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Hamies |
| Written by Nishant | |
| Friday, 08 February 2008 | |
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Share it:      Just one day prior, father took me to his friend's bakery shop, where we bought a giant white cake, which was ordered specially for the occasion. On the same day, while returning from the school, my elder brother bought a packet of balloons, of all colours -blue, green, white, red and yellow-. That poor fellow, he spent the whole evening filling air in them, and when I asked to volunteer, he replied "Come on! It's you birthday tomorrow. Lemme do it. You help mom with the other things. I am sure we are gonna have a blast tomorrow, isn't it?" Almost all the arrangements had been made, and we all were very tired, so we retired for sleep early.* * * Almost everyone among my friends came (how could any one miss a birthday party)and the party turned out to be a blast -as my brother had predicted-. Including the gifts that I got from my parents and my brother, I had a total of about 20 of them! But the gift I was most eagerly waiting for, was my parent's. I told my mom that the best gift I could get on this birthday would be a hamster. As a child, I was very fond of rabbits and hamsters. I first got acquainted with them in my school, when my friend bought one from his house. It was so small and cute that I instantly fell in love with it and wished I also had one.After the party was over, my mom called me in her room and gave me something. It was a straw basket, like the one in which we kept Easter eggs. I peeped inside it and found a small, white and cute hamster sleeping (even more cute than the one my friend had bought in school). Because of the small size of the basket, he was curled up like a worm, and he looked like an easter egg wearing a fluffy white winter coat. I dared not to wake him up. I rushed back to my room, kept the basket on the bed, bought a big handkerchief and covered him with it, to prevent him from the chiling cold. My mom wanted me to keep the basket on the table, near the window, but I simply denied, for my brother once told me that at night, ghosts roamed outside our house, and I didn't want them to frighten the poor little Hamster. That night -as my mother tells me- I kept the basket near me and didn't leave hold of it even for a second. That very day, he occupied the position of my best friend, replacing Joe, who now became my second best friend. With each passing second, I grew even more fond of him, and couldn't stay away from him even for a second, so next day I begged mom for one day leave from school. She didn't agree, but when I dropped down to her feet and started crying, she agreed. I kept the basket on the table, and peeped inside it. I kept looking at Ham for the next ten minutes, (Oh God! He looks even more cute when he's asleep)Slowly . . . slowly . . . he was waking up, I could see some movement in hi s feathers. He tried to extend his arms, but miserably failed, for the basket was too small. He opened his eyelids and examined the new surroundings, when, for the first time, his eyes met mine. He looked at me blankly, with his eyes wide open. It seemed as if he were saying, "Hey boy! What are you doing in my room, huh? Don't you have any other business, than to look at other people's assets?" After many failed tries, he finally stood up in his basket, but still, kept looking at me. I rubbed my nose against his, and this made his eyes even more wider. I took him into my arms and wished (Oh! He is so soft and light) I could cuddle him forever. I spend the whole day playing hide and seek with him(even mom joined us afterwards). I would turn around, face the wall, count up till ten, and then when I would look back I would find him standing in front of me on his feet, looking at me blankly. It seemed as if he were saying to me, "What are you trying to do boy? I'm not getting anything" I had to push him from there to make him understand that he had to hide. After many failed tries, for the first time when I looked back, I didn't find him there. I wasn't much hard to find him, for our house was small and there weren't many places to hide. By the end of the day, he made three hiding camps for himself, his basket, my school shoes, and the flower pot. I have had the best time of my life with him, and can proudly call it my best holiday ever.
* * * Next day, I was again reluctant to leave him alone at home, but mom didn't listen a word for another day off. I agreed to go to school, but without telling anyone, I hid him inside my school bag, and made large holes all over it for him to breathe. I told all my friends about him, and obviously generated immense curiosity among them. I took out Ham from my bag and showed it to them during the recess, and was happy to find them giving a warm welcome to him. One year passed; and with ever passing day, grew my love for Ham. He was now an inseparable part of my life. I felt I needed more Hamsters, because Ham would get some new companions to sleep with, and moreover, they all are so cute. I didn't spend even a penny of my pocket money on toffees and biscuits, I saved them for buying more Hamsters. After I had collected a decent amount, I gave it to my brother and told him go to a pet shop nearby and get as much small and cute hamsters as he could get with the money. The next day, he bought me three little hamsters. To me, they all looked quite similar to Ham, so I collectively called them Hamies. Moreover, they were indistinguishable from each other, so there was no point giving them separate names. I bought a large basket, because the small one wasn't sufficient for all the Hamies and Ham. All of them grew very fond of each other, they would play together, scratch each other, fight, jump on each other, and even share their food. I would take Ham to school daily but not the other Hamies. Ham was growing up and It was getting harder for me to take his care in the school. Once, I was caught coming late to school, and our head master was shouting at me, when suddenly Ham jumped out of my bag and bit him hard. I spend a great deal of time begging him to forgive Ham.
* * * One day, after the school hours, I was heading towards my home when I heard someone calling me "Hey there kid! Where'ya goin?" I turned back and saw a tall, fat boy standing there. It was Tom, the bully of our school. I was his daily target, for I was small, innocent and couldn't beat him. He had the reputation of a orge in our school. Some kids say that he hates small animals and eats them raw. He walked towards me and said, "Do you think you can escape from me? Forget it. I am gonna crush you, make milk shake out of you in my mixer and give it to my doggies. Now come on, tell me, where are the chocolates I told you to bring." "Sorry", I said, trembling like a fish kept out of water "I don't have money. This week my mom didn't give me pocket money. Sorry" There were tears in my eyes, because I knew, what I said, would take toll on my bones. Ham peeped out from my pocket. He was looking at Tom and was shaking his whisker, as a sign of trouble.Tom's eyes caught him.
"Hey. Let's see what do we have here. A small, cute little rabbit"
"It's a Hamster"
"Shut up you Dog. I'm not talking to you"
He took out Ham from my pocket and placed him in his hands. Ham knew Tom is an enemy, so he bit him, climbed down and hid behind my shoe. "This Sun of a Bit*h. You didn't teach him manners, right?. He's gonna pay for it" He brutally picked up Ham, and rushed towards his house, which was just a few steps away, and I followed him. He lept over the fence and through the back door, he entered the kitchen. He was standing near the kitchen counter and I was at the door. "Please give him back. I plead" "He's gonna pay for it" Blood was coming out from his hand, where Ham had bit him. His eyes were red, burning with rage. He opened the lid of the mixer grinder, placed Ham in to it, and closed it. Ham was standing on his feet, trying to jump out, but every time he did so, his head hit the lid and he fell down. I knew he was feeling helpless. "Tom! You'r hurting him. Leave him alone!" There were tears in my eyes. I stepped ahead, and tried to stop him but he pushed me back and I fell down on the floor. He turned on the knob of the mixer grinder. The inside portion of the grinder began to move round and round. Ham was trapped, like in a roller coaster. Soon, he went invisible, and his place was replaced by red jelly like material. I was right there, and with my own eyes I saw Ham go invisible. For sometime, all I could see was the red jelly material going round . . . and round . . . and round. Tom laughed. He opened the lid, drained all the contents of the mixer into the sink. I stood up, peeped into the mixer, found nothing, looked under the counter, found nothing. I searched almost every corner of the kitchen but couldn't find Ham. "Where is Ham? Where did he go Tom? Tom, I promise I will get you the toffees, but please return my Ham. I can't live without him" Tears were rushing down my cheeks and I fell to his knees; but he, like a monster, kept laughing at me. "Tom. I don't want to see more of your magic tricks. Please give me back my Ham. I will do anything" He dragged me out of his house. I was shattered, and all the way to home, I cried, for I had lost the reason to live. I saw my mom waiting at the door, when I arrived home, "Where have you been", she asked with anxiety "I have been waiting for you. You are so late today. And what is this, why are you looking so sad. Go and wash your hands, I will get the food ready soon." With this, she went to the kitchen and got herself busy with the chores. I went into my room and threw my school bag on the bed. All the Hamies jumped out of the basket and came rushing towards me. Some scratched me with their sharp nails, some just jumped about on my feet, but they all had the same question in their minds, "Hey boy! Where is Ham? Where did you leave him?" Copyright 2008 Nishant |
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| Last Updated ( Friday, 08 February 2008 ) |
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