The Accidental Pet ✔️

Chapter 8

When Meara returns to her family's room, her parents are busy making plans for the day. They don't stop and question her about her day and she walks inside without drawing attention to herself.

Once inside, she goes to her side of the bed and pulls out her backpack. It's pink and purple, with a furry tailed unicorn drawn on it. It's Meara's favourite backpack.

She carefully takes out the magical book and puts it inside the backpack. Then closing it securely, she puts it back and walks to where her parents are almost done finalizing their itinerary for the day.

Som pulls Meara on his lap when he catches her standing on tips of her toes, trying to figure out what her parents had been up to.

"So, how did you like climbing on WuJi?" Som asks, tickling Meara under her chin.

Meara giggles, and turns in her father's lap, "Appa, WuJi is the best." She says in the spur of the moment, then bites her tongue.

'Oops! I should not have said that.' She reprimands herself. She suddenly turns back, and points at the notebook lying on the table, "Amma, what are you doing?" She asks excitedly, changing the subject.

Som notices a small secret smile playing on his daughter's face, 'She is hiding something...but that thing is making her happy, it's better not to ask her.' The wise father decides.

"Meara, can you try reading what is written here, sweetheart?" Mayura asks encouragingly.

Meara's expression darkens for a second before she schools her features, and pulls the notebook towards herself, "Not... Goa... Foot...mat" she reads concentrating on each alphabet.

Mayura strokes her daughter's head lovingly, "Close enough sweetheart, it says, 'North Goa Route Map'."

"Sorry, Amma," Meara whispers, in a small dejected voice.

Som pushes his seat back, and picks Meara up in his arms, "Aigooo, Meara, I think you ate too many pancakes for breakfast!" He exclaims, and puts Meara down, he goes and lies down on the bed massaging his lower back... "Aigooo...looks like Appa has grown old... " He winces, mocking pain.

"Appppaaaaa! I ate only one pancake... How can I become heavy after one meal?... Stop fooling me." Meara says, forgetting about her failed attempt at reading, and starts pulling her father out of bed.

Mayura joins in the little play-acting, and starts pulling her husband's free hand, "Som... come on...we are getting late...if you don't leave the bed right now, you will not get any lunch."

"No lunch. No lunch. No lunch." Meara chirps excitedly pulling her father's hand, and jumping up and down.

Finally, after a few failed attempts at pulling Som out of bed, Meara joins her father on the bed and starts jumping on the bed too, much to Mayura's surprise.
When the three finally calm down after a few minutes, they get ready and call a taxi that takes them around North Goa as planned.

*****

After WuJi sees Meara enter her room happily, the baby dragon gets busy cleaning his room.

Yes, he had cleaned his room in the morning, but when he had been looking for the 'Book of Answers' he had messed it up again. The little wooden home was in such an untidy state that every step WuJi took, he stepped on something of importance... or something poky.