Cutting

Mayilaan's feet drag him towards the liquor shop. Will Tiger be able to stop him?

- Perumal Murugan

At around 8 in the morning, Mayilaan stepped out of the house after two days. He shut his eyes tight, unable to bear the brunt of the bright sun. When that wasn't adequate, he covered his eyes with his forearm to fight the glare. His body was unsteady. Over the past two days he had consumed all the liquor he had bought, and passed out last night. In the morning, he had combined the drops at the bottom of the bottles to wet his throat. There was nothing to eat. He had no choice but to step out.

When he was able to open his eyes fully, his glance fell upon Tiger, who was tethered outside. He saw his sunken body and a weakness in the way he wagged his tail. Pellets of stool lay strewn in a corner, darkened. Tiger had excreted at the same spot for three nights and two days. He rushed towards him and unhooked the chain around his neck. The dog simply stood wagging his tail. Mayilaan placed a big kiss on his cheek, went inside to get a flask of water and poured it into the dry bowl. Tiger bent, stuck his tongue out and wet his tongue. He licked the water slowly and drank it.

"Dei, Tiger...why would you do this? Could you not have barked a few times to get my attention? I have left you to starve for two full days, da," he said, hugging Tiger by the neck. Tiger licked his arm. Noticing how dry his tongue felt, he went in and searched the fridge for something to eat. There was nothing.

He remembered finishing all the food these past three nights. Now, the only option was to cook. No, I should buy some food. He put on a shirt and started walking. When Tiger began to follow him, he said, "You stay here, I will be right back." The dog stopped following him.