The Old Bullmastiff

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“Is anyone there”, he called, as he waited for the door to open.

“Coming!” 

“Why don’t people have patience nowadays”, she thought to herself as she rushed towards the door. She opened the door and that’s how their eyes met.

Not for the first time though. She saw the same pair of glasses that she was used to seeing a few years ago. He had a thicker beard but the hairline had surely receded. “Is it… you?” He asked, as his heart bounced on the empty summer road outside the house. “Oh Shain, I can’t believe it is you, it has been so long since we last met.” “Arupma, oh it is really you, you’ve grown a lot”, he followed as he still didn’t know how to make conversations. “And so have you”, she responded, not quite sure what to say. 

The awkwardness in the air could easily be felt by the Bullmastiff in the neighbour’s garden, who was lying down and wondering whether to bark or continue sleeping. Giving the hot noon and the absence of water in his bowl a consideration, he let it pass this time. The neighbours loved their pet a lot, as he grew very much like them, lazy and ignorant. Water in the bowl was surely not the only thing missing over there.

The gaze shifted back to the two, as they were still figuring out what to say next. “Won’t you come inside?” She asked, opening the door wider. “Only, if you don’t mind,” he said, trying to act formal, stepping on the first step with trembling legs. At that moment, the cat came running from inside the house and ran through the open door. “Don’t mind her, she is always like that”, she said. “Oh, you have a cat? What’s her name?”, looks like he finally found something to talk about.

“We call her Snow because of her white fur, we picked her up last year and she’s been creating a mess here ever since”, she said as they shared a laugh. The cat finally served a purpose for the first time. With this, they finally made their way into the house.

“You have kept the house very well.” This was not the first time he was visiting her place. “This is because of the helpers, no way I can do it all alone.” But it was her house in the countryside, that he visited last. “Says the girl who could do anything during school days.” Clearly, he still hasn’t learned how to do conversations. His hanky was already wet with sweat that he has been wiping off his forehead. I guess it was the temperature. The sun was still soaring high and so was the heat. The weather wasn't as kind as it used to be a few decades ago. 

At that very moment, he felt something brushing off his face. Those were the whiskers of his dog, he realised as his dog licked his face. “Not again,” he screamed, in disappointment, as he woke up, already late for his job.

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