Chapter 9

Chapter Nine : Nani's Secret Student

There was something funny about Topsy and Nani.

They loved each other very much, but neither of them seemed particularly interested in admitting it.

Nani would scold him whenever he did something naughty.

Topsy would listen for approximately as long as he felt like listening.

Then he would go back to being Topsy.

Yet, despite all the scolding, Nani was one of his favourite people.

We knew it because of the way he behaved whenever she was around.

Whenever we took him out for a walk and Nani happened to be walking behind us, Topsy kept looking back.

Again.

And again.

And again.

Sometimes he would stop altogether.

We would wonder what had suddenly caught his attention.

Then we would look behind us and find Nani walking a little farther away.

Topsy would simply stand there and wait.

It was almost as though he was saying,

No, no. The walk doesn't continue until Nani comes too.

Sometimes we would hand the leash over to her, and Topsy would happily continue walking beside her.

For someone who was constantly being scolded by Nani, he certainly seemed very attached to her.

But there was something about their relationship that we didn't fully understand.

Nani wasn't the kind of person who openly showed affection.

She didn't constantly hug him or talk sweetly to him.

Her love was quieter.

It appeared in little things.

And one day, I discovered one of those little things completely by accident.

It happened behind a wall.

I was nearby when I noticed Nani with Topsy.

She seemed to be teaching him something.

At first, I didn't understand what was happening.

Then I heard her say,

“Sit.”

Topsy sat down.

I looked at them.

That alone surprised me.

Then Nani said,

“Hand shake.”

And Topsy lifted his paw.

I couldn't believe it.

He actually did it.

I stood there watching them.

This was the first time I had seen Topsy perform a trick like that.

And the funniest part was that Nani had apparently been teaching him secretly.

The same Nani who was always scolding him for being naughty had somehow become his teacher.

It was almost like discovering that two people in your family had been keeping a secret friendship from you.

Nani looked at him and smiled.

Then she said,

“You are a very good boy. Very, very good.”

And Topsy looked genuinely happy.

His whole expression seemed to change.

There was something so sweet about that moment.

The little dog who could steal a ₹500 note and run around the house like a criminal was now sitting obediently in front of Nani, proudly giving her his paw.

For once, he wasn't causing trouble.

He was her student.

And she was his teacher.

I don't know how long Nani had been teaching him.

Maybe she had practiced when nobody was watching.

Maybe Topsy had learned quickly.

Or maybe they had simply developed their own little routine without telling the rest of us.

But seeing them together that day made me realize something.

Nani didn't always show her love through affection.

Sometimes, her love looked like teaching him a trick.

Sometimes, it looked like taking him for walks.

Sometimes, it looked like scolding him when he did something wrong.

And Topsy understood her in his own way.

He knew that behind every scolding was someone who cared about him.

Perhaps that's why he never stayed upset with her.

He would get into trouble.

She would scold him.

A little while later, he would be beside her again.

Because that was Topsy.

He didn't hold grudges.

He simply loved his people.

And Nani was definitely one of them.

That secret little training session stayed in my mind because it showed me a side of their relationship I hadn't noticed before.

Until then, I had mostly seen Nani as the person who complained about Topsy's naughtiness.

But behind that wall, I saw something different.

I saw a grandmother quietly teaching a dog to shake hands.

I saw Topsy trying his best to please her.

And I saw Nani smile when he succeeded.

It was such a small moment.

Nothing extraordinary happened.

No big celebration.

No special occasion.

Just a command.

A little paw.

And a smile.

But sometimes the smallest moments reveal the biggest feelings.

Nani might not have said, “I love you, Topsy.”

Topsy couldn't have said it either.

But perhaps they didn't need words.

She taught him to shake hands.

He waited for her on walks.

She scolded him.

He followed her anyway.

And somewhere between all those little moments, they had built a bond that belonged only to them.

A bond that the rest of us only slowly began to notice.

Topsy may have been the naughtiest dog in the house.

But apparently, he was also a very good student.

At least when Nani was the teacher.