Chapter 10

Chapter Ten : The View from the Hill

Not every memory of Topsy was loud.

Some of them were surprisingly quiet.

For all his mischief, all his running, barking, stealing, chasing and making us laugh, Topsy also knew how to simply sit and enjoy a moment.

One of those memories came from his walks with Nani.

Nani would sometimes meet her friends during their walks, and they would sit together at a place from where there was a beautiful view.

It was one of those spots where you could sit for a while without feeling the need to hurry anywhere.

The world seemed a little more peaceful from there.

And Topsy seemed to understand that.

Instead of running around or searching for something to trouble, he would sit beside Nani.

He would simply stay there.

Watching.

Listening.

Enjoying the view along with them.

I can imagine what that scene must have looked like now.

Nani sitting with her friends.

The conversation going on around her.

The view stretching out in front of them.

And Topsy sitting quietly beside her as though he had also been invited to enjoy the afternoon.

It was funny in a way.

This was the same dog who could turn a five-hundred-rupee note into a household chase.

The same dog who could make everyone wonder what disaster he had created whenever the house suddenly became suspiciously quiet.

And yet, when he was sitting there with Nani, he could be completely calm.

Maybe he liked those moments.

Maybe he enjoyed being beside Nani even when nothing was happening.

Or perhaps dogs simply understand something that we sometimes forget.

You don't always need to do something to enjoy being somewhere.

Sometimes sitting beside someone you love is enough.

Topsy didn't need anyone to entertain him.

He didn't need a toy.

He didn't need to run.

He didn't need to create some new adventure.

He could simply sit beside Nani and look at the view.

And somehow, that quietness made the moment special.

I think Topsy had a strange ability to become part of whatever was happening around him.

If the family was laughing, he wanted to know why.

If someone was walking, he wanted to come along.

If my mother was taking care of the flowers, he wanted to be nearby.

If Nani was going somewhere, he wanted to follow her.

And if Nani stopped to sit and enjoy a beautiful view, Topsy could sit beside her and enjoy it too.

He wasn't just accompanying her.

He seemed to belong there.

Perhaps that was another reason Nani became so attached to him.

He wasn't merely a dog she took for walks.

He became her companion.

Someone who followed her.

Someone who waited for her.

Someone who could sit quietly beside her without asking for anything.

Looking back, I wish I had understood the value of those simple moments then.

When you're young, you don't think about memories.

You simply live them.

You don't realize that an ordinary walk might someday become something you would desperately wish to see again.

You don't realize that a person sitting beside a dog might one day become a picture inside your mind that you never want to lose.

And you certainly don't imagine that one day the same walking companion might no longer be there.

But at that time, Topsy was simply enjoying his walk.

Nani was simply enjoying her afternoon.

And the world was still moving normally.

For a little while, there was nothing to worry about.

Just Nani.

Her friends.

A beautiful view.

And Topsy sitting quietly beside her.

The little troublemaker had, for once, decided not to cause any trouble.

He was simply there.

And perhaps that was his own way of enjoying life.