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Granny

by Vinod Kumar K V
(Bangalore )

A young and pretty girl had been awaiting for her grandmother in the Hall at a very old cottage house in Belekkahalli,Bangalore.


Suddenly some fur like thing passed across her smooth,white and beautiful legs.She had felt the fur for a split second and then heard a vague “Meow”..

Vinny had been sitting on the settee for over
twenty minutes, since the time her grandma had asked her to wait until she finished bathing.

Meow….Meow…The kitten appeared in front, near the teapoy. A beige coloured charming kitten,that looked sideways and continued to do the
"mewos" in her cracking voice. Vinnie scooped her up as grandma stepped out of the bathroom.The grand daughter was surprised to see the grandmother. This old woman in her eighties looked attractive in her new dress, an attire Vinny doesn’t recall from her past interactions. Her Granny was wearing a skirt and top and her wet hair suddenly appeared to be blonde. Earlier the hair that Vinny saw was very long,thick and black. There was a change in her manners and language as well. She walked like someone from the west and greeted the young girl. “Good evening child! sorry to keep you waiting"- The tone was highly excited.

While the kitten was her on her lap,Vinny stroked its head and granny sat on the nearby settee facing Vinny. She held two plastic cups on both
hands and placed them on the tea poy. Her knees slightly touching the teapoy. Both the plastic cups were half filled with some sort of fine
powder. She gestured vinny to hand over the kitten to her quickly,as though she was going to perform some kind of magic,ignoring the reaction on Vinny's pleasant face. The latter, grew anxious and hesitant to hand over the cute kitten to her grandma (who now was transformed to a new personality, altogether.)

As though it was getting late for the entertaining thirst audience,granny's hands grew longer and snatched the trapped creature and held it on both the hands and said in a loud and cruel voice ”This is one of its kind that is left out here”. Vinny was taken aback and stood up to leave and as
she turned around and took a few steps towards the door. Granny held the kitten high above her head and tore it apart, squeezing both the hands to get as much blood out of the dead body and ensured not even a single drop fell outside the cups. She licked whatever blood that would have spelt outside,on the teapoy and spat into both the cups. While both the cups were getting filled up with the red liquid,and its level rose higher and higher as if some one added soda
to it.

Finally, the glasses were full with red frizzy liquid;our elderly lady
gulped them with both the hands like a drunkard who is offered drinks at a time when she was restricted to consume alcohol. A woman who couldn’t live without cats and kittens around her,had filled its blood with her own ashes and drank them to attain salvation!

When Vinny turned around to see if her granny was still doing what she had been doing;the home was cold, smelly(kind of fungi)dark (except for the place where the settees and teapoy were located). Her heart began to beat even more faster now. Paralysed, she turned around and ran away through the door that had been opened from the time she had stepped in.

On her way back home she kept wondering who had sent a letter addressing her,which talked about "finding freedom in cat family." The from address was her granny's indeed. It dated a week ago.

All this time she was deaf, but certainly not blind; she was standing on the road. She looked at herself,gauged her composure and calmed herself down by telling herself that she had worn a saree today and she still is wearing the same saree and the time is evening,and nothing has changed
or nothing went wrong. If she wanted,she could just go back to the cottage again,which was right behind her. She just needs to turn around.She was standing on the road facing her back to the old
and rusted gate of the cottage,waiting for an auto to come by. Despite the high noise pollution,she was deaf to the noises to the different vehicles and blaring horns, except to a MEOW that echoed in her head;and it grew louder and louder and louder and so loud that everything in front of hers was pitch dark.

Although the auto driver was talking to her very loudly,asking her where she wanted to go,she was oblivious and was taken away to a different world, surrounded by the kittens. They were the size of MAMMOTH.She could get the smell of grandma's home now and then;suddenly fell off to the ground....

She was hit by one of the kittens speeding past her. They were all moving in one direction(the same direction she wanted to get away for her
life)so rapidly,hitting her and pushing her down without any mercy. Every time she was hit,she stood up with a child's innocence and with a man's willpower so as to flee from there. And go away and lead a happy life with her boyfriend,whom she was actually supposed to meet the exact same time when she stepped into this magical cottage.

She didn’t want him to be impatient any longer;the next second,she fell off again,her head touching the darkest of dark ground;crushed,blood spurting and dying within seconds.

People left their vehicles and ran to pick this woman up.

***



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