A Stray Dog

From old comfort zone to your comfort zone… Stray dog made journey of love.

— The story is written in tweet format. I decided to post it on twitter, but then I am not a much of a micro-blogger, so here it is.

• Once upon a time, a person of grace with kindness in attitude, meets a stray dog in an alley, this dog sits aloof, isolated from other dogs.
• This dog won’t do much but sit in a corner staring at a person, the stare, that gaze that would follow the person to the end of the street.
• While other dogs would bark, this dog didn’t. Where other dogs tease, this dog won’t. Yet abnormal stare alone would scare the person most.
• To keep the teasing dogs away. Person started to keep some cookies along. Person would throw them, dogs would jump, except this dog.
• So person starts to experiment, like goes near the dog, throws the cookie, but yet no effect. Each day person would go step closer…
• Until after few days when cookie was offered by hand, dog picks it. Then it creates kind of a bond among them. Person gets comfy with Dog.
• Dog would even wrestle around with other dogs to keep this person safe. And the person will bring cookies for dog and things like a blanket.
• Perhaps both Person and Dog bonded on what they shared in eccentricity, they’re both compassionate yet aloof, distant from world around.
• The person would daily go to the dog, earning the pleasure in taking care of it, and seeing how much dog reciprocated the trust and love.
• Dog started to care about person this much, that it would see the person through to the home. And person would also love the company a lot.
• Once a friend asked the person, “What happens to a dog if you move the place? Would you carry dog along like pet, since you’ve such a bond.”
• Person replied, “Why would I, I don’t like pets. I can’t take care of them. I don’t have time for such stuff, I’m just doing it while I can”
• Truth was that Person wanted to accept the dog as much in life, but how can one promise someone a future, when one just lives in now.
• Person still met Dog daily until the day Person left. And dog again was left alone, stranded, aloof in a place where it used to be always.
• And this Dog would now not dare stare anyone and even in deepest of hunger, won’t even have a bit of cookie offered by someone else’s hand.
• That… is a fate of stray dog, they never make it home. Job of stray dog is to be known forever as: a rogue, rebel or an alley entertainer.

Ronin (Masterless Samurai) met a Stray Dog …

• You see, Masterless Samurai, otherwise referred as Ronin, were always referred to as Stray Dogs, because they would wander without purpose.
• Without master – the retainer, Samurai – no matter how much skilled is of no worth. He’s either a looter, hired assassin or meager vagabond.
• Under lord’s care Samurai would eat good, sleep good, live good with purpose and direction. The dedication to an art would have meaning.
• But Ronin is even lesser than a peasant, as peasant would know how to farm and survive, but without lord, skilled warrior would just stray.
• And such is also a fate of a lover without the beloved, an artist without the audience, and a person competent without the presence of work.
  

Stray dog dreams and associates self with the humans… Foolish chap.

– Dedicated to the people who’d dare to love some stray dog, but would never have enough courage to take them home.

Update: 2014 – 04 – 18:

Miss Hina Arshad has recently posted this beautiful poem: “Within” that relates with the story very much. I recommend all to have a read. 🙂

As a follow-up to this story, a poem is published that revolves around the same themes, give a read to: “No One Dies“.

Art/ Image Credits:
1. Casco Viejo Stray Dog (somethingfortheeyes.wordpress.com)
2. Kataoka Dengoemon Takafusa, collection: kuniyoshi_47_ronin (fujiarts.com)
3. Sochi Stray Dog (guardianlv.com)

• beloved
• longing
• love
• love sick
• nostalgia
• Ronin
• samurai
• short story
• stray dog
• vagabond
• wanderer
• yearning