The story so far: Pari keeps Diya’s pup Peeps with her to convince her mother that Puddles is a dog, while Diya takes Puddles home.
Puddles strolled out of the toilet.
“Puddles!” Everyone screamed. Startled, Puddles howled. Mrs. Kumar picked up Puddles, placed her in the basket, and rammed the lid down.
“Stay in the room,” said Diya’s mother, and the adults strode off, leaving the girls feeling awful.
“I am sorry, Diya, but I don’t want Puddles to go away,” sobbed Pari. “When Papa gave her to me, he promised me that Puddles would be family as I have no siblings.”
“Don’t cry, Pari, I know you didn’t do it on purpose. But, maybe, Puddles is actually a jackal!”
Pari looked at Diya. Blinking back tears, she asked, “Did Puddles bite you, Diya?”
“No, but her howl scared me.”
“I am scared too, Diya,” replied Pari. “‘But, not of Puddles. I am scared for her.”
Punishment
After 10 minutes, their parents trooped in. The girls waited for the grown-ups to pronounce their punishment.
“No books for a week,” said Diya’s mother.
“Does that mean no study too?” asked Pari, sheepishly.
“I meant storybooks!” snapped Mrs. Gupta. Diya nodded.
“Your punishment is different, Pari,” said her mother. “No video games for a week.” Although it felt terrible, it was better than giving away Puddles.
“Let’s go, Pari,” said her mother, taking Puddles’ basket.
“Good night, Diya, see you at school tomorrow,”
Diya’s mother glanced at the clock. ”It’s too late, girls. No school for you, today.’
“But Ma, teacher will give us the answers to the Buddhism chapter,” cried Diya.
“Diya, you should be the last person to be worried about missing school. You can get the answers from teacher, later,” said Pari.
“That’s right, Diya,” her mother consoled her. “I’ll call Mira, and...”
“No Ma, please, I will take notes from my classmates.”
Back in her room, Pari shut her eyes. In school, the teacher had told them that if they shut their eyes, their heart and mind would open up, and they would see a solution to the problem. The students usually tried this at exam time. Pari thought it might help now. And it did. She remembered Jaggu. She had found the answer to Puddles’ problem.
To be continued
