Love Hunger, a short story

Love-Hunger

A children's short-story depicting the love of a small girl for a mongrel and how this love affects a privileged kid. The child, watching the activities, learns that we cannot buy love with money.

 

Aryan was returning after spending his holidays at his uncle's place in Kashmir. Aryan and his sister Chitra had enjoyed a lot there. This was the first time that the siblings had seen real snowfall. The apples directly picked from the groves, tasted better than what they got at home. 

 

Aryan’s father had gone to the washroom while the siblings waited for their food at a roadside restaurant. He was looking here and there out of boredom when he saw a little girl about the same age as Chitra. A dog followed her closely. She was wearing dirty clothes, and her hairs were mangled. 

At times; she would stop and yell at the dog, “Get lost doggo. Stop following me.”

 

The dog stopped immediately, and they both looked at each other with innocent eyes.But, when the girl turned around to continue her walk, the dog would again start following her. 

 

This went on for a while, till they reached the restaurant counter. Here the girl again turned to the dog and said, “This time I won't give you even a single crumb. I don't have the money to feed us both.”

Then she opened her fist and produced a ten-rupee note and asked for two Samosas. The Samosas were piping hot and Aryan could see smoke coming out when the girl crumbled them in the paper plate. The dog got a whiff of the smell and was wagging its tail furiously. 

 

The girl took a piece of the Samosa, blew on it and offered it to the dog, “Okay, just one piece. Here.”

 

The dog ate the piece and started wagging its tail again. The girl had put a piece in her mouth by then and while chewing it; she broke another piece and gave it to the dog with the same warning that it would be the last piece that she would share with the dog. This went on until the plate was empty. Finished, the girl took off beckoning the dog. But the dog didn't move from its place. 

 

The girl scorned, “Why would you come now. Your belly is full. Stay here and don't come to me again.” 

 

She left and Aryan saw her disappear in the direction from where she had come. Aryan thought, maybe the dog is still hungry, so he asked his mother if he could give his omelette to the dog. His mother was also observing the scene, she nodded in affirmative. 

 

Aryan asked for a paper plate and after putting his omelette on the plate, he went to the dog sitting with his eyes half-closed in front of the restaurant. He hunched beside the dog and put the whole plate in front of the dog. The dog smelled it, looked at Aryan, smelled again, and before Aryan could utter anything, it took off in the girl's direction. 

 

Aryan picked the plate with a heavy heart and deposited the plate in a dustbin. He returned to the restaurant with a heavy heart and sat gloomily at the chair beside Chitra. 

 

Seeing him in such a mood, his mother asked, “Why are you sad, Aryan?”

 

Aryan replied, “I got the dog an omelette which is our Diana's favourite. Why didn't the dog eat from my hand?”

 

“Maybe, the dog was not hungry.” Chitra quipped.

 

Aryan's mother replied, "No, my dear. Sure, the dog was hungry, but it was hungry for love. Your expensive omelette cannot replace the love of that girl for her dog. Right?"

 

“Right, mother.” Said the siblings in unison.