Donkey died!!

The donkey seemed a little better but it was clear that his leg was still hurting him. The vet was hesitant while assuring about his recovery. It was old, frail and the injuries took a toll on him but he was a survivor, the man thought. He wanted the animal to survive. He did not want to trouble the animal so he carried all the goods on his back while it hopped its way on three legs valiantly. They started to hurry as it was about to rain and they had a mountain to climb and he knew the children would be waiting for them. Three girls, two of them twins. After his wife died giving birth to the twins, the girls were all he had and more importantly, he was all they had. As for the donkey, it was his wife’s companion. It carried her down the hill during her labor. It was a close friend. One close to her heart. So, he tried his best to take care of it. The little ones, the twins Inky and Pinky were the sweetest kids. Kind and caring. Like their mother, he often thought while he kissed them good night. He wasn’t so sure about the other. The elder sibling, Ponky.

Back at home, the twins sat by the fireplace, tired after a day of playing and doing chores and helping their sister clean the house. Ponky stood near the window looking out into the darkness listening to the thunders, trying to capture glimpses of the landscape whenever there was lightening. She loved her father. She was 7 when her mother died. She needed someone or something to blame but found none. They were not a family of believers. Her childhood ended very early. She became less interested in going out. Her father was dealing with two new born baby girls while grieving for his lost love. He did not realize that he was growing distant from his daughter who was a little too young to understand. She missed her mother and did not know how to cope up with what was happening. Her father didn’t seem to help either.

He was almost home. He saw Ponky looking out the window and glowing fire flickering behind her. He knew the twins must be playing and was excited to see them. Ponky walked away from the window and went to her room. She did not sleep with her sisters and insisted that she needed her own room. As soon as they heard knocking, the twins ran down stairs jumping with joy. They absolutely adored their father. They never knew their mother and didn’t have to. He was everything to them. He gave all the presents he bought them at the town fair and went to Ponky. She was reading. He kissed her cheek and gave her the new dress that he brought her. They spoke very little but the father felt she was the only adult in the house that he could talk to. He assured her that the donkey was fine and that the injuries were possibly due to some mischievous kids from the neighboring hamlet. He asked her to help him build a better fence in the back yard the next day. She nodded and the family had dinner. Silently like always.

The donkey was tied inside the barn in the back yard. He was growing old. The sound of thunder scared him and he was tired after the long journey. Ponky looked at the barn from her room. She took out the knife with which she tried to chop of the donkeys legs a few days back and walked down the stairs once again. She was a lost child. Torn between love and hate. She often shot squirrels with her catapult and once drowned a chicken in the river. Her father never knew any of this. Part of this might have come from him in the first place. He was an angry man. He left his wife during her second pregnancy after a loud argument. It was also on a rainy night like this. Now all he had was guilt and somewhere beneath that, love, for his daughters. On most nights after the kids are asleep he drank all night in the barn. He needed to move on but didn’t know how to. He wasn’t noticing what was happening to his elder daughter. His wife’s first gift.

Ponky walked to the back yard in the rain and opened the wooden door of the barn which shrieked, alerting the chicken. The donkey opened its eyes but was too weak to even get up. Ponky switched on the light and there sat behind the donkey, was her father. He was scared. He came there to drink his old bottle of whiskey and see if the donkey had its dinner. Looking at his 10 year old daughter who walked in to kill the donkey, he froze. Ponky was taken aback but wasn’t ready to go back.

“You know I will kill it sooner or later daddy.” she did not blink.

“Honey, listen to me. Give me the knife. We will go home and talk about this.” he tried.

“Talk about what?”

“Honey, listen.” 

She caught a chicken near by and stabbed it. He rushed towards her to stop her from hurting herself. Her knife cut his arm and it started to bleed profusely. Looking at what she has done to her own father, the girl started to cry loudly. He tried to close her mouth scared as the crying might wake up the twins.

“It’s okay. It’s okay let’s go inside honey.” he tried to calm her down.

“Daddy I am sorry. I am so sorry.” She kept crying and eventually fainted. He rushed her inside, lay her next to the fire and gave her some water. He never felt more distant to his family. He wanted his wife back and his guilt came crawling back.

Ponky slept next to her father that night. He could not sleep and kept thinking what he should do. He wondered what his wife would’ve done. She always knew what to do. He felt lost. He remembered the first time he took his daughter into his hands while his wife watched with content. Her tiny fingers, quivering lips and bright eyes. She had her mother’s eyes, he thought. He brushed her hair aside and covered her with a rug while it rained heavily outside . Looking at the innocent face, he began to realize how insensitive he was towards her. He treated her as an adult burdening her with responsibility that her little shoulders were struggling to keep up. He kissed her forehead and promised to himself that she will have her childhood back.

Inky and Pinky woke up early next day. The sun was rising when they came downstairs. They giggled looking at their father and Ponky sleep on the floor. They ran into the barn eager to see their donkey and play with it. They were heart broken watching it bleed a few days ago and now that daddy took it to the doctor, they hoped it would be healthy as ever and they could ride it like always. Ponky woke up surprised to see her father by her side. With his arms wrapped around her. He felt warm. She wasn’t this happy in a long time. So many things have changed since her mother died. Everything changed. They moved houses, changed schools and even bought new furniture.

“The kids need a fresh start.” he said to his family and friends. But it was he who needed a fresh start and it was time for that start to start. Inky and Pinky came in shouting. He woke up to see tears in all his daughters’ eyes.

Inky and Pinky hugged him and started  to cry.

“The donkey died daddy.. He isn’t waking up.. It is dead…” The night’s weather was too harsh on the beast and the poor animal could not fight back. He died in his sleep.

The father hugged all kids. Ponky wiped the tears off her eyes and said,

“I love you daddy.” 

It was at that moment he knew he was going to move on in life. His children needed good lives and it was up to him to make sure they do.That moment he knew that it wasn’t just the donkey that died, but a part of him that kept him distant from his daughters. With Inky, Pinky and Ponky in his arms, the father whose donkey just died, started to cry.