अन्तः अस्ति प्रारंभः।
The end is the beginning.
A caterpillar dies, to birth a butterfly. Water evaporates to rain down. Dead carcasses fill the stomachs of vultures.Life gives way to death and death to life. In a vicious circle of different karmas...
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Waking up in an empty home would have eaten up Mihira like one of those creatures of the night, she knew. Earlier, she had no option. She would stay alone if it meant that she had a house near the Gauri temple, that she could be some sort of witness or even help her godly parents elope.
However, when she woke up, it was to the sight of the small pup curled up on the ground beside her— he had thrown off the thicker blanket she had wrapped around him to make sure that he wouldn't be cold at night. Ungrateful bastard, Mihira thought with a snort.
By the time she had bathed and was drying her hair, the pup was up and about, sniffing through the whole house. Mihira knew next to nothing about having a dog; she could barely take care of herself, taking care of an animal had never been in question. With some lucky guess work, she fed him some milk and some rotis.
She snorted at the irony that she was making fresh rotis for a dog while she had almost never done the same for herself.
"What shall I name you?" She talked at him in Marathi, cutting up the season's first mangoes. "Nothing sweet or soft, you're not the kind for it." The dog barked at her in a way that seemed to be exaggeratedly innocent and Mihira raised an eyebrow. "You really think I'll fall for it?"
He went back to his milk.
She washed her hands and transferred the fruits into a better bowl.
(She had to stock the entirety of her house. Furnish it. Gods knew that she planned to stay here for the rest of her life. She would need more than one spoon and plate. And her back would appreciate a cushioned chair. And—
Thank fuck she had saved all her monetary rewards and parts of her salary.)
The dog followed her all the way to the Gauri temple, which, wasn't that far. He seemed to be very interested in walking ahead of her, occasionally chasing a stone for his amusement. The priest at the temple laughed when he saw the tiny dog trying to jump up to see more of the idol of Gauri Mata.
"Such a huge companion you've got here," he joked, kneeling down to let the dog sniff his free hand. "Hello, there."
The proverbial bulb went off in Mihira's head.
When she was rewearing her mojdis, Mihira knelt down to him and started petting him softly. "You're huge, huh? I am going to call you Virat."
It was the silliest name she could thing of. It suited him perfectly.
He seemed to agree, barking excitedly and trying to climb over her happily.
"No, no, no," she tried to tell him strictly, "you're not going to climb over me when I have to go to work!"
The dark grey areas of her saree already showed some dog hair.
Mihira groaned, knowing she would now have to limit wearing darker colours, just to accomodate this tiny Virat.
