It was dusk as she doodled idly on the wall belonging to a room lit with the last few rays of the sun. Her originally green t-shirt was now covered with dashes and dots of various colors here and there, not to mention her hands, which were the brightest shade maroon, given the fact that there were two prominent maroon half-dried hand prints on the wall right next to all the doodling she was working ferociously at. Her bright blue eyes shined with child-like innocence as she stopped midway to gaze at her work. Her mouth wide open, she kept digging at her ear with a crayon, as she continued to gaze at it. If a normal person had to judge, it would be nothing except for some serious amount of  rainbow-colored scratching and scribbling on the mauve colored wall. But she didn't see it that way. She was different. Yawning, she dropped the crayon and stood up. Her tall stature and overall growth indicated her to be in her late teenage years. Brushing her brown locks off her shoulders, she squinted at the sky, which was now the shade of pale orange. After looking blankly at the vast array of buildings stretched across her line of vision, she looked down to the source of shrieks and laughter that made her come by the window. Down in the lawn, were two small boys, playing. One was digging away at a part of the ground feverishly with a plastic toy hoe, while the other was throwing dried leaves in the air and laughing hysterically. She frowned. She didn't like that sound those little boys made. She didn't like those giggles and chuckles she heard as the boys started chasing each other, laughing. She longed to go down and play too. She longed to laugh, and to giggle too. She longed to run without stopping, chasing the moon and the stars as they constantly evaded her hands as she ran. But she couldn't. She closed the glass panes with a thud and started yelling at the top of her voice. At first sheer fury and anger echoed through her voice, but it later on melted into tiny sobs and she sat down, her maroon hands covering her face. Sure enough, the door to her room opened, and a man and a woman came running inside, worry writ largely over their faces. The woman tried hugging her, but she pushed the woman away. The man stood there, motionless, the pale orange sky reflecting in his horn-rimmed glasses. They were her parents, or rather her so-called parents. After they got to know that she had been diagnosed with autism at the age of four, they kept her indoors, all day. Hired a nanny for her to care for her as a child, while in summers they went on long vacations to distant lands with their younger son. No school would accept her, so she didn't get any education of sort. There she lay, confined to her room, day and night, either doodling on the walls which were thus repainted scores of times, or playing the organ which she was extraordinarily good at. In the evenings she would sit by the window, gazing at the passers-by, or the neighbor's dog sitting in the lawn in the house opposite to theirs.  The evening had slowly evolved into night. Her parents had been long gone. She still had her maroon hand covering her face,as she sat rocking back and fourth, tears streaming down her face,and in turn , her hands. She was tired of everything. Tired of being left alone. Tired of seeing passing teenagers and children pointing at her and laughing. Tired of being confined to this four walled hell. The air became still and quiet as she suddenly stopped crying. There it was, something by the window. She gazed at it for sometime, finally standing up. She went to the window and pressed her nose against the window pane, her red eyes wide wide and bright, her mouth slightly open. A white bird sat on the tree branch in front of the window, singing. And she remembered. She remembered the day when her parents were returning back from the doctor along with her, the day she was diagnosed with autism. They were fighting with each other all the way back home, at the end of which her pregnant mother broke down and started crying. Seeing her mother crying saddened her. Tears started rolling down her cheeks. That very night as she sat in her room, playing with her favorite doll trying to fight away the sounds of her parents fighting inside her head, there came the same bird, sitting at the exact spot where it sat today. The bird back then, was more feather-rich, more white, and it sang more more beautifully, more happily, as it sat there singing. She had then reached out to it, it had let her pet itself. She sat there, her eyes closed, listening to it's sweet, sad chirpy melodies, till she had drifted off to sleep. As she broke the trance of flashbacks, she looked at the bird. It was much thinner, and it had very few feathers left on it's now not-so-white body. Yet it sang with the same, hauntingly beautiful voice. Listening to it calmed her down. She closed her eyes, keeping her hand under her chin for support. Slowly, everything was slipping by. Slowly and steadily, she was dragged into the land of dreams. It was midnight as she suddenly woke up, finding herself sleeping with her head resting on the windowpane. She suddenly remembered everything, and looked at the branch in front of the window. The bird was still here, silent, gazing intently at her. She blinked a few times, and reached out to it. It let her pet itself.  She smiled, a smile after a very long time, as she continued to pet it. Finally she withdrew her hand and continued to gaze at it. It lasted for a few seconds, after which the bird unruffled it's wings and flew away. She continued to follow it with her eyes till it disappeared behind particularly huge tree to the left. But she kept smiling. She shut the window pane, got into her bed, and closed her eyes. Tomorrow will be different; she thought. Her smile refused to fade away even after she fell asleep, the moonlight piercing through the window , illuminating her maroon hands.
                                                         

The dream they had.

           
                        There was a dream they had,
                        Of peace, of love, of unity, and of integrity.
                        Broken promises, bloody wars,
                        Everything was shattered, everything was destroyed
                        Under the skies of destruction and distrust,
                        An innocent child dreams of  a happy world
                         On the road marred with blood of the unfaithful and sinners,
                         A broken warrior lies on the ground with his sword reflecting his sacrifice.
                         The heavens beckon a new world,
                         For the almighty has tried and tested his subjects enough,
                         With a hope that there will be no wars, no betrayal, and no bloodshed anymore,
                          The children of adam sleep soundly, for in their waking dreams, they dream,
                          Of a happy world devoid of the evil, and filled with undying love.


                             - Purplesmoffin. x

Her long black hair flew madly as she hurried to the airport. She checked her watch, it was nearly time. She checked in and saw the flight timing from Manhattan to Bombay.  She sighed. She was just in time. Her brain was fogged with worry, her throat had run dry.  It was all well until the phone call from back home just few hours ago. She felt a lump in her throat as she finally sat down at the window seat inside the plane. She just couldn't hold it anymore. Tears welled up in her eyes as she remembered her conversation with Amma just a few hours back.
"It's him again, Radha. His asthma's worsened. I took him to the vet yesterday, she said he only has a little time remaining. And he just won't get out of your blue sweater.But don't worry honey. It will be all right..  Your Appa and me will see if we can- "
"No mom.. I'll be  there, right away. I have to be there, by his side, when...it happens."
"What about your college-?"
"Amma, I'll take care of that. I made a promise to him that I'll be there by his side. And he needs me right now. I'll be there by tomorrow morning." Radha answered, pursing her lips.
"Come fast Beta." The voice choked and finally hung up.

Radha wiped her eyes, and stared outside as the plane took off. It was finally going to happen. Not that she wasn't mentally prepared, but she couldn't bear the thought of it.
Tears began to roll down her cheeks again.
"Is anything the matter ma'am?" Asked the worried voice of the air hostess.
Radha managed to put up a smile. "No..it's nothing. Thank you." her hoarse voice whispered.
Her gaze returned back to the window. Her eyes were looking outside, but her mind was running back to the past. She remembered how Appa had presented to her, a basket mysteriously cloaked with a brown cloth, on her tenth birthday. She lifted it, to find beneath it a tiny Labrador pup, fast asleep. Her happiness had known no bounds back then. She named him Joy, owing to the the fact that he had made her immensely happy that day.
"Would you like something to eat ma'am?" Again came the voice of the air hostess bringing radha back to the present.
"Oh yes. What do you have?" Asked radha , suddenly realizing that her stomach was growling with hunger.
"We have chicken wings, chocolate mousse, ravioli and cheese cake, ma'am."
"Chicken wings." Thought radha, smiling. Her mind again raced back to the past.
Joy, now an year old lab, still full of baby-fur was jumping and running mischievously to avoid bashing from an agitated Mrs. Krishnamurthy, owing to the fact that he had gulped down all the chicken wings she had brought for him, to last him a week. A shocked radha came back from school to find his face caked with sauce and a few tid-bits of chicken here and there.
Radha chuckled at the memory, blinking off the tears from her eyes. "I'll have the chicken wings and cheese cake, please."
 As she waited for the food,  she allowed herself to be drowned in memories of joy, once again.
Joy was a terror according to the neighbors. He used to stealthily sneak inside their neighbors house and drink up all the Payyasam in the utensil, by making it fall with the help of his paws, and chew their wooden furniture. He had grown up to be a big, healthy Labrador who had mischief on his mind all the time. The only one who could control him was she, and appa. His classic punishments were to be locked inside the broom cupboard for the night, or  be kept at their another neighbor's; Mrs. Shillong's , a plump Bong , who loved Joy and kept feeding him nothing but fish the whole day, which Joy detested.
But one day Joy's mischievous nature crossed the limit. He broke the glass idol of shri krishna, which mrs krishnamurthy had got as a last gift from her mother. A heart broken Mrs krishnamurthy drove him out of the house, and made him sit outside, in the rain, that night. In the morning, radha found a fully wet-joy, lying partially unconscious in the muddy grass outside their House. On taking him to the vet, they found out that he had succumbed to a cold of high degree, and that he had a high temperature running. The following days, radha never left his side, giving him her blue woolen sweater as an additional warmer. It was since that day, that joy had claimed the blue sweater as his own. He would sleep in it beside radha every night. He would eat, sleep (and sometimes even shit) on his beloved blue sweater. But whenever Mrs krishnamurthy attemped to throw it away, He'd growl with possessiveness , sometimes even bite her.
 "Well, what's mine, IS mine!" is what his eyes seemed to convey.
 Joy was the core of everyone's happiness. He was a secret-keeper for radha, a paperboy for(Mr krishnamurthy) Appa, and a scarecrow for Amma (Mrs krishnamurthy), who'd help scare the crows off the backyard of the house. He understood when someone was sad, or crying. He'd try and jump into their lap, and lick every tear off their cheek, until their face was covered with dog-saliva. He also understood tamil to a large extent. He would always go hide under the sofa when radha found that he'd again peed in his favorite corner , and come to search for him. (for a smack, of course!)

"Your order, ma'am." The air hostess smiled and served the cake and chicken wings. Radha ate, and finally fell asleep.
A 16 year old Radha was lying down under the bed, crying. Her crush had told her that he liked someone else. She was lost in the moment of grief, until she heard the bed creak a bit. Joy was trying to get under the bed too,trying to get his enormous bum through the gap. His efforts finally bore fruit, and he snuggled up besides radha, the blue sweater in his mouth. He put it  before her, and started licking her face until it was less  of tears, and more of saliva. Smiling, she rested her head on his furry back,and slept off.

Radha woke up. Joy had not left her dreams even. The air hostess was escorting people out of the plane. They had finally landed. She jumped off her seat with a start, and got out. She checked out of the airport and looked out for any signs of Appa. Spotting him, she ran to him, embracing him tightly. And then she lost control. She sobbed her eyes out on his shoulder before realizing that they were still amidst the crowd, all eyes on them.
"How's he?" She asked Appa, her voice hoarse.
"He's waiting for you Radha. Come, let's go. We don't have time." Replied Mr Krishnamurthy with a serious gaze. Radha nodded, wiping off her tears.
She and Appa got into a taxi, and finally reached home.
Radha ran for the house, and rang the doorbell impatiently.  A worried Mrs Krishnamurthy opened the door. Her face immediately lightened up on seeing radha. Radha reached out to hug her, but she stopped her.
"Hurry radha, He's waiting." She choked.
Radha went to her own room. On her bed, was a dog, sleeping peacefully. A few patches on his body were devoid of hair. The dog was breathing heavily, and fast. Radha rushed to the bed and sat by this side. Noticing movement, the dog opened his eyes. His ears cocked up, and his eyes widened, as if not believing what he was seeing, and got up, out of radha's blue sweater. His tail wagged right to left, slapping Appa on the face as it did. Joy Rushed into radha's Laps, and licked her face without abruption. Radha hugged him tightly , tears of joy welling up in her eyes. It was like new life had come into Joy on seeing her once again.

That night Radha slept besides joy, covering him with her blue sweater, his favorite. She kissed him , and gently stroked his forehead  as she continued to gaze in those lovely chocolaty eyes.
"I'm sorry Joy. I should've been here long before." She whispered as her tears fell on his nose. Characteristically his eyes cocked up. Joy bent and started licking her again. Radha chuckled and let his head rest on her chest, as she stroked him to sleep.
*******************************************************************************
 She awoke at the sound of birds chirping cheerfully at the window. Joy's head was still resting on her chest. She stroked his head lovingly as she urged him to wake up. But no response. She shook him gently , urging him to get up, still no response.
"Joy..JOY!" She whispered impatiently. But no ears cocked up, no chocolaty brown eyes opened.  No tail wagged in response.
"JOY!" she screamed. Still no response. Appa and Amma rushed inside the room, to see what's going on. Radha cradled joy's face in both her palms, still urging him to get up. But he didn't.
Amma's eyes welled up with tears. So this was the end. Radha pulled Joy close to her tightly, kissing his forehead for one last time. His final wish was to see her, and snuggle up with her. The blue sweater still covered the rest of his body.
The birds chirped, rejoicing the addition of  another beautiful canine soul to the heavens.