Tanika felt her face light up in happiness. She had about a gazillion pictures of Pasta, she could spend all night talking about him. But it warmed her heart knowing that this was Kabir's way of preventing her from slipping into a string of sad memories. He didn't even know her, where she was coming from or why she was headed to Mumbai, but he had still nicely offered to keep her company. It gave her hope, that perhaps all boys her age weren't complete dicks.
"Yes, of course," she replied happily. "That's literally half of what I do at home."
She got up and retrieved her phone from where it had been charging. Glancing at it, she realized that it didn't have enough battery life yet, she'd need more time. Sullenly, she dropped back into her seat, curling her legs up beside her.
"Um, you can tell me about him?" asked Kabir, with what sounded a bit like hope. "Like, where did you get him from?"
She smiled brightly at his question. "We adopted him from this local shelter, when he was just a few weeks old. Someone had left him on the side of a road, and the shelter had found him, bathed and fed him, and given him his shots."
Kabir was still silent but he nodded to let her know that he was listening, so she continued.
"I remember my mom and me walking through the shelter. God, it was crazy, you know? Every dog in there deserved to go to an amazing home. But sadly we could only take back one," she smiled solemnly. "We had just reached the end, where they apparently keep the newly brought dogs. And my gaze fell on Pasta. He was just hunched in the corner, scared. He'd just been there for a few days. But the moment he saw me approach, he walked up to the bars of the cage and looked at me with those adorable eyes and I just knew it. I knew that he was the one, at that moment." She stopped speaking immediately, acutely aware of how she had instantly launched into a monologue.
"It was love at first sight, huh?"
Kabir grinned, it made his eyes crinkle at the corners again and Tanika had to look away to focus her attention back to the story. She nodded. "It definitely was."
"How old is he now?"
"Two and a half. He still behaves like a baby though." She laughed and shook her head fondly.
"That's so cool. I've always wanted a dog, but my parents would go crazy if I ever brought one home," he said sullenly.
"Yeah well, it took me a crazy amount of convincing too. So don't lose hope."
He shrugged half-heartedly, but his lips quirked up in a sort of half-smile and that was enough for her.
"If you do decide to get a dog," she said firmly, "adopt, don't shop."
"Oh ofcourse. Rest assured, I'm all for animal love. I'm a vegetarian, if you must know."
"Really?" She was surprised. "I'm a vegan."
"Well, that explains why you refused the chips. It's not tofu eh?" He chuckled.
She scoffed and rolled her eyes in response. "Hilarious."
A comfortable silence settled between them again, and somehow Tanika found herself liking his company. He seemed easygoing and nice to talk to, and not someone who had any ulterior motives on his mind.
An earlier question popped up into her head again as she looked over at him. His eyes were trained at the ceiling, and he looked deep in thought. She wanted to confirm her suspicions but for the tenth time that night her mouth wouldn't speak the words that needed to be spoken. The words were on the tip of her tongue when Kabir spoke.
"Are you from Delhi?"
"Uh, yeah," she replied. "You too right?"
He nodded grimly. She wondered why he looked so morose about it. Whatever the reason though, she understood it. Although she was quite sure, and silently hoping, that his reasons weren't the same as hers.
"You've lived there all your life?" There was something in his voice she couldn't quite put her finger on - was it hope? Sympathy?
She scoffed. "Yeah." If only she hadn't. If only. "You?"
"I was in Pune for a few years during primary school, but I've been in Delhi for the past decade, so it's what I call home."
She raised an eyebrow at that. "Pune sounds nice," she said softly.
He smiled wistfully, his face covered with shadows of old memories. "It definitely was."
Shaking his head slowly, he glanced at his phone again. His eyebrows quirked up immediately, and he said, "Anyway, I think we should be getting some sleep. It's late."
She nodded in agreement, stretching her legs out on the seat. The exhaustion of the whole day earlier was getting to her and she could feel her eyes attempting to close against her will.
Kabir quietly got up and went back to his seat. From the corner of her eye, she saw him propping his backpack as a pillow and lying down. He seemed slightly preoccupied, as if thinking about Pune had put him in a trance. Tanika didn't know if that was good.
For all her fatigue and tiredness, she still didn't want to sleep. She remembered her phone was charging on the table. Reaching up to grab it, she unplugged it and brought it in front of her eyes.
Thirty percent, not bad.
She made a mental note to show Kabir all the pictures of Pasta, first thing in the morning. For a reason she couldn't explain, she was excited to do that. She didn't have many people to do that to, except her mom but she lived in the same house as Pasta so it just wasn't the same. And by laws of nature, anyone who loved dogs was automatically a nice person.
"Goodnight Tanika," spoke Kabir softly, his voice breaking through her thoughts. "I'll see you in the morning."
She heard the faint ruffle of blankets and then blissful silence again as he settled in to sleep.
She wondered what would happen when her mother read the note she had left. And how would Pasta react when he saw her missing. Leaving him had been one of the most difficult things she had ever had to do, and that was saying a lot. Yet, the past few hours had done greatly to improve her views on this. She was risking a lot, yes, but for the first time in a long time she was hopeful, and that kept her going. Whatever great dangers lay ahead in front of her, she could handle it. And worse case scenario, she had still found a nice companion for this journey of hers.
Flicking her eyes over to Kabir's sleeping form, she smiled, a private smile meant only for her.
"Goodnight, Kabir," she whispered, as her eyes finally gave in to the pressure and closed.
****
Hello again, new week and a new chapter for all you people!
380 reads! I'm amazed, this is so humbling!
A special bonus is coming your way very soon (maybe Monday?) so stay tuned for it. Meanwhile, let me know what you thought of this chapter.
Do any of you have any pets? If you do, tell me about themmmm!
Thanks again for reading, people! Don't forget to vote or comment if you liked it x
Love,
Waffle
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