Love at First Sight

My Mansion - Epilogue

Lying there, I felt my mother's hands comforting me. She was trying to say something, But I would not listen. She sat there till I got up and washed my face. She wanted to say something; I knew it from her face. She waited patiently till she felt I was ready to listen.

We talked for about an hour. My mother told me that they had seen me with the cat and wanted to be sure that it is safe. So, my father, who was a veterinary surgeon had decided that he would take the cat for a thorough examination. However, the cat did not survive. That morning, when my father came into my room to take the cat, he found it lying dead in the basket. All he had done was to order the maid to get rid of it, so that I would not have to see it. He had made up his mind to buy a pet cat for me by evening, seeing which, he had expected, I would forget all about the dead cat.


But, while the maid was about her work of getting rid of the dead cat, I had seen it. I felt guilty hearing all this. I had misjudged my parents.


In the evening, my father came home with a cat, a Persian cat - the one I had always wanted. He had known it all the while. I thanked him and my mother. And, I took my Cotton-Ball (that's what I named my cat later) upstairs, to my room.

Every time I am reminded of the incident, I realize how much my parents love me and how it will never change. 

My Mansion

I was the only child born to my extremely wealthy parents. I was guarded and protected. They would not let any harm chance upon me. Their concern was so much that I was never allowed to go out and play with the other children. All I ever saw were the big walls surrounding my mansion, the world they had built for me.

The only people I was allowed to ever interact were my tutors, my maid, and my gardener, (other than, of course, my parents). The garden was mine and it was filled with roses and lilies. The gardener took care of it and became my true friend.

He must have been about my age, although I never directly asked him this. I owed all the beauty of my garden to him. He not only knew gardening but also knew all the subjects I learnt better than I. In the evenings we would discuss different kinds of topics - this included what I studied that particular day. He enjoyed it a lot and found joy in learning all the new things. Somehow, I never understood why he never went to school.

One day, as we were talking, he mentioned that the cat in his house had given birth to five kittens. He went on to describe how cute they looked and the way the mother took care of them. For some days, this was the favourite topic. And everyday, I would force him to bring a kitten for me to play with. He kept giving excuses. Probably, he knew the way my parents would react.

Due to my relentless efforts, he brought a kitten one day to the mansion. It was so cute. I played with it the whole evening. When it was time to leave he took it along with him. He brought the kitten the next day too and just as he was about to take it away while leaving, I insisted on keeping it with me. He tried to make me understand the consequences. But, I would not budge. Finally, he gave in.

I took the kitten happily to my room, taking care that no one notices me. Thankfully, no one came to my room till I slept and surprisingly, no one heard the mewing of the cat. I went to sleep happily, putting it in my favourite red basket. I knew it was the best day of my life.

The next morning, I woke up to find that the basket was gone. I searched for it everywhere. Not having the courage to ask about it to anyone I searched every nook and corner. I finally got out of the house; searched the garden, the lawn, everywhere. I was just passing the corner where they burnt the garbage and I noticed my red basket. On going closer, I found the cat, lying motionless.

With tears in my eyes I ran to my room. Lying on my bed, crying, I knew it was him. My dad had ordered the cat to be killed. And, so, it was done...