Spooky

Hey Mommy! For the last few days my cakes and pastries in the fridge are becoming become lesser in number and at times smaller in size. Who’s been eating my things?

A visibly upset seven-year-old boy, Binto, was complaining to his mother with his little doggie, Dopie, by his side. The doggie, too, seemed upset about the missing cakes.

No Binto, you must be making some mistake. Tell me who will eat your things…not me…not daddy…then who can it be?

An unconvinced Binto walked away to his room with Dopie following his master, wagging his tail.

Dopie, I am sure it must be Dad who must be sneaking after all have slept and eating away my cakes bought from Thelma’s Sugar Pod. Dad says that he gets these things for me but you have seen how much he likes them and he gobbles them up in no time when laid before him at the table. Let us stay awake tonight and catch the cake thief. Are you with me Dopie?

Wuff  Wuff..barked little Dopie who could now, finally, show his master some of his special talent to nab the cake culprit.

Binto switched off the light and pulled the blanket over his head. Dopie sneaked under the blanket, as he would do regularly. In some time, his mother came to check if the boy had gone off to sleep. Seeing the dark room and the peacefully sleeping kid, she went off to the master bedroom where after a little chat with her hubby, the lights were off and the Fernandez residence was in total rest.

Dopie…wake up you lazy bones…can’t you hear the little noise outside?

Dopie was dreaming of him running happily with a super bone in his mouth and all other doggies running after him for a bite. The poor fellow woke up to see Binto with a pen light in his hands. He shook himself a bit and nodded to his master as both got off the bed and quietly made their way from where the scratching noise was coming. They made their way to the kitchen where it was all dark except for a small fluorescent light, no more than a dot, over the dining table.  Binto switched on his pen light in that direction but could not see anything or anyone, except a small quarter plate with a slice of black forest pastry on it.

Dopie jumped up the table and cautiously moved towards the dot. Dopie knew that this was his moment when he would catch a thief and become a hero in the family. Dopie went straight towards the plate and the dot moved to his right. Dopie moved right, the light moved left….it was quite a funny sight … Dopie trying to catch a speck of light. After a while, Dopie gave up the table chase and sat down exhausted. Binto felt afraid and made a hasty retreat to his room and the dot followed him. Binto pulled the blanket once more over his head in trying to avoid looking at the ghost in the house. Despite his holding tight, the blanket was pulled off his face and he heard a voice speaking just like him.

I am Bishnu and there is no need for you to be afraid of me. I love eating cakes of children and I travel everywhere. I usually stay for a day or two in a house and then move on. However, in your case, I am here for over a week. The reason is simple…. nowhere have I tasted better cakes than what I found in yours. I am just a little boy like you. How I turned into this tiny dot, is something I am not aware of. There are bigger dots elsewhere in the deep forests and they bully me a lot so I ran away from them and came to this place and have taken a fancy to things sweet and juicy. Now that you have seen me, I will go away tonight to another house but I will miss these best tasting cakes that are there in your cooling machine.

Those are cakes my Dad gets from Thelma’s Sugar Pod at Carter Road. Dopie and I too love them very much. You can stay here and be my friend. I will ask Dad to get more things from there every day. You can sleep during the day when I go to the school and eat the sweets at night without anyone disturbing you. I have a big bed here and you can tuck in with me. Mom will never come to know about you Bishnu.

That’s great….so we are friends from now and I have a bed to sleep and a house to stay and eat…. this must be my luckiest day.

By now Dopie had come in and saw the dot talking with Binto. He didn’t like it one bit but decided to stay quiet. When Binto and the dot went inside the blanket, Dopie crept under the bed and went back to sleep but it was a disturbed sleep for him. Another big black dog had snatched his big bone and Dopie was left standing there alone in the middle of a never ending road.

Next morning, it was Binto who was woken up from his sleep by his mother…..Binto, you were right. Last night there was one last piece of black forest in the fridge and now there is none. Surely someone is up to something….it has to be your Dad. I will give him a piece of my mind.

No Mom. Last night Dopie and I felt hungry and we ate it up. Just ask Dad to get some more of the chocolate brownie cake and blue berry muffins from Thelma’s.

I will tell your Dad, now get ready quickly for school. The bus will be here any moment now.

Ok Mom. Just give me ten minutes and I will be ready for breakfast and then school.

As he folded the blanket, he could not see Bishnu. He seemed to be lost in the rush of golden sunlight raining down the room through the French windows. Binto called out Bishnu a number of times but did not get any response. Dopie, too, was missing so he looked outside. Dopie was running around alone and had a big grin on his face. He seemed to be playing with someone in the garden. He had never seen Dopie so happy.

Binto got ready and while going towards the bus stop, shouted…Bye Dopie…see ya in the evening.

In school, the kid’s mind was filled with thoughts of Bishnu, his new friend whom only he could see and, may be, Dopie could feel. He seemed lost in the class and even when the teacher reprimanded him for making simple mistakes in his work, our boy was in a La La Land of make believe, mystery and fairy tales. As soon as the bell rang at the end of school, Binto reached home in his school bus.

Mommy, where’s Dopie? Why isn’t he in the house?

Your doggie has gone loony. Since morning he is out there in the garden and has not come home even once to have food or water. I told you when you were picking him up from the shelter that this dog is no good. All his life he was living with a junkie who smoked pot. I am sure, the smoke he inhaled then is still in his blood and hence shows such sudden streaks of madness. You better go and bring him home.

Yes mom.

Binto went to the park and sat down on a swing. Dopie came running to him and the swing next to him started moving slowly. Binto got off and gave the swing a push or two and he heard a chuckle in the air…this is fun my friend. I am loving it.

After a while, Binto and Dopie come home and had a good lunch. Binto saved some of it and took it to his room. He waited for some time and found the food untouched. Bishnu was determined…only cake, nothing but cakes for me!

They all waited for Binto’s journalist father to come home but today he was unusually late. He returned quite disturbed and had his laptop bag hung on his shoulders and both his hands were free.

Dad, where’s my cake? You promised me that you will bring cakes from Thelma’s Sugar Pod and you forgot. How could you do it Dad?

Binto please don’t cry. I did go to Carter Road but the shop was closed today. There were cops all around. I asked Philomina, who runs the shop, and she said, “Last night, some people entered the shop and damaged all the furniture and kitchenware. While I can get the other things ready in a day or two but the thieves have stolen the family treasure as well.”

Why did you keep the precious things in the shop Philo? You should have kept them in a safe place. Was it the family jewellery that they took away?

No. it was more precious than all the gold and diamond of the world. They took away my mother Thelma’s recipe book. She had written it in her own handwriting and it contained her secrets of baking the best cakes. I would refer to it while baking but now all is lost. I may start the shop again but will never be able to recreate the magic of Thelma.

Oh that’s a big loss Philo. We all loved the cakes and pastry from your shop and whoever ate them always would say…. that’s the best we’ve ever had! My son will be distraught when he comes to know that his favourite cakes will no longer be as good and I am sure he won’t be alone. Young and old, all will be disappointed. Take care Philo and start writing down all you remember from Thelma’s Book and I am sure you will once more create the same magic.

Binto was sad. Dopie was sad. But they went about their chores in a sulking manner but with Bishnu it was all different. He did not touch any food since the burglary happened. They tried cakes from other good shops but Bishnu would go close to it, smell it and then come away without touching it. It was almost seventy two hours since he had any cake and Binto saw that the little fluorescent light was getting dull with each passing night.

Dopie…we have to do something. We have to find Thelma’s Book of Secret Recipe.

Dopie jumped up a couple of times in the air showing his agreement to Binto’s call.

Let us do it for Bishnu…. For Bishnu!

To be continued…

SS