Snow

The Bhaduris had moved into Jannat about two weeks ago.

Well, by Jannat, I mean an offbeat, yet beautiful villa in Uleytokpo, a small village in Ladakh. Located beside the River Indus, the view from the terrace was absolutely breathtaking, making the seemingly-far-fetched name very appropriate. Being very deserted and remote, the place didn't attract many tourists. But the Bhaduris had acquired a lot of wealth throughout their lives. Never being very extravagant, they had been able to buy the villa. They wanted to buy a beautiful home for themselves, where they could retire in peace. And now when they were in their early sixties, Jannat was the perfect investment. After having led a busy, childless life, they wanted some peace at last. But surprisingly, peace was hard to come by. 

It all started the very day they moved in. When Mr. Bhaduri was reading his book just before going to sleep, a barking noise broke the silence of the night. Mr. Bhaduri was very surprised at this. He tried to ignore it, but it went on and on. He had seen no dogs at all near the estate. Having never been one for animals, he had quite appreciated the lack. But the loud barks that were piercing through the night suggested otherwise. He got up, and hurried downstairs, while Mrs. Bhaduri slept, seemingly unaffected by the noise.

Mr. Bhaduri peeked out of the door, and saw nothing. The barking had stopped now. He thought it might be a rabid dog and hesitated a bit, before making up his mind and stepping out. He held a torch in his right hand, and took a walk around the garden. But to his astonishment there wasn't anything in sight except the unkempt grass. He was thinking that there couldn't possibly be any other place for the darned canine to hide...when he saw a snow-white blur disappear into the old shed. The shed had a rusty door which was locked and had no key, but could probably be opened with a good kick. True, there were some holes in it through which a dog could fit...but he didn't want to wake up Mrs. Bhaduri. He'd keep that in mind tomorrow...for now, he needed some sleep. 

The next day Mr. Bhaduri woke up to his wife who had brought him his bed tea. He thought he would tell her what had happened, but he didn't. Mrs. Bhaduri was a superstitious woman, who would probably get very scared at this. She believed in gods, ghosts, spirits, and everything else Mr. Bhaduri considered trash. The day went by quite well, with no unwelcome visitors or traffic noise, like city life. That is, until night arrived. And brought with it again, the very same barking noise. Mr. Bhaduri didn't bother going downstairs today...he had to wait until it stopped. And after some time it did. This peculiar happening kept repeating daily. Mrs. Bhaduri noticed it too. And soon, after about a week, it became irritating. Very irritating. Mr. Bhaduri's mood kept getting worse everyday. After about a week, he decided that he'd had enough. After his lunch he took a packet of biscuits, and stepped outside. He made some clicking sounds with his tongue, and out came the creature. It looked weird...quite unlike other animals...but it was a dog for sure. It was furry, startling white in colour, and it had the biggest, most innocent eyes he had ever seen. He led the dog out of their gate, and walked along the winding road, with a hairpin bend just in sight. A little more than a kilometre away was the marketplace, and he planned to leave the dog there. Surely someone would feed him and keep him. And he'd return to his little house, free from all worry. He walked on towards the marketplace, and on the way, he fed the dog his biscuits as it followed him. The dog was quite affectionate. Soon, he got to the marketplace. He stepped into a quite prominent shop to get a few groceries. The shopkeeper asked him, "Are you new here, sahib?" 

"Yes, we just moved into Jannat."

The man stopped for a few seconds and said, "Oh, that's good, sahib. Welcome to Uleytokpo. If you need anything, give us a call, and we'll be right there."

"Sure. But...is there something you wanted to say?" 

"No, it's all right, sahib. I just...knew the family who lived there before you quite well."

"Oh really? Please tell me about them. Why did they leave?"

"No, they didn't leave. They perished in a fire. A gas leak...indeed a pity, no one noticed because the house was so far off."

"Oh...I'm sorry. I didn't know our house had such a history." And a fine one it was...he would also be keeping this piece of news from Mrs. Bhaduri...she was indeed quite prone to panic. 

"No matter, sahib. It's a pleasure to have you here. Do keep in touch!"

At this, Mr.Bhaduri picked up his bag of groceries, and was just about to step out, when he heard a screeching sound, a loud panicking whine, and a dull thump. 

That was when he saw the truck that had crashed into the shop across the street...and it had hit the dog. It lay motionless on the street, its beautiful white fur stained red.

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Everything happened very fast. The initial shock passed so quickly that Mr. Bhaduri felt guilty. The dog was carried away to an ex-veterinarian's house. Mr.Bhaduri waited in the painful silence, but he soon recovered. How did it matter? It was just a dog, wasn't it? And he didn't even know it that well. Accidents like these happened everyday. He hardened his heart, and started walking back towards Jannat. His mind had entered into hyperdrive, with a thousand voices speaking in it. Some of them were trying to justify that he had had nothing to do with it, it was the truck driver's fault - but others quietly admitted at the back of his head, that if he hadn't brought the dog to the town, it would have been alive now. He had, however indirectly it was...killed an innocent animal. He tried to think of his home, Mrs.Bhaduri, and other things, but he couldn't. The thought of that loud whine, that dull thump, the screeching of tyres...it stayed fixated on his mind. 

Mr.Bhaduri couldn't sleep at night that day. There was no longer that so-well-known barking. The very noise he had been so irritated by in the past week...he wanted to hear it again. But he couldn't. It remained quiet, quiet throughout the night. So he got up, and took a walk around the garden...and came across the memorial. Just opposite to the old shed was the stone memorial to the family who lived there before. It wasn't clear to him why there had been a need to build a memorial for a family who had lived there. It said, "Gurung, Anisha, Rohan, and Dodo. You will always be welcome at Jannat." Mr.Bhaduri had considered the second part to be a little...weird, based on the recent information he had got. Nevertheless, he read the message a few more times, started walking again, and suddenly stopped, when the saw a bright white flicker at his window out of the corner of his eye. He turned, wishfully hoping that it would be the dog - but in vain...it was no longer there. It was a reflection of the moon, he thought, and finally felt a little sleepy, and then a lot all at once. He went upstairs, and quite soon, he nodded off. 

The next morning, he considered telling Mrs.Bhaduri about his recent events and findings, but decided against it. There was already enough guilt on his conscience without his wife nagging about it twenty four-seven. Mrs.Bhaduri said at lunch that they had run out of salt. After ten minutes of vehement debate on why she hadn't told him yesterday when he was going to the bazaar, Mr.Bhaduri finally agreed to go and get it. It would also give him an opportunity to ask the shopkeeper about the family...anyway, he would go today. 

Mr.Bhaduri set out. The surroundings of the road reminded him about yesterday's events. His mind had still not fully recovered from the shock. He could have sworn that he was having hallucinations od the playful dog bounding up to his ankles, eager to eat more of the biscuits. Those eyes...he could never forget its eyes. How unfortunate it had been! And to some extent, he still blamed himself for the dog's death. Maybe he could have adopted it as his own...they would have never felt lonely again, and it would have got a home as well. But no - he _had_ to take it away...

Finally Mr.Bhaduri reached the bazaar. Without wasting any time, he walked towards the shop again. The smiling face of the shopkeeper greeted him again.

"Welcome sahib! So glad to have you back!" 

"Yes, I needed a packet of salt"

"Right away. Do you need anything else?"  

"No, just that. I wanted to ask you something." 

"Yes, sahib! Ask away."

"Did the children of the family also pass in the fire?"

"Yes, sahib. Such a sad occurrence. But they had only one son."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Strange..." 

"Why, sahib? What is bothering you?" 

"Just...the memorial in the garden mentions another child of theirs - Dodo was his name, I guess." 

"Oh no no sahib...that was not a child. Their only son was called Rohan. Dodo was their pet dog...such a nice pet it was. Magnificent white fur, and what beautiful eyes it had!"

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It was at this moment that Mr. Bhaduri fainted, and fell to the floor. 

Nemo,

4.12.2020