I - THE BED OF MARIGOLDS

THE BED OF MARIGOLDS

"Papa, I'm going to water the flower beds," said Mini. Rajiv looked at
her and smiled. Mini ran down the garden path, opened the tap, and with
the hose in her hands, sprinkled water over the flowering plants.

Gardening was Rajiv's hobby, at this time of the year his garden was in
full bloom. He had cut and shaped the hedges lining the path leading to
the front door. The bed of roses, with the white, red, pink and the
uncommon yellow blossoms seemed to be all in smiles and swinging and
nodding with the tune of the breeze. The slender stalks of the dahlia's
stood straight with the help of long sticks, grounded and fastened with
them to give them support for the weight of the large brightly coloured
flowers would otherwise bow them to the ground. The zinnia's in their
bed presented a colourful hue. But the orange-yellow and the golden
yellow bed of the marigolds stood prominent from the rest at the far
end.

"Mini, have you finished with your watering?"

"Yes Papa," said Mini. With the hose in her hand and the water spilling
out of its mouth, did not bother Mini who seemed to be thoughtful at
that moment. A couple of months back, that part of the garden where now
stood the bed of Marigolds had been dug up and then again covered with
the same loose soil. She had cried for days, stayed all by her self in
her room dipped in grief for the loss of Kitty, her pet cat. Kitty was
very special to her, presented to her by her aunt on her twelfth
birthday. Kitty's furry coat was as white as snow and her tail was
bushy like the bottle-brush flowers. Very soon Mini and Kitty came very
close to each other and they spent a lot of time in playing together.
Kitty never even touched the fish that Mini's mother kept on the table,
nor lapped up the milk from the bowl lying uncovered before her. All
the credit went to Mini for having trained her kitten to be disciplined
and not behave like a stray cat.

Two years passed by and now Kitty had grown from a kitten to a cat and
she also had other friends in the neighbourhood. Though there were many
rats in the house Kitty never chased after them nor bothered to look at
them.

One day something very strange happened in the life of Kitty. That day,
this cat that never chased a mouse, turned crazy and ran wildly after a
mouse, through the front door on to the busy street. That was her last
day on this earth. She came under the wheels of a speeding car and the
next was the splash of the blood all over the place - the snow white
fur smeared with blood.

Mini had gone out of control at the dreadful sight. She had wept for
days at the loss of Kitty. The ground had been dug and Kitty was buried
in the garden. For days Mini went and sat at Kitty's grave and tears
ran down her cheeks. Rajiv suggested, "Mini, you should forget Kitty
and stop dropping tears in her memory. I think I can make a flower bed
on top of Kitty's grave. A bed of marigolds will brighten up the garden
when the plants will be in full bloom."

"Papa, you will hurt Kitty," was her reply.

" No my little one, Kitty lies deep below the earth, just let me finish
with planting the young marigold saplings, you can watch them grow and
when the yellow flowers bloom they will make you feel happy."

Mini had agreed to her papa's plan and she saw the marigold plants
growing, bearing the buds which then bloomed into those beautiful
yellow blossoms. She looked at the flower bed and the small plants were
laden with scores of yellow marigolds. Mini looked at the flowers and
she felt as though they smiled at her. There was a twinkle in her eyes
when the winds came and the marigolds danced to their tune. It reminded
her of the days she had spent with Kitty. She looked at the flowers and
said to herself, "I sense Kitty is laid at rest and is blissful down
there below this blooming marigold bed."