Blackie – A Short Story of a life cut short.

He had returned to his roots, or at least he wanted to believe so. He had been travelling all around the country in regards to his job and his highly demanding career. Now that he is retired he wanted to be back to his native place, and he did so too. He was still settling in, if you ask. You know, the kind of knicky knacky little bit of things still under process and getting adjusted back to the fold. This time he had moved into the suburb as they call it. Away from the hustle and bustle of the city, which had been his life till now.              
He adjusted well into this scene too, as always, it was easy for him to merge into any given place. He enjoyed his morning strolls, when he went to purchase fresh milk instead of the packed ones or the super market ones. Ah! Alas if only he could tell those in deep slumbers, during those heavenly hours, how beautiful it is outside with the bird’s singing it’s chorus, with dew drops still fresh from yesterday night’s mist sparkling on the greenery around. Beautiful and colourful flowers in full bloom and the stream running ever so silently yet so steadily.                    
It is during one of these walks to the milk vendor, he came across her. She was lying on the ground with her head rested on her paws, she lifted her head and looked at him, and he saw the tangled black tail of her’s wagging slowly at him. To him it felt like a peace treaty saying, if you mean no harm, neither do I.                
He signaled to her, telling that he surely did not mean any harm, in fact if she is game, come home for some biscuits. It was an instant understanding between them from that day. She followed him like a lamb to his house and waited near the gates, he went in kept the milk and got her some milk flavoured biscuits. She obediently waited till he dropped it down in front of her. She relished and ate all the biscuits he gave her. And as a token of appreciation she laid down in front of his gate for some time, before she went about her daily business.
It became a pact between them from that day she will be there in front of the gates in that early hours for her biscuits. Sometimes she accompanied him on his morning venture, but she knew her territory and never crossed beyond it. Slowly he started saving up his lunch leftovers too for her and at his signal call she ran and came to finish of that too in the evening.                   
He called her Blackie after her colour. She was a black Pomeranian mixed with the local breed, and was very friendly in nature. Her friendliness was a result of being brought up by somebody, the neighbours told, later to be abandoned when they moved out. She was left to fetch for herself after all the love and affection and the security she got. She didn’t complain, and was given food and water by few of the neighbouring houses, now including him.
Her favourite past time was chasing crows. Every time a crow came down to sit on the ground, immediately from nowhere she comes running to chase it away, in a way she may be saying “Shoo, shoo away you crows, this is my territory, go find your own” Another favourite game of her’s was to scare away any cats which she came across. That was the only time he heard her barking, except probably one more time when a waste vendor came to his gates and she came barking to make him alert of the suspicious character, and had only left after seeing him come out to handle the suspect according to her.                  When not chasing these she chased some butterflies for fun or kept guard of the two goats which were tied in the ground by the neighbour to graze the grass. Even the goats felt secured when she was around. After all the days adventures she takes an evening nap under the shade. If she sees him going for an evening stroll with his family then she too accompanied them either in front or behind them.                 
Last week saw summer rains almost all the evenings, which kind of kept everyone indoors including him. So he didn’t see Blackie in the evenings to have her supper. Not seeing her in the mornings for her biscuits also made him suspicious. The next day he ventured out to the neighbours house who also fed Blackie, to ask about her whereabouts. That is when he knew she was no more. The neighbour had found Blackie in front of another house dead with a slit in her throat. The neighbour who told him this cursed the one who brought this fate to her especially she being a friendly and harmless one. He felt an emptiness inside him. Is that all a life is worth in this world? Oh! You human who cannot add a second to the life of any living thing, what right do you have to take away what you cannot give in return. ” He walked back to his home, and as he closed his gates and came to the front door, he turned back to look at the gates, and realised, never again he will see the black shadow like Blackie wagging her tangled tail at him with a eager eyes for the biscuits.           
City or Suburbs, animals are at the mercy of men and no territory is their’s as they think as all have been marked by the inhuman people to make their own. And any such animals belonging to the street are at the mercy of those inconsiderate men.