Nora shifted to a new landlocked city from a city that shared its boundaries with the sea. She will find herself walking under a canopy many times in this city. She feels blessed to be welcomed by the beautiful, windy monsoons. The city gives a break from the land by housing many lakes. This city is refreshingly breathable compared to the place she is coming from.
Nora loves her current new house, it's mostly empty, but she likes it that way. Empty space helps her to remove the clutter from her brain and room for freshness. She likes the idea of a house that gives outdoor vibes by being inside and this house was just that. She always looks for a connection with stray animals that gives her a sense of belonging.
Nora came across a dog, let's call him Polka. She felt Polka was quite reserved and not friendly. She tried to connect with him, but he didn't bother to glare. She knew his name when some school kids passed him and cheerfully shouted it. She noticed he didn't react to them either.
Nora made a note to visit Polka every day and greet him without expecting anything in return. She couldn't help but notice that Polka isn't loved as he deserves by his pet parents. He is simply defined by his guard-duty role by his owner(don't feel like calling them pet parents). She would often make a plan with her flatmate to free Polka from his caged life. She imagines that he would be a really normal pet if he was loved, hugged, and played with like a regular pet.
Nora could feel Polka's sadness, he has everything to survive but no freedom to be the dog that he could be. She thinks his eyes look into nothingness and he doesn't know how to make sense of anything. She even offers a dog-walking service to the owner but is rejected, saying she is not strong enough to handle him. She has to pass this sight and emotion every day.
She was experiencing freedom and managing survival and it was otherway around for Polka. She really wanted Polka to feel loved and belong and have a connection to something in his life. One time at midnight, she heard Polka barking, he usually barks at strangers most of the time. Her tiredness didn't help her get out of bed and act on her curiosity to check on him. She fell asleep dreaming of Polka being a happy dog.
One day, Nora was walking outside and as usual she greeted Polka, this time he reacted to her and came near the gate to let her touch him. A wave of joy started flowing through her. She thanked him for letting her touch him. She noticed Polka was making happy puppy sounds at the presence of a cat who was eating his food. She had heard from her flatmate that Polka lets the cat eat his food.
Nora had been waiting for this sight of Polka for the past month. She decided to spend more time with Polka. After some time, there was another visitor for Polka, a stray dog. They both kissed and smelled each other through the gaps in the gate. They were both looking at each other and conversing through their eyes. It felt like the stray dog understood Polka's pain and visited him often to make him feel less lonely. The stray dog sat on the other side of the gate, facing Polka. They shared a lovely warmth in the presence of each other's company and not a single word(bark). Nora definitely captured this moment on camera, with tears in her eyes. This whole incident made her wonder if her idea of freeing Polka was good anymore, she witnessed the sense of belonging that Polka felt in that moment was so much deeper
