Death Threats

It's ironic, the way things work out. The same person who tried to kill her three years ago, actually saved her today.

Or, at least, for the time being. If I’m being incoherent, it’s because I'm still upset about the entire thing.

I guess it started eleven years ago when she decided to adopt herself into our neighbourhood. We named her Brownie for obvious reasons. Everything including her nose and eyes were brown. She was a pedigree dog, but for some reason, had strayed from her owners and had found us, her new family. She was adorable, and, needless to say, was doted on by the entire neighbourhood. That was until they showed up.

They would be my new neighbours. The pregnant mama, her half-deaf husband, their two year old daughter with the lung power of an opera singer, the half-deaf husband's brother and his pregnant wife. Quite a village. And, judging by their behaviour, probably originated in a village as well.

This was three years ago. By this time, Brownie had had her third litter and we had given away all her puppies except one, whom we named Bouncer.

One Sunday afternoon, I heard Brownie yelp loudly. It was a completely inhuman yelp. That is to say, it was horrifying. I went out to check but couldn't find her anywhere. After a few more minutes, I heard her yelp again. This time, my neighbours from the opposite house came out. I thought that maybe the sound had come from the next house so I peered into their house from the balcony.....and started screaming uncontrollably.

There is a grilled gate at the centre of my neighbour's garage. Brownie was on one side of the gate and my half-deaf neighbour and his brother were at the other side of the gate. They were pulling at a noose that went around Brownie's neck. The poor dog was jammed up against the gate while they tried to break her neck from the other side. Bouncer was standing beside his mother and whimpering.

My dad had woken up by this time and bolted downstairs. He threw open the neighbour's gate and demanded to know what was happening. "The dog kept barking at my wife and sister-in-law," Half-deaf replied. "They both are pregnant. We thought the dog would bite so we killed it."

On hearing this, I began yelling at him, yelling like I’d never yelled at anyone before. "You want your dog?" he asked me with scorn. "Here, take it. It's dead already." He picked up her limp body and threw it out of his house, slamming the gate behind him.

I picked up Bouncer and cradled him in my lap while the other neighbours picked up Brownie. To our surprise, she stirred and then wriggled free, whimpering all the while. We slowly removed the rope from around her neck. It had burned her neck and left a black scar on her brown fur. She could barely move but didn't want to be petted by any of us either. She slowly hobbled away with Bouncer following, and we didn't see her again for three days. When she returned, she was completely back to normal...barking at strangers and growling at the neighbours.

I never really made an attempt to get to know my neighbours after this incident. I thought of them as barbarians and completely stayed away from them and made sure that they stay away from the dogs as well. In fact, there was a growing animosity towards them on my side....until this morning.

This morning was one of the scariest days of my life. I heard a noise outside and when I looked out the window, I saw a man chasing Brownie and Bouncer with a sickle. I thought that maybe he would leave them alone, now that they were safely under my car but he kept yelling and trying to cut them with the knife.

By the time I rushed downstairs and got my gate open, my next door neighbour and opposite house neighbour had come out and were yelling at him. It was the same story once again. Brownie had barked at him so he wanted to kill her. Even with all of us standing outside and yelling, he kept coming at her with his sickle. Finally the next door neighbour put her foot down and told him that he absolutely could NOT come any closer. This from a woman who had wanted the same dog dead only three years earlier.

While he was giving us his explanation and waving his knife at us, I saw one of the neighbour's gates opening and Bouncer slinking inside. The gate was silently shut behind him. Brownie was safely under my car. Suddenly, she stuck her head out from under the car and growled at the man. He immediately lunged for her. I stepped in front of him just in time. He looked straight at me and said, "You're like a sister to me. I don't want to hurt you. I just want to kill the dog." I stood my ground so he backed off a little. By this time, his wife had walked up behind him and slowly took the knife from his hand.

He did not budge. He looked at me and said, "Don't worry. Sometime when you're not at home, I’ll bring a bigger knife and cut up both your dogs." So saying, he left.

My next house neighbour and I stood outside until he was gone. Then we looked at each other and burst out laughing and crying at the same time. I swear I could have hugged her just then.

Maybe this is a good time to bridge our differences. I don’t know. But for now, I have to figure out a way to keep Brownie and Bouncer safe from knife-wielding maniacs when we’re not home.

Hope

The chasm deepens. Darkness falls. The blackness undulates like waves of sluggish oil. The yawning maw of oblivion beckons. And I. Surrender. Gladly.

Deeper into the rippling pitch I fall, entranced. Sucked. Suctioned. Plumetting. Flying. And then. The gentle sun of a mellow day. Brilliant in its contrast to the ever fading darkness. Lush trees and babbling riverlets. Snow-clad mountains in the distance. Flower-manicured bushes lining pitch roads. A cool, summer breeze gently ruffling leaves and flowers.

Hope.