I hear an annoying buzz in my ear. It’s the damn fly again. A man pedals by on his bicycle. The smell of pakodas are wafting in the air. Mmmm….. delicious! I bet it’s the Pakoda House. Maybe I’ll swing by later…
HONK! A car wants me to move out of the way. Maybe I’ll swing by now. So I start walking to my favorite spot, the king of the food street- Pakoda House. Seriously, this is the best place in the world. The owner Mr. Kamesh adores me and I charm him into giving me a pakoda or two. Mr. Kamesh, who smells of pakodas and chutney, is the nicest man you will ever know.
I am waiting in line and don’t understand why it is his assistant handing out the food today. Where is Mr.Kamesh? I ask but no one seems to respond. I go closer to the assistant. He pats me on my back and smiles but doesn’t say a thing. I refuse the pakodas and decide to wait a little longer. A few hours later, my best friend Mani comes by for his afternoon samosa. Still no sign of Mr.Kamesh. I wait all day by the corner of the shop for Mr. Kamesh. My day is never complete without him.
It is now night. The cows in the street are fast asleep. The low rumble of vehicles are heard lesser and lesser as the hours pass by. It is almost midnight when a vague smell of pakodas and chutney fills the air. I perk up my ears to hear the footsteps that followed. A hand strokes my back and ruffles my ears. I jump up to find Mr. Kamesh smiling at me. We hug it out. He brings me a bowl of my favorite dog food and puts in two pakodas as opposed to the usual one and says “I’m sorry Raja I made you wait all day. This extra one is to say I’m sorry.” It is all good. I swallow both pakodas in one huge bite. I can now finally have a good night’s sleep.