047 Doodu's day out

Doodu woke up exactly at 6 in the morning. As usual, Anu's chubby arm was hugging his neck. He had to struggle a bit to get out of her arm and leg hug. But he had no complaints. Because he knew that his elder sister loved him the most.

He went out and then without wasting any time, he went to the kitchen.

"Amma... Appa..." He happily greeted his parents who were busy making breakfast. Seeing mom and dad busy in the kitchen was a happy view to wake up to.

"Good morning Doodu... Go wake up Anu." Mom gave him his usual duty.

"Yes yes..." Doodu happily barked and ran back.

He has to first make sure that mom and dad are awake. If they forget to wake up, then there won't be anything for anyone to eat. Such a situation never happened till now. But there was no harm in being careful.

"Anuchi... get up. The sun has risen." Doodu barked at Anu.

"No... Just... a bit more." Anu was lazy and didn't want to get up. She tried to push Doodu away with her foot.

"WAKE UP... WAKE UP..." Doodu screamed at Anu. He had no complaints about the kicks. Because he knew his elder sister better than anyone else.

Anu tried her best to go back to sleep. But Doodu didn't let her. After all, it was his responsibility to make sure that she won't be late for school.

Once Anu was awake, Doodu went to the bedroom of mom and dad. Three little kids were sleeping there. Doodu had to stay guard for Alex. Alex is older than him by a few months. He is a bit weird. But Doodu knows that Alex is the best elder brother he could ever get. Prince and Priya were sleeping on the bed. They were his younger siblings. He loved watching them sleeping innocently.

Once Alex woke up, Doodu ran to the kitchen and informed mom. Otherwise, he would try to get out of the crib by himself.

"Doodu, time to brush..." Anu came and dragged Doodu away. Every day, Anu would brush his teeth.

Doodu opened his mouth obediently and showed his teeth so that Anu can brush them. Anu seriously brushed every tooth of Doodu. After that, they both and dad together had to struggle to make Alex brush.

"Achuuu... if you move again, I will bite you." Doodu barked as he pushed Alex.

"Hahaha..." Alex laughed aloud and tried his best to run away.

Brushing Alex's teeth was a herculean task. He would laugh and try his best to run away. So Anu and Doodu will have to hold him in place when dad brushes his lovely little teeth that looked like jasmine buds.

"I'm going to buy milk. Who's coming with me?" Dad asked once he was done with brushing Alex.

"Achu... Achu..."  Alex was the first to declare that he was coming. Then without waiting for anyone, he climbed on dad like a monkey. Dad grabbed him and placed him on his shoulder.

"Me too..." Doodu barked. He followed dad everyday morning.

Anu didn't answer. Instead, she ran and put on her footwear and grabbed the steel vessel for milk. On the way to the village centre, they greeted every grass and rock. They had even named some of the rocks on the way.

After returning, Doodu had to constantly rush Anu to get ready for school. Everyone thinks that Anu is a responsible kid. But in truth, it was Doodu's nagging that got things done.

"Everyone, come here." Then came breakfast. But Doodu did not eat his full breakfast. Instead, he ate a bit and saved the rest for later.

This is a habit he learned from mom. She would have a quick and small breakfast in the morning. Later, when she is free, she would have a proper breakfast.

After breakfast, dad left home for his job.

Doodu helped Anu pack her bag. Mom had to take care of Prince and Priya who had just woken up. By nine, Anu's school bus came and she left for school.

"Be a good boy and don't fight. Don't forget to eat and don't bully Pripri." Anu gave a few pieces of advice to her younger brothers before leaving. Alex waved from the veranda while mom and Doodu accompanied Anu to the school bus.

Mom returned to the house after the bus left. Doodu didn't return right away. He had to make sure that everything was proper in their kingdom.

"Barky... barky... Did your elder sister leave you alone?" The squirrels on the trees teased Doodu.

"Hey, tree rats... How's your morning?" Doodu didn't hold back from insulting the squirrels.

"How dare you call us tree rats?"

"Bite his tail.."

"Shake the tree..." Instantly, all the squirrels were riled up and started shouting.

Doodu chuckled and ignored the furious squirrels. The easiest method to anger them was to call them tree rats. Also, they were beings with small brains. So it was pretty easy to taunt them. The fight between him and the squirrels started long ago. He doesn't even remember the reason. He continued the fight because it was simply fun and his elder sister and Achu seems to enjoy it.

Doodu slowly walked around. Drops of water from tree leaves fell on him. He hated it. If Anu were there, she would open her mouth and tilt her head to catch the water drops with her mouth. Doodu would also follow her lead. But without her, he hated the water drops.

"Who's there?" Doodu barked at the van that just stopped near the boundary of their kingdom.

Two strangers got out of the van. Doodu reached near the boundary and glared at them. Anu had warned him multiple times about this van. It was a van infamous for kidnapping. But he didn't believe her.

"What do you want?" He barked at the strangers.

The strangers looked around. Then they moved suddenly. Before Doodu could understand what was happening, there a hoop tightened around his neck. He was grabbed by the neck and shoved into a sack.

The sack was thrown into the van and the vehicle started moving.

"Let go of me. Let me go..." Doodu howled. He was scared. He remembered the scary stories of kidnappers who kidnap kids and sell their kidneys.

"My kidney is bad. I don't drink enough water. Let me goo..." Doodu continued crying from the bag.

"Shut him up. It will be troublesome if someone hears the barks." The first villain who was driving the van told the accomplice.

"No... Let me go. You don't know my mother. You don't know what she did to the cat that scratched Anuchi. Let me... oom...ooooommm..." Doodu tried to threaten the kidnapper. Unfortunately, they understood nothing and the accomplice pressed on his head from outside the sack and made sure that he made no noise.

'No. no no... This is bad. I can't lose my kidneys. God... please help me. I won't bully the squirrels if you help me now.' Doodu started praying.

'Wait. I have to calm down. Like how Achu always does.' Doodu remembered how his weird brother always calms himself before acting.

"This dog is not moving." The accomplice told the driver.

"Don't cover its nose. If it dies we won't get any money."  The driver scolded the accomplice. He was doing it intending to sell the dog and get some money. Such a healthy and well-grown golden retriever would get him a really good price. He didn't want it to die and waste all their efforts.

The accomplice loosed his hand. But there was no movement inside the sack.

"I think... it died." The accomplice was worried.

The driver stopped the van and came to the backseat. He also inspected the bag and found that there was no sign of motion from the sack.

"Do you know how much we will lose if it dies?" The driver was angry.

"I was just trying to keep it silent." The accomplice tried to explain his part.

The driver carefully opened the sack. The head of a motionless dog appeared. Its eyes were closed tight and its tongue was hanging to the side.

At home, they play many kinds of children's games. Pretending to be dead getting slashed by Anu's imaginary sword was a regular thing for him. So Doodu was an expert when it came to playing dead.

Once their hand loosed, Doodu's eyes opened.

"Wait..." The driver realized the mistake and tried to catch the dog.

But Doodu was fast. He leapt forward and bit down hard on the driver's shoulder.

"AARRHHHH...." The driver cried out in pain.

Doodu's teeth made a deep mark on his shoulder and tore through the driver's muscle.

"Let go..." The accomplice grabbed Doodu's head and tried to save his friend.

He regretted his action soon.

Doodu's teeth bit down on the accomplice's palm. By the time his brain registered the pain on the palm, the accomplice had lost two fingers.

Doodu wasn't attacking aimlessly. From his experience, he knew that the right way to neutralize the opponent without killing them was to attack their arm. This was possible only because of his strong jaws.

Once he was free, he started running. He hated the kidnappers. But his priority was getting back home. So he gave up on revenge and ran in the direction that the van came from.

He had to get home as soon as possible. Alex is a naughty boy. He had tried his best to steal from Doodu's plate many times. He was never successful. But today, Doodu was away. So Alex might finish Doodu's breakfast before he reaches home. Doodu regretted not finishing his breakfast.

Doodu reached a small unfamiliar town. He slowly stopped.

Because at the just centre of the town, the road split into two.

The van was running for about ten minutes. So he was sure that he wasn't too far from home. But he didn't know the way back.

He looked at both the roads.

Left or right?

There were no hints.

He was worried about making the wrong choice and ending up far away from home. So he stayed at the junction trying to remember anything.

He looked around carefully.

There were no familiar faces. No familiar vehicles.

Doodu started panicking again.

"Where did he come from?" Someone noticed Doodu.

"I don't know. He just came running. Probably got lost." Someone answered.

Doodu turned around and looked at the people who were talking about him.

It was a small village restaurant. Some customers were calmly sipping something and watching him curiously.

"Good uncles, I was kidnapped from my home. Can you help me get back?" Doodu politely asked.

"I think he is hungry." One old man commented.

Doodu was annoyed that no one understood him. Only his elder sister Anu understands what he says.

The restaurant manager went in and returned with a plate of random food. Doodu stared at the food that was served to him. It was a mix of multiple dishes. Clearly, it was the leftover of the customers who ate from the restaurant in the morning.

Doodu felt disgusted. At home, he gets far better food. He also finishes the leftover of Anu, mom and dad. But they are his family and so he doesn't mind eating it. As for the leftover from strangers, he didn't even want to touch it.

"Seems like he is well brought up." Someone commented. They were impressed by the dog not touching the food from the strangers. But that's where their curiosity ended. None of them cared more about the dog and they returned to their jobs.

Doodu started getting desperate. Time was slowly moving. But there was no solution to his worries. At first, he was worried about Alex eating his breakfast. As the time passed, he realized that he might not be able to get back home if he don't find the right path.

If he doesn't get back in time, Alex won't have anyone to play with. Then Alex would go and bully Pripri. When his elder sister returns from school, she won't have anyone to play with and she will be sad. On top of that, there's no one to bring flowers for mom every day.

Doodu became more and more desperate as time passed.

Maybe mom will come looking in her car when she doesn't see him for a long time. Or dad will look for him on the bike. Or Anu would want to eat chicken and on the way, she would find him.

Doodu tried to fill his mind with hope.

Soon it was noon. Doodu was hungry and thirsty. But still, his pride didn't allow him to eat the leftover.

It started raining.

If he were at home, he and Alex would hide under the blanket and watch the rain. They would scream and laugh at the thunder. It would be a lot warmer there. But he was sitting in a street. The raindrops splattered from the floor and made him feel cold.

"Achoo..." Doodu sneezed. He hated getting cold. But he hated it even more whenever his elder sister catches a cold. She had the bad habit of chasing him with a booger on her hand.

After an hour the rain stopped.

Doodu was over the initial panic and desperation. Now he was sad. He wanted nothing more than to get back to his home. There he has many siblings and he can play around all he wants. He would also get a lot of good food to eat. Most importantly, it's warm there at home.

Doodu spent the entire day carefully watching every passing vehicle. He didn't want to miss if mom or dad came looking for him. He did manage to see some familiar faces from his village. But he wasn't sure where they were going. So he didn't take the risk of following them.

Soon, it was evening.

Workers were returning to their homes. Children wearing different uniforms were returning to their houses. The streets were busy again. Doodu sat at the side hoping to see any familiar face.

Then he saw something

A school bus!

Doodu was familiar with the school bus and the driver. It's the same bus used by his elder sister. He was excited.

"Stop... stop... I have to get on the bus." Doodu howled on top of his lungs as he ran to the bus. But no one understood him and the bus continued running. Doodu didn't give up. Because if he follows the bus, then he can reach home.

He ran as his life depended on it.

His feet hit the stones and many wounds appeared on them. He also fell multiple times and more wounds appeared on him. But he didn't feel any of it. Because he had only one thought in his mind. He has to get home before Anu.

He had to run at his full speed to chase the bus. Fortunately, the bus was making stops to let the kids out. So Doodu was barely able to keep the bus in his view.

One by one, kids got out of the bus. Doodu even saw some familiar faces. But Anu was not among them.

His legs were tired. He was struggling to breathe. He even felt that his vision was blurring. But still, he didn't slow down. Finally, the bus stopped and he managed to catch up to the bus.

But no one got out.

Doodu stared at the bus in disbelief.

It was empty.

What's happening? He was confused. He looked around in panic.

That's when he realized what happened.

The school bus wasn't o the way to his house. Instead, it had already dropped Anu at their house and was on the way back to school.

Doodu chased the bus all the way to the school and reached Anu's school!

He plopped down weakly. All the excitation he had disappeared in an instant.

No.

This is not too bad.

At least he is at Anu's school. Tomorrow, when Anu comes to school, she will find him. Then he will be able to go home with her.

This was not his first time at the school. About a year ago, when Doodu was a small puppy, Anu made him hide in her school bag and then smuggled him to school. Later they got caught and punished. But it was a happy memory for him.

Once he calmed down, he started feeling stinging pain from his paws. The wounds on his body also started hurting. He was hungry, thirsty and covered in mud.

There was a puddle nearby. It probably formed after the rain. He was so thirsty that he wanted to drink from it. But he controlled his instincts. If he drinks from the puddle, mom would punish him.

Doodu moved closer to the bus. He wanted to stay under the bus so that he won't miss when the bus leaves to pick up the students the next day. But he didn't do it. Because he got spanked by dad for sleeping under the car. So he knew that sleeping under vehicles were bad.

He moved behind the vehicle and lay down. He was too tired and his eyes slowly closed.

"DOODU! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" A furious roar woke him up from his sleep.

He scrambled to his feet and looked around.

A young girl was floating in the air. She was wearing a dress with big red dots. She was no stranger to him.

"Priyachi?" Doodu asked in disbelief.

Priya sighed.

"Follow me. Let's go home." Priya started floating out of the school ground.

For a moment, Doodu thought he was dreaming. But the pain from the wounds told him that it was reality.

Doodu exited the school ground and followed his elder sister Priya who had disappeared long ago. She no longer had the horns or tail. She looked the same as when he saw her for the first time.

"Priyachi how are you here?" Doodu asked.

"Just calm down and follow me." Priya didn't understand Doodu's question.

The school wasn't far from home. Doodu wanted to run and reach home as fast as possible. But Priya was flying slowly. So he had no choice but to trot behind her as he wasn't sure of the way.

Within ten minutes, he was in a familiar area. His speed increased. Then he passed through his village centre and ran excitedly to his home.

"Doodu... Don't tell about me to Anu. Ok?" Priya caught up to him and warned him.

Doodu looked at her in confusion.

Why can't he say it? Anu would be excited to meet her elder sister Priya. When the elder sister left, Anu spent days crying.

"Absolutely never tell about me to anyone. If you tell, I will punish you really bad." Priya warned him once again and flew into the house.

Doodu entered the front yard.

There were two policemen in the front yard. They were talking to dad and mom. Anu was standing nearby. She was sobbing non-stop. She had red eyes and a runny nose. Alex also had a similar look.

"Anuchi..." Doodu excitedly ran to his elder sister.

"Doodu.. Dooduuu..." Anu heard his call and was excited in an instant. She ran to him and hugged him tightly.

Alex also joined the hug.

"Where did you go?" Anu managed to ask before she broke into a loud cry.

"It's ok. I won't go anywhere." Doodu consoled her. He was finally relaxed after a hard day.

Mom and dad were happy and relieved. Doodu wanted to go and greet them. But Anu and Alex were hugging him so tight that he couldn't even move.

The policemen left after talking with dad.

Mom fed Doodu and bathed him in warm water. She also cleaned all his wounds and made sure it won't cause any trouble. After that, she fed him again as he had starved the whole day.

Then the three kids went to play. Doodu's body was still aching everywhere. But he wasn't bothered.

Because he was home. There he could eat good food and play with his siblings.

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Thank you

Recently, the book is getting a lot of new readers and I am motivated to add more chapters. Thanks a lot for the support.