The no-nonsense lady

The no-nonsense lady

I first saw her as our car entered the colony. I could make out that she was pregnant and was expecting any time. Even in her condition,she was standing straight and exuded a “ don't mess with me" impression.The car stopped at the next corner. We all got down and moved in the new government allotted quarter . All were tired and after eating, slept.

In four years,this was my third move with my military family. For Dad, Mom and the children, it may be okay but for me.., it was not. With so much difficulty, tact and skill,I had got myself accepted and acquainted in the previous place, and now, once again I will find myself in an alien land, among all unreasonable,thickheaded, immature lot and the onus of achieving acceptance will be on me. Well….next day, after a few mouthfuls of a casually served breakfast, I sneaked out of the house. As I took the first turn on the colony road, I saw her again. She looked tired and was sweating. I could make out that she was in her final hours or perhaps minutes to unleash new lives out of her belly. Unlike humans, ladies of our species have to endure it all alone. In her case, there didn't seem to be anyone even in the basic protection watch also. I, being younger, quietly bent down my front body and made a slow move, wagging my tail towards her. A suspicious look in her eyes changed to a watery acceptance and she slowly slid backwards in the darkness underneath the culvert. I, who had accidentally assumed the role of a temporary guard, squatted nearby. It is only when I heard the whimpering sound of the newborns and rhythmic licking sound of the mother that I vacated my watch and quietly went to my new home. The door was open and I sneaked inside in one corner and slept.

It had rained in the night and all seemed wet. I thought of the ones under the culvert. After eating my breakfast, I filled up my mouth with whatever was left and sneaked out to visit my stern lady friend. Once again, I moved quietly wagging my tail, a sign of showing my submission to her. She was sitting at the mouth of the culvert. Quiet and alert. A housemaid appeared on the road bend walking towards the block next to the culvert. The lady sprang towards her and without giving any reaction time grabbed the saree of the maid.The maid screamed and ran back. The lady moved backward and stood on top of the culvert, challenging in full pitch to confront any intrusion thereafter. I was taken aback by the fierce outburst and went back in the house wagging my tail. In the evening, I heard a commotion outside our house. Two ladies were speaking loudly in an animated manner while pointing towards the culvert. I sneaked out to have a look. It seemed that the events since last evening had taken a course that was well anticipated. The lady seemed to have attacked and scared some more people that caused an alarm. I saw four persons of the cleaning staff standing guard to physically keep her away and two persons trying to take out the puppies from underneath the culvert. She was frantically charging to get to her babies. With a lot of difficulty, the cleaners took all four of them out and relocated them to an extreme corner of the colony inside a broken shelter. I felt a lump in my throat seeing her clamouring for her children. Once all had cleared, I made a slow crawling move towards the location of the relocated family catching my two chapatis in my mouth. At a distance itself, I heard the low, guttural growling of the mother. I flattened my forelimbs on the ground and crawled forward whimpering softly wagging my tail. I could tell by the smell that they were now very near and even though I meant well, I was not sure about the lady. I quickly left the two chapatis on the ground and crawled backwards till my house. I realised that unlike the previous experiences of moving to new locations, this time, I was just not interested in making inroads in the neighborhood. My thoughts were preoccupied with the lady and her young ones. Concern for others is a trait of weakness found in humans…but then, living with humans had taken a toll...and..I was fine with it.

The next morning, while walking with daddy, I was surprised to see her standing in front of an old block of quarters which was unoccupied and under maintenance. Overnight, she had shifted her world from one extreme corner to another in the colony. I wagged my tail and asked loudly,” All well?" She made a high-pitched but soft whimpering sound of a friendly acceptance. Suddenly, I saw a group led by a brown male moving towards her. Just a few deep throated growls from her were enough to stop them at a distance. It was a total submission by that group. There didn't seem any scope for a brawl. I was really impressed. She was not just any lady. She certainly was some old martial queen of our species living in a self imposed solitude, who wouldn't hesitate to get into an all out offensive if her children were threatened.

A few more days passed. I was the only one permitted to enter her imaginary drawn boundary. But the acceptance never graduated to appreciation. Well…that's okay with me. Even my family members talk amongst themselves about me as “very unbecoming of the species..". That's fine…I am reconciled with my peaceful nature and if anyone in my family felt let down ever, they have now reconciled to the same. In our world, food is either found or snatched but we (i.e me and the lady) had developed an undeclared alliance wherein, without being her formal partner, I was permitted to provide food but still was not given access to see the little ones.

The rains had subsided and the day was warm and sunny. I was playfully chasing and jumping at the chirping birds in the lawn outside. I saw through the hedge bushes, a familiar black figure, moving on the road. I jumped out and followed her. She sensed and turned, but instead of making a warning grunt, just wagged her tail and kept walking as I followed her keeping a respectful distance. As she reached the unoccupied block, she stopped and turned again but this time didn't halt me with her usual growl. She walked through the empty stairwell into the backyard in a heap of used cardboards in fresh green grass. She stopped, looked backwards and rolled over on the sunny grass patch. Before I blinked, two black,one spotted and a brown fluffy little ones appeared and started jumping over her, biting her with their toothless mouths, sucking her breasts and snuggling in her. The lady had her eyes closed in maternal bliss, totally lost in the beautiful world of her four lovely children. I, the unusual of our species, simply stood still absorbing the beautiful scene. For the first time since my arrival, I witnessed her to be off her guard, relaxed, happy and completely engulfed in the soft sweetness of her lovely four. Today, I had the distinction of being the only one allowed to see the children of someone whom people of the colony called ’ dangerous black bitch’ but amongst our own species is known by the name “ That solid no nonsense lady”.