Bond Beyond Words
Once upon a time, there lived the Rays. Mr and Mrs Ray were known to be very strict and well-kempt and were also known to despise keeping pets indoors because they believed that pets would disrupt their daily routines. However, their children, Shayla and Raaj, deeply desired to have pets. Mr and Mrs Ray would always neglect this wish and would state that keeping pets in their household wasn’t allowed when they were children and they won’t permit it now as well. This would always leave the two siblings heartbroken, but they knew better than to bicker with their parents.
All of them had very busy routines. Mr Ray was a professor and would leave the house early in the morning. Mrs Ray was a home-maker, so she would reside in the house and take care of the daily household responsibilities. Shayla and Raaj had school towards the afternoon, so they would leave the house about one hour before the reporting time of their school. In the evening, Shayla and Raaj would return to their house, freshen up, rest in their rooms for a bit and then they would start studying. They were occasionally permitted to go outdoors and play with their peers, but this was a rare occurrence. Mr Ray would come back by 7pm and then they would have dinner. After dinner, all of them went to bed. This was their daily routine, even though some exceptions would occur, but very rarely.
Slowly, the two siblings had grown tired of their daily routine and would nag their parents to go on a vacation, or at least a road trip. After much procrastination, Mr and Mrs Ray finally agreed to take the children on a road trip. The children were overjoyed—they were about to go on a trip after such a long time! The preparation had started a few days before the trip. The children were deciding how they would click cinematic pictures to post on social media, Mr Ray was checking up on their car, while Mrs Ray was busy telling her fellow aunties about the trip and the places they would visit.
On the day of the trip, everyone was cheerful and excited. Everyone got seated in the car after loading their belongings. Mr Ray started the car and they were off! They drove through the lush green fields and the dense forests. During the drive, Mr Ray said, “There is a zoo nearby, shall we visit it?” “Of course!” came the reply from the children. So, Mr Ray started driving towards the zoo. The path towards the zoo was mesmerising—there were tall sal trees on either side of the road and the dense forests further added an aura of mystery. However, Shayla spotted something peculiar!
“Maa, look! Is that a… monkey?” she asked, rather confused. Mrs Ray immediately told Mr Ray to stop and investigate what the small monkey is doing on the road. “It must’ve escaped from the zoo. Poor monkey,” said Mr Ray. The siblings glanced at each other and silently made a plan. They realised this is a rather great opportunity for them to have a pet! “Maa, the monkey looks so small, it must be a baby,” said Raaj. Taking the chance, Shayla added, “It would be very good of us to save it. It might perish if it lies here in the woods unprotected.” Mr Ray frowned, “You know the rules, kids, no pets.” “But papa, isn’t this what you taught us? To help living beings when they’re in danger, especially animals!” “I remember that, Shayla, but pets…” “Dadi always used to teach us to help animals. Pity you’re not understanding me…”
