A Secret Adventure

“Can you keep a secret?” My half-shut eyelids inquisitively open on hearing this question. But this question hasn’t been posed to me. As I gently turn my head, I discover that it had been asked by the person the young girl sitting next to me was speaking with, on her phone.

The train is jam-packed this evening. Adjustment creates quite a fuss in such scenarios, but one doesn’t feel to say no to people who look at you with pleading eyes, requesting for just a tiny bit of space on the berth to rest upon, because you know that these people are just like you; exhausted employees, who want nothing more than to quickly reach home, lie down and relax peacefully. As such six people are pressed together on the berth I am sitting, meant for the comfortable seating of only four passengers.

And, so I can’t help it if I am pressed right up to someone’s ear or phone, able to overhear their conversation. The best I can do is take a nap.

But isn’t it frustrating that just when you want your mind to relax and be still, it finds all sorts of nonsense to occupy itself with? And just like that, my mind becomes more and more permeable to the conversation between the girl and whosoever she is speaking with on her phone.

“Well I got them from a guy I sort of know and if we have a bit of luck on our side we can sell them to the right people. So what do you say, Jules? Want to make some quick cash?” asks the person on the phone.

“I don’t know Bobby. What if we are unable to find the people or what if somebody reports us?”

“Jules chill, nothing will go wrong and nobody will report us. Just meet me at the point please, and we can discuss further.”

“Alright Bobby, I will meet you there” and with that, the girl ends the call.

I take a glance at the girl. She seems to be under twenty, not that old, probably in high school. I admit that it wasn’t right to overhear their conversation, but whatever they talked about doesn’t seem to possess any semblance of legality to me. It could be about some drug dealers. Kids have been into such sorts of things, a lot these recent years or it could be something innocuous like a cookie sale. However, both of these conclusions seem ridiculous to me.

I realize that I am putting too much emphasis on such an irrelevant matter, and it probably must be something trivial these kids were talking about. I plug in my earphones and start hearing some songs, something that I should have done earlier. Idiot I am. Soon my stop arrives and as I am getting up I see the girl next to me, Jules, rise as well, and she exits the train along with me.

I know she is going to meet up with that guy Bobby. I force myself to mind my own business but as soon as I exit the station my feet automatically go after Jules. All of this is unnecessary, but my exhaustion has vanished and all I can think of is finding out what this girl is up to. I don’t know what I’ll do after finding out but for now, I keep surreptitiously following the girl named Jules. As I pass through twists and turns in the streets and I gradually find out that I am nearing my home and it startles me to know that whatever these kids are dealing with is happening so close to my house. Had I just gone to my home, I would have never known about this.

She has increased her pace forcing me to actively keep up all the while maintain a nonchalant appearance. Even though there are only a few people on the streets, I don’t want to be thought of as following a young girl even though that’s what I am exactly doing.

Jules passes through a dim alley and as I enter the alley, I am struck by how stupidly I am acting. I shouldn’t be doing this, concerning myself over what these kids are up and about. I should be in-home right now with my husband, relaxing and thinking of how to spend the weekend. And just when I am on the verge of retreating when I hear the voice of the person with whom she talked on the phone. It's Bobby’s I know it. I can recognize it. Jules greets him, their voices coming not far from within the alley. I creep into the alley going against my conscience pricking me to go back. There isn’t much light here, with whatever there is coming from the rooms lit above us in the buildings. I try to hear what they are saying.

“I was beginning to get worried Jules, that you weren’t going to turn up.”

“Oh trust me I was thinking of doing that all along the way. Let’s just get it done. Where are they?”

“Here I have them safely tucked in this basket.”

As I inch in closer, I realize that they are in a small square space within the alley, scooped out of the nearby building, probably meant for some storage or something but now laying empty barring a few discarded items. I try to hide behind the dumpster nearby and check what are they talking about when I suddenly trip over a break and clumsily smash into the dumpster and fall.

In my indignation, I start grumbling, “Who the hell keeps a brick lying in the middle of the fuc...” I stop abruptly, realizing that I have been following the girl and that the kids would have heard me by now. So much for being stealthy, I tell myself. As I stand up, the kids come out of their hiding and spot me.

“Who are you?” Bobby inquired.

Well, there is nothing left to hide anymore and I explain to the kids how I overheard Jules’s conversation, thought that she and Bobby were up to something suspicious, and decided to follow her.

“We should call the cops and let them know that this maniac woman has been following you,” Bobby tells Jules and before they decide on something too drastic, I interrupt them, “You guys would have felt the same way had you two been in my place.”

“Maybe But I wouldn’t be nuts enough to just follow a random stranger and risk my safety”, Jules retorts defensively.

As I am about to defend myself, I am cut short by an exuberant bark resembling one coming from a pup followed by a sweet mewling. Bobby quickly hushes whatever is inside the basket covered by a blanket.

“Are those puppies?” I ask incredulously.

“Why yes, yes, they are. What did you think that they were drugs,” Bobby asked? Well, it seemed more of an accusation than a question.

I feel a surge of regret and humiliation course through me.

“Guys, I am sorry to have misjudged you, and I am sorry to have taken you two for miscreants. I admit what I did wasn’t entirely right” I downheartedly conceded.

“It’s alright, miss, err... What’s your name?” Jules asked.

“Nina, it’s Nina Sweetbrooks,” I replied.

“Well, I would have arrived at something similar had I been in your place, Nina. It was bold of you to follow me and find out.” Jules said casting an appreciative glance at me, which made me feel better.

“Mr. Packletide, the person who gave me these puppies, found them hiding underneath his porch. He kept these four puppies with him, hoping for their mother to return but even after ten days there was no sign any dog visiting his home looking for her puppies.” Bobby looked affectionately at the pups.“Their mother probably met an accident and died or abandoned them. They are orphans.”

My heart is filled with sadness as I listen to Bobby. I take a look at the pups. They seem to be about a month old, and to be orphaned at this stage is very disheartening indeed.

“Can I take a closer look at them?” I asked the kids.

Bobby seemed unsure at first, to let the woman who doubted him of selling drugs to take a look at these adorable puppies, but he finally acceded and handed me the basket.

As I removed a part of the blanket, a pup immediately sprang up, took an explorative lick of my finger, and then began nibbling my fingers and wagging its tail and it was then at that point that I decided to buy this cute ball of fur playing with my fingers.

“How much are you looking for this one? I asked Jules and Bobby.

The kids looked at me surprisingly and then Jules asked, “You are willing to take care of this one?”

“Yeah, of course, you guys can take it as a token of my apology plus I have started to take a liking to this one and I have wanted to have a dog for some time. It’s about time I get one. This one will remind me of my wonderful yet crazy adventurous spirit.” I said with a bright smile on my face.

Jules looks happy about my decision and so does Bobby.

“So how much do you guys want for this little fellow?”

“Well we haven’t figured out a price for them yet?” replied Bobby.

I look into my purse and grab two hundred bucks and offer it to them. “Will this be enough?”

“But it’s kind of too much,” Bobby protested.

“It’s alright, you two deserve this after all the trouble I have caused you both.”

The kids look at each other unsure of whether to take the money or not, but after some private discussion, which I assure you that I didn’t overhear, they finally accept the money much to my content.

“Thanks, Nina, this cheers me up. I had the feeling that we wouldn’t be able to find homes for these puppies or that someone will take notice and call the Animal Control, and we will lose them. They aren’t purebred that’s why. But now I feel hopeful that soon these three puppies will also find wonderful homes”, and taking that as a cue the puppies start barking in their cute voices as if agreeing with Jules.

“These three will stay with me till we can find them proper homes. You do realize that you have to vaccinate that puppy and deworm him as well?” I am touched by the concern Bobby has for these puppies and I assure the kids that I’ll be happy to take care of this pup in whatever way possible.

Jules got my contact number and asked whether she could drop in some time to take a look at the pup and even though Bobby didn’t his enthusiasm as much as Jules, I knew he was pleased when I agreed to Jules’s request. With that, I wished the kids luck on their endeavor to find nice homes for the rest of the pups, and we bid each other farewell.

It was about late evening by the time I reached near my home. Under the soft glow of the full moon, I realized that the pup that I had bought from the kids, now peacefully sleeping in my arms is covered with chocolate-colored fur. “You’ll make a delightful company won’t you, wait till my husband sees you and my kids...” My mind instantly stops at that thought and I triumphantly realize that my kids would love to play with this pup the moment they return from their grandmother’s home by the end of this week. I decide to have Éclair, as I fondly name the pup, to be a surprise for them.

I jubilantly enter my home, only to be asked by my husband, why I was so late and I show him the sleeping puppy in my arms and ask him playfully, “can you keep a secret?”