Page 90 - Montfort Magazine 21-22

HEAL THE HABITAT

towards my ride, I spotted the shivering body of a page which read the chapter name, the words which
homeless child sprawled on the shabby side path. His I had never gone beyond. I was an angel to a few
skin was a pale shade of white from the cruel winter today, but could it have been the other way round?
winds. I unzipped my jacket, dropped it in his lap, My watch buzzed, announcing 11:00 pm, as I
and grinned with gratitude and relief when his eyes turned in the test on my desktop. A gratified smile
lit up. It felt blissful, to say the least. While I was on spread across my face, which took me by surprise.
my way home, I heard a low wail. My cycle abruptly I had slewed a couple of demons that day and was
came to a halt. After a prolonged internal debate, I delighted. I had mended my relationship with my
set about following the noise. mum, overcome my stress and procrastination, filled
A helpless puppy stared at me. My heart melted at the my donation box up to the brim, and opened a
sight of its forlorn, gleaming eyes. Oh, what wouldn’t I fundraiser for animals. And as I buried myself in my
have given to adopt him, but unfortunately, I had a no blanket, I introspected my learnings of the day, “It all
pets contract with my parents. I advanced towards his starts with you. Each of us is a piece of the puzzle
bawling figure, locking eyes with him. He immediately that makes this world a better place. Heal yourself.
snapped and started barking furiously. Heal your atmosphere. Heal your habitat. Heal the
The rich fur on his face was coated in tears. I tried habitat.”
to usher him down, chanting monotonously, “It’s ok. Hana Jain
I’m here to help”. Once he realized that I wasn’t a 10-B
potential danger to him, he let his guard down and
resumed yelping. I forged ahead to pet his blonde
hair, pain stinging me at his exasperation. I scooped
him up in my arms, searching for any breed of his.
I slammed open the door of my facade, pulled my
mom in a bone-crushing embrace, and casually kissed
her right cheek, leaving her in absolute bewilderment.
Then I walked over to the dining table, not at all
sniffing in an exaggerated manner at the aroma.
Well, maybe a teeny bit of exaggeration. That day, I
ate dinner contently and gratefully. Those encounters
had changed me. I had eventually reunited the puppy
with its worrisome mother after a block’s travel and
their reunion was my much-needed eye-opener. I
barged into my room and ultimately opened the rueful

90 | MONTFORT SCHOOL - DELHI