Chapter 1 : A Heroic Rescue
The sun was nearly at the horizon partially covered by the gray clouds casting the evening sky with hues of golden and pink. Having completed my assignment , watering the plants and all other trivial chores, I sat leisurely on the couch. A gentle breeze slipped into the room which seemed to invite me to explore and enjoy the beauty of nature. As I had nothing to do, I decided to go for an evening walk in the nearby Madhuri forest.
Suddenly, I heard a growl coming from my stomach, so I stopped by the street shop, chatted with the shopkeeper and bought a pack of chips. Munching on my chips, it seemed that I had lost my sense of direction. Not after many steps, I heard a constant faint sound. Upon moving a little closer towards the direction of the source, it became clear - it was the whining of a puppy. An irrepressible curiosity drove me towards the source of sound. On reaching there, I could see nothing but banyan trees surrounding me from every direction and a well in the centre.
For a moment, I was clueless but then I discovered that the puppy was stuck in the well. The puppy was rather small, with its golden brown fur drenched in water. It frantically moved its limbs in an attempt to not drown in the well. Its extremely piteous eyes seemed to pierce my heart as it seemed to beg me to help him. I knew that I couldn’t leave the poor puppy there, waiting for his fate. My thoughts started churning as I tried hard to think of an idea. Amid this, I saw a small rope tied in the well, indicating that someone may have tried to help it but failed and left in despair.
“A bucket, Yes!” , an idea lit up in my mind as I tried to search for a bucket. The well was abandoned and there was no human nearby. Without a second thought, I ran back towards the city to get a bucket and rope. As I reached the city, I found a store as my house was still 500m away. The shopkeeper knew me well , so he gave me the items. I begged him to come with me and save the puppy but he said that he was very busy and had no time to spare. I didn’t waste a second more and immediately rushed back towards the forest.
A sense of uneasiness struck my heart. “No, No, No!”, I cried, as I couldn’t hear the whining of the puppy. Relying on my intuition, I finally found the well. My heart was pounding rapidly as unsettling thoughts started occupying my mind. As I leaned my body and peeked inside the well, I saw that the puppy was still moving
his limbs but rather sluggishly , just enough to prevent him from drowning. He was counting his last minutes.
Without a second thought, I tied the bucket with the rope sturdily and lowered it
into the well. I tried to get the puppy into the bucket but failed every time, with my hopes also breaking as the rope seemed to. Finally, the puppy got in and I slowly raised the bucket. Just as it was nearly halfway to the top, the puppy slipped and fell back. After coming this far, there was no going back. Determined, I tried again. The puppy got in and raised the rope. “Creak”, the rope was nearly torn. With all
my might, I pulled and finally got it out. The puppy was shivering due to the cold night. I immediately put it inside my jacket to keep it warm and rushed towards my home.
After twenty minutes, I reached home. It was almost 10 pm at night as my mother cried, “Oh you little nuisance, Where were you? Me and your father were so tensed” and “What is that inside your jacket?”. She flooded me with questions and saw the new guest with unwelcoming eyes. “Achoo, Achoo”, it seemed that I had fallen sick because of being wet in the cold night. I went to the fireplace with my puppy and asked my mother to get me some biscuits to feed the starving puppy.
She instructed me that the puppy can’t be kept at home, but I begged her to let him stay at least for the night as it was in a critical condition and the only veterinary that was in my locality was closed.
As the puppy ate the food, it looked as if he had started to gain some strength. It wagged his tail swiftly, and I knew that a bond had been made between us. As his fur dried, his golden fur seemed more glistening . His blue eyes seemed to be filled with gratitude. Reluctant to leave the puppy alone, I gave him a temporary shelter and myself went to sleep. As I stared at the ceiling, I couldn’t help but the corners of my mouth curled. I slowly fell into slumber, satisfied by my “heroic rescue”.
