was bloodied with bruises and holes. The dog's exposed eye still agape as if looking up to someone. The mouth slightly open, as if she were tired of barking, tired of crying out for help. Her tiny limbs, twisted in unappealing positions. Her ears, still floppy as ever, no longer pointed up at the sight of Namara. Her tail, as still as Namara's statued body. 

After an eternity of 5 minutes, a defeating scream was heard across the neighborhood. In an instant, different groups of annoyed, confused, scared, and surprised people gathered at the site of the scream, including Namara's parents and aunt.

Standing with everyone, at the beginning of the alley whilst looking at Namara, her mother spoke.

"Namara? What the hell is wrong with you? Look what you've done!"

There was no answer from the pale face.

"Namara. Namara. What is wrong with you?"

Whilst mumbling this last line, Namara's mom walked towards her daughter, hoping to shake some sense into her, only to find herself senseless. A few seconds later, peaking with questions, Namara's dad and aunt also made their way towards the stunned pair. 

...

"Who, who did this?!" Namara's dad hot-headedly asked the dumbfounded crowd. 

"Who killed this dog? Who killed Piku?" He asked again and again as if he forgot that he'd just recently asked the same question.

The crowd just stood there, until a few, and a few more, finally entered the alley to see the reason behind the commotion. Some were as shook as Namara, some seemed disappointed because a trivial event had disrupted their daily chores, others were confused on which emotion to share. Regardless, the group stayed quiet, until a few, and then a few more began to depart. Once no one but Namara and her family members were left at the site, Namara fell to the ground and cried as if she had just lost one of her parents. And she cried and cried and cried. Her mother, father; aunt broke down into tears too, but not as violently as Namara. After an hour of convincing Namara to go indoors, the father decided to pick up Piku's desecrated body in his arms and take her into the house, ensuring his daughter's cooperation.

With petrified expressions, the parents and aunt discussed Piku's burial, while Namara just hung beside the dog, now wrapped in a shawl and placed on the living room table, continuing to shed tears.

"But we need to find out who did this. We owe it to Namara and Piku. I know we're all furious, we must file a case."

She was suddenly interrupted by Namara's aunt,

"But would anyone care? Would this tiny town do anything for a street dog, whereas even the police would shake this case away."

"Well-"

Namara finally began to speak, though a little inaudible,

"We... have to... we... must. We're going to... find Piku's culprits. At all costs." The last words came out crystal clear, signaling that Namara was now channeling her sorrow through anger and vengefulness.

"Namara, I understand you're angry, but your aunt is right, who would listen to us for a stray? And how would we help her on our own, we don't even know if this was a person or another dog." The mother reasoned.

"It was a person, Aarna, those wounds are clear stabs made from some sort of tool, no dog's teeth are that big nor that shape." The father explained.

"So that's it then? She had a life, one without any real shelter, or guaranteed food, or safety, and still continued to love. She felt pain, she felt the exact same emotions that we humans do! And just because she can't speak a known language, just because she can't walk on two legs, just because she doesn't shed tears like us or laugh, we're going to leave her? She never hurt me or anyone, not without a reason. But this 'human' being, hurt her. For what? I want to know. We're not leaving her alone, we can't-"

"Namara, calm down, we never said we'd leave her. Of course, we want justice too, we just need to come up with something reasonable." The father responded with more tears streaming down his face.

The silence that followed Namara's outburst was broken by her aunt.

"I'll go rummage around Piku's spot. Maybe we'll find something."

"Like what? A magical name tag?" Aarna snapped.

"Aarna, it's worth a try." 

The mother nodded in agreement with sorry eyes.

"Sit down, everyone." The father gestured.

20 minutes later

"Aarna, Karthav, Namara!" The aunt busted the door open upon entering the living room.

"This could be a false alarm, I don't know if this was in the garbage bags from before, but it's a small piece of what looks like denim; it looks pretty fresh to me. I found it buried behind the bags. It could belong to the culprit, maybe Piku bit this off of his jeans in defense."

At the announcement, the three others rushed over to view the material. 

Taking it in his hand: "This, this could be helpful. It's wet because of the rain but looks pretty clean overall, we have to test this for DNA. It'll be pricey, but I think we can afford it."

"Okay. This is great." Aarna let out.

"Th-this is good. We can fight for her now. I'm ready to do anything, I'm sure this belongs to her killer. I'll make sure he pays properly."

"We'll all make sure he pays properly. A small fine isn't going to cut it, nor is a day, month, or year in jail. We'll fight, don't worry Namara, Piku can count on us." The mother reassured Namara while laying a comforting hand on her daughter's back.

"I know. Piku can always count on me."

EXTREMELY IMPORTANT MESSAGE!! PLS DON'T IGNORE!! (SLIGHT TRIGGER WARNING)

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This is nothing new, but as of late, I've seen too much news on stray/abandoned dogs being beaten to death, raped, and more. I understand that strays are a controversial topic, as they may bite, carry disease, and bark/make noise endlessly. But there are ways we can deal with this, we just don't bother. One being the 'sterilization' of such animals. If you search this term up, you'll receive tons of information on it and more. Violence, unless it cannot be avoided (such as self-defense), should never be the way we deal with living organisms. Having a dog bite you once does not mean you can retaliate with such extreme force, so that they die a much more painful death compared to a bite. I trust that you can judge such scenarios accordingly, I'm sure you know what I'm trying to say, context is everything.

STRAYS WHO DESERVE JUSTICE: Beaten or through some other triggering ways, killed.

- Bruno (beaten to death by 3 culprits in Kerala)

- Manika (beaten to death and raped by two para-vets at India's oldest, 4o-year running animal care center, I'd rather not say their name for safety reasons)

- Maya (street dog and mother of puppies beaten to death at Digiana Ashram Locality. FIR lodged but nothing has been done)

- Cat (stomped to death by man at a hotel in Kamrajnagar, Ghatkopar)

And many, many more.

These are all I know, and it's not much at all. This is not just for street dogs, but for all helpless, homeless, confused street animals out there. I urge you to adopt and not buy animals, too. I hope we're all aware that many "shelters" do not actually protect and take care of their animals, in fact, some even misuse them, leading to their deaths. Even the supposed "good" aren't good anymore. 

There are laws to protect such animals but are not properly enforced. We're the public, we have the power to enforce these rules, unlike animals, we have voices! The people make up India, not the land.

Furthermore, if you'd like to help right away, even a little bit, you can donate to Hakhoo Street Animals Foundation.

They currently take care of over 300 stray dogs, and even cats and monkeys. A kind woman, whom I've conversed with before, dedicates her life to protecting them. She has a YouTube channel, a Facebook page, and an Instagram account filled with posts of her interacting with the animals, showcasing their progress, and pleading with the public to help her look after them through donations. 

She is currently in debt of 6 lakhs (since 2018) and is in dire need of money to continue looking after all her animals. She's probably the only person I trust when it comes to running a shelter dedicated to stray animals. I have donated, and you can too! Or at least share this, so that others can donate if you can't. Even 100INR will help! Adopt animals from her shelter too! They're healthy, adorable, and kind.

Please search up "hakhoostreet" on Instagram, their bank details and more are in their bio and in a comment under one of the posts, and pls donate to them! Additionally, I will put up their bank details in the comments, please do check it out :)