A Four-legged Friendship [COMPLETED]

Chapter 15

I wake up in a frenzy, convinced that somebody is running with a knife after me. I yell and clutch to the one person standing next to me. I'm drenched in sweat, and my breath is uneven.

"Alia", says a husky, deep voice. I know that voice too well. "Alia, are you alright?"

I peer at him through my eyelashes, as if I'm hoping they would act as a shield against his Cyclops-like glare. "Grandpop, is that you?" I ask stupidly.

"Did you lose your memory too? Or is it just your common sense?" He asks, clearly frustrated.

Oh God, I'd woken the dragon.

"Grandpop, hi", I say, as if trying to make a joke out of this shitty situation. "Wassup?"

"Sit up straight now, Alia. We need to talk", says my grandfather. "Aisha and Abhimanyu are here too."

Oh no no no no, my parents are here!! So this is what a stroke feels like. Huh.
I could literally see the headlines in the newspaper tomorrow: Local girl dies of a stroke before her family could eat her up. Pretty neat.

"Are you even listening to me, Alia? Or is this something you inculcated from your father? He has a knack to ignore me when I'm speaking", says grandpop, indifferently. "I want you in my office in 10 mins. The security guards will accompany you. By the way, your dog is with Aisha. That thing should be properly trained, it almost peed on my shoes. I will not tolerate it again", he thunders, and leaves.

I look around and realise I'm in Sid's room, on his mother's bed. Sid is asleep, he looks like he has been tranquilized, he is drooling all over the place. Sid's mother gives me a goofy grin and says, "Your grandfather is quite a man, isn't he? Even Elsa was terrified."

"Really?" I laugh. "Damn, I missed it."

"By the way, Alia", says Sid's mom, in a very serious tone. I look at my shoes sheepishly and ashamed, as I know she's going to scold me for putting her son in danger. "Thank you for bringing Elsa to the hospital today. It really cheered Siddharth up, and I can see that you did it at great personal risk. I like Elsa a lot. But I'm going to have to discourage you from pulling any such stunts henceforth. It is really not hygienic, and you know Siddharth, and how stubborn he is. You don't have to listen to him."

I heave a sigh of relief. "Thank you Aunty", I smile at her. "And I am truly sorry for all the trouble I caused. I didn't mean to do it on purpose."

"I know", she says, soothingly. "And you don't have to say sorry. Mistakes happen, no big deal. And I know Siddharth is behind all of this." She laughs, her eyes twinkling. "I'll make sure he gets an earful once he wakes up."

I laugh along with Sid's mom, and she finally says, "Hurry up dear, you have to be in you grandfather's office about now."

"Oh yes! Thank you Aunty..! Bye..! Tell Sid I said bye", I say, rushing towards the elevator, the security guards following me. She waves at me.

Grandpop's office is on the last floor of the building. I step out of the elevator and knock on his office door.

"Come in", he says, and I stumble inside.

Grandpop's office has always been my favourite place since I was a child. Ananya and I used to come here twice a week. Grandpop adored Ananya. Ever since she passed away, he has been grumpy and moody, and extremely short tempered. All of us are terrified of him, even dad, although like grandpop said, dad pretty much manages to ignore him.

Grandpop's office has a huge air conditioner, so it is always cool throughout the year. The furniture is made of mahogany, and there are various books related to medicine: neuroimmunology, anatomy, physiology, books on diseases etc. Grandpop used to make Ananya and me sit on his lap, and he used to explain various parts of the body in great detail. The eyes, nose, lungs, heart.. And the brain. Especially the brain. Ananya and I used to be easily bored, and we ended up playing thumb fight with grandpop at the end, everytime. He would always take us to eat ice cream whenever we visited him; Ananya in one arm, and me holding his hand.

Grandpop looks at me serenely, from under his glasses. He is scribbling something on a piece of paper. My parents are sitting opposite him. Mom looks nervous, and dad seems a little indifferent. He is the only person in the room who smiles at me.

I take a seat next to him. Grandpop scribbles some more. Mom is fiddling with the chain on her purse, dad has taken my hand, and he squeezes it tightly, as if telling me not to worry, that he'll handle the situation. I can't believe dad is on my side.

There's a knock on the door and Tanvi comes in, holding Elsa. I look at her in surprise and she smiles at me a little. Elsa runs towards me, wagging her tail, and she licks my hand.

"Thank you Tanvi, you may go now", says grandpop. "Close the door behind you."

Tanvi nods and leaves. "The dog had been out to do her business", says grandpop. "Tanvi was kind enough to take it since you were unconscious, Alia."

"Ok", I say, and look at mom. She is clearly avoiding eye contact with me.

Finally grandpop puts down his pen, folds his arms, and looks straight at me. Grandpop has always emitted an aura of confidence, and he has always had a very practical and logical mind, and a mess-me-not attitude.

I brace myself for the upcoming onslaught. He says coldly, "Your friend Siddharth has lung cancer, first stage. The residents on that floor include a mother who has just given birth to her daughter, and her two year old son; a burly man with arthritis, who held a nurse in his arms as she was scared and wouldn't let go; a mentally challenged woman who was accompanied by a female doctor, and who keeps thinking her husband has been admitted to this hospital. The medicines and liquid bottles that your dog toppled over cost approximately 50000₹ and the nurse who was unconscious has a phobia of dogs. Do you understand the amount of damage you and your dog have caused?"

I look at my feet, wanting to drown into the floor. I have never been so ashamed in my entire life. I curse my own stupidity. It was my own fault that I listened to Sid. And dragged poor Tanvi into my mess.

"Now I'll get straight to the point", says grandpop. "As a punishment, you will have to give your dog away for an entire month."

I look at grandpop in disbelief. What the hell is he talking about?! How cold hearted can he be?

"No", says my father, calmly.

"No?" repeats grandpop, raising his voice. "No? Are you defying my orders? Do you know how dirty and disgusting that little thing is?"

"With all due respect, sir, I don't serve you, and neither does my daughter", says dad. "So yes, we are defying your orders. And Elsa is a part of the family. If you want Alia to give her away, you will have to disown the both of us." He gestured towards me and himself. "I cannot say the same for Aisha." Dad looks at mom, a little sad.

Mom takes dad's hand and says, "Father, it wasn't Elsa's fault. It was Alia's. So you can punish her however you want to. Not Elsa."

"Aisha- you have already disappointed me by marrying this man", says grandpop, pointing to dad. "Don't disappoint me any further."

"I don't understand how I am such a disappointment to you, sir", says dad. "I earn more than you do, I have taken good care of your daughter, and your granddaughter as well."

"You are the reason my little Ananya is dead!" Grandpop yells.

"I know you want to blame me, and God knows I have blamed myself everytime, but Aisha made me realise that it wasn't my fault, it was nobody's, it was just destiny", says dad, coldly, his voice becoming stuck in his throat. His eyes well up. Mom is already sobbing. Grandpop is crying too. I clench my jaw tightly so that I don't cry.

And then suddenly Elsa does the unthinkable. She barks at grandpop. And grandpop hates dogs.