Saturday, 29 September 2018

Unsettled business?

Appa was never a friendly person. In his lifetime, I never saw him had friends coming over for a jolly good time or, he, being in the company of buddies or workmates for one. He is a man of few words. His idea of relaxation is the company of himself, within the confines of the four walls of his home and the accompaniment of his faithful transistor radio. 

He is one who taught me that so much could be expressed without verbalising a single word. Bonding can be shown without any unnecessary spoken word or meaningless display of emotion. He could spend a whole hour connecting with his sibling seated in a room for a full hour without a single sound. In short, he was economical with his words and not so expressive in his actions. 

All that, however, took a 180º turn when it came to Tango. Tango, not of the Tango and Cash fame, but was a lowly mutt who gasped his last breath quite recently after 13 years of existence. That would equal to 91 in human's equivalent.

Like Appa, Tango was also quite selective of his acquaintances. Known for his ferociousness, he was feared amongst the feline population and even the stray dog community. In many instances, he had defeated and had bought home carcasses of his kill on his occasional escapes from his home during the mating seasons. He was not particularly cordial to visitors of the humankind either.

Again, all that changed when it came to Appa. Hundreds of metres away, hearing the whirring of his motorcycle engine, Tango would spring to life. Wagging his tail, ear sprouting high, barking in playful, excited tone and jumping around, he was quite open with his display of pleasure. On Appa's part, he was never short of treats and dog food for Tango. Together, they would sit together contemplating and staring into nothing.

Now that both of them are no longer present on Earth, they would probably continue their ponderings in the ethereal world. 

Perhaps, all living things have a soul. Maybe, people and other beings connect at a primal level. The interactions of the souls in the cycle of births and rebirths make us all meet each other in different realms. We may have to finish unsettled businesses of our previous lives. Unfortunately, we cannot seem to remember. If karma is to punish us for our past shortcomings, is it unfair to punish us for something we do not know? How are we to amend the mistakes that are unknown?

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Against the grain