There was not much beyond this, she was tired. There was only one question in her mind.

Why the heck was she living this life.

More followed for her.

While she was trying to search for a home, I had gone on a week leave to my home.

During this time, she lost ten thousand bucks. The house she chose was on the fourth floor with no lift.

Initially this seemed quite alright but then there was no water, Cauvery water was not available. They had to share the terrace and it was divided separately. There was no wardrobe. Shrum’s father had to stay back for her sister and her mother could only come. Her mother was the only one who could help her, since she was working still on Diwalis, Christmas and even her birthdays.

The current owner had asked Shrum to leave. The reason was petty and huge.

1) The kittens jumped over one of his window. That was their fault.

He asked her to get a licence for having five cats in his home.

She argued in vain.

Every time the owner called Shrum to his office to put a list of offences the poor kittens had done, Tirki would slide down and sit outside the office door quietly, giving her moral support.

Shrum had promised her, she would not leave her.

But, she felt for the first time that the people she was facing was not only weak. They were also to the core, lunatics. Or else, who would try to put a human down based on such a petty issue?

The owner also fought even with a neighbor for owning a license for the dog.

Later, I tapped his phone, which showed otherwise. He acted well trying again a trick to scare Shrum.

The last week he turned the switch board off and there was no light and electricity connection for a week.

The mother and daughter had to bear darkness for a week.

So, when she tried finding a home, in the first two days she lost ten thousand bucks.

The home she saw on fourth floor refused to pay back the advance she had given them in lieu of considering the house, so she had no one who could just tell them to return it back.

Everyone gave advices,

“You must have had someone to back you up.” Question is who.

So, they wanted her to adopt a male friend come boyfriend for such a petty matter?

“We could have tried but you know I have no time.”

No one was asking you in the first place. If you can’t help at least keep quiet.

“Seriously, my goodness I can’t believe that old man and his sons could do such things. He is a contractor he has no dearth of money after all.”

Yeah, boggy mass and dungeon headed fool, greedy for money.

After all, dowry needs to be paid for daughters and sons need it, to get into jobs, degrees and exotic holidays.

Daughter-in-laws need it for parlours.

Grandchildren need it for getting into rich schools.

Poor girl was robbed in broad daylight. Repeated pleas and requests were turned down completely by the man who also misbehaved with them.

Then, they finally found a home. It was good but there was a broker who did the transaction. Though there was a tea shop which sold cigarettes and the whole place would be crowded with goofy men who found solace in dripping nicotine in their blood.

Shrum had to take the house, she could not continue there any further.

She was very upset since that very morning a policeman came strolling in front of the house and stood against the tree in front of the house. He patrolled several times. Her mother saw this owner talking to him as well.

So, her mother suggested that she may try leaving the kids a little further as told by the owner, which could save them from any trouble.

Her heart still feels that wound so often. She took the two kittens who trusted her the most in a sack and wanted to leave them in a pet shop who agreed to keep them. But, the shock of being betrayed ran the four month old kittens ashtray.

We often so much want others to trust us, perhaps so that we can betray them easily.

She left the place like Wumice, never even once she wanted to turn back now that she left it.

Hurt, bewilderment and lunacy are the only words which can define her feelings towards the mass, though it has better prepared her to recognise such people in the beginning. But, a wound is not to be healed. The wanton essence and a strong lacking of security almost nearly drove her to the brink of fear.

The kitten who trusted her the most did not look back as it crossed the big road and flee. The one, Felicis which trusted Wumice looked back once and turned into a wood shop vanishing behind a pile.

It turned Shrum crazy. Till date she prays for them. Till date she has not forgotten neither forgiven herself for it, nor that man and his ill willed wife, Meera.

Tirki left with the other two kids, and snarled at her once before she vanished on the terraces linked to each home.

Shrum had told him one day,

“I think you need to learn to coexist with other creatures in the world and you say you run an NGO which helps plants and animals to flourish? She had screamed once.

The day she left the owners wife brought two squirrels and told Shrum, “you say we don’t know how to coexist. See, I have two pet squirrels and you say we don’t know how to coexist? Hmmm.” A faint bickering smile left her face.

Is it crime to not tolerate stupidity at every point?

She informed him that, “I have left two children away from her and the cat left with the other two. Just as you had told.” He laughed like Voldie thingie In the last Harry Potter movie.

Voldemort laugh, a deeply shrill voiced laugh when a person has enjoyed some deceitful action fully.

Shrum knew she had not done right listening to her mother and grew angry, very angry on her, for not accepting her alternative suggestions.

But, then she knew her mother was anxious and old. Her mother was crying and deeply worried seeing the policeman around who was there when she was leaving at six in the evening.

Now, office was not at all in her mind. When her manager Pure called, she was busy settling the money she was to get as return. Her mother picked up the phone and cried telling him a bit of the harassment. The man told her if she needed any help to call him back so that he could send her someone, if at all required.

Her mother told her the same when she returned back.

Now, how did the owner come to know this point, is still a mystery. He argued with his wife who was not ready to pay even a penny to her.

“Didn’t you hear, if someone comes from her office in reality she might have to go to prison as we can’t back off now and also us if she grows wings. It is not the case though, she has no help in the city, helpless little insecure bugger.”

When the conversation was happening Shrum was there with him in the office.

Now, it was almost seven when they reached the new house. The owner looked to be an educated as well as decent man, a man in whom education has created decency.