Granny

A young and pretty girl had been waiting for her grandmother, right in the hall at the very old cottage house in Belekkahalli, Bangalore.  Suddenly some fur like thing passed across her smooth—white beautiful legs.  She had felt the fur touching her legs for a split second and then heard a vague, “meeeeeoooooh.”  Vinnie had been sitting on the settee for over twenty minutes.  Ever since her grandma asked her to wait until she finished bathing.

Meoaaahhh…Meahhhhhhhh…the kitten appeared in front near the coffee table.  A beige charming kitten looked sideways and continued to do the mew in its cracking voice.  Vinnie scooped her up as grandma stepped out of the bathroom. The granddaughter was surprised to see the grandmother.  This old woman in her eighties looked very attractive in her new dress, which Vinny doesn’t recall from her past interactions.  Granny was wearing a skirt and a top and her wet hair suddenly appeared to be blonde to Vinnie. Earlier the hair that she had seen was very long. Thick and pitch black. There was a change in her mannerism and language as well. She walked like someone from the west and greeted the young girl.  “Good evening child! Sorry to keep you waiting,“ the tone astonishingly loud and highly excited.

While the kitten was on her lap, Vinny stroked its head and granny sat on the settee facing Vinny. She held two plastic cups in both hands and placed them on the coffee table; her knees slightly touching the teapot.  Both the plastic cups were half-filled with some sort of fine powder.  She gestured Vinny to hand over the kitten to her quickly as though she was going to perform some kind of miracle. Ignoring the reaction on Vinnys pleasant face.  Vinny grew anxious and hesitant to hand over the cute kitten to her grandma (who now was being transformed to a totally new personality)

As though it was getting late for the entertaining thirst audience. Granny snatched the trapped creature and held it on both her hands saying in a loud and cruel voice, “this is one of its kind that is left out here.” Vinnie was taken aback and stood up to leave and as she took a few steps towards the door. She had paused and turned around to see granny holding the kitten high above her head and tore it apart.  Squeezing it with both the hands to get as much blood and ensured not even a single drop fell outside the cups. She sucked whatever blood would have spelt outside on the table and spat into both the cups while both the cups were getting filled up with the red liquid; its level rose higher and higher as if someone invisible added soda to it.

Finally, the glasses were full with red fizzy liquid; the elderly lady gulped them with both the her shaky hands like a drunkard who was offered drinks at a time when he was restricted to drink it.  A person who couldn’t live without cats and kittens around her even for a day had mixed the blood of her lovely pet with her own ashes and drank them to attain salvation!

When Vinnie turned around to see if her granny was still doing what she had seen her doing. The home was cold: smelly (kind of fungi) and dark (except for the place where the settees and coffee table were located). Her heart began pounding. Paralysed, she turned around and ran away through the door that had been opened from the time she had stepped in. while walking outside the premise she kept wondering who had sent a letter which was addressed to her. Which talked about finding freedom in the cat family. The ‘from address’ was her granny's indeed. It dated a week ago. All
this time she was deaf, she was certainly not blind. She was standing on the road outside.  She looked at herself and calmed herself down by telling herself that she had worn a saree today and she still had been wearing the same saree and the time was evening. And nothing has changed or nothing went wrong. If she wanted she could just go back to the cottage again. Which was right behind her. She just needs to turn around. She was standing on the road facing her back to the old and rusted gate of the lady’s cottage. Waiting for an auto to come by soon. Despite the high noise pollution. She was deaf to the noises from the different vehicles those honked relentlessly. Except to an ‘mmmeeeeaaaahhhh’ that echoed in her head; and it grew louder and louder, louder, and so louder that everything in front of hers was a pitch-dark world. Although the auto driver had been talking to her louder than his usual way asking her where she wanted to go, she was oblivious and was now present in another world surrounded by living things: the kittens. They were the size of mammoths. She could get a strange smell. Yes the same smell of her granny’s home now; she suddenly she fell off to the ground. She began to gain her consciousness and was aware of the kittens around her.  She knew one of the kittens, which were speeding past her, struck her. They were all moving in one direction (the same direction she wanted to get away for her life) so rapidly. Hitting her and pushing her down without any mercy. As if, this was a group of wilder beasts running for their life from their predator.

Every time she was struck and fell off, she stood up like a warrior. Determined to battle this situation. She wanted to get up as quickly as possible to get away from there. Go far away and lead a happy life with her boyfriend whom she was engaged with last month and were supposed to meet the exact same time when she had stepped into the old and empty cottage.  She did not want him to be waiting any longer; did not want him to know what she had been through. Suddenly she fell off again one more time. Her head touching the darkest of dark ground; crushed. Blood spurting and dying instantly. People left their vehicles and ran to pick this lady up.