'I love you, Jean!' Rajesh Kumar , 15, Dubai Published May 7, 2002 My name is Kumar. I work as a software consultant with a programming company. I live in a small town in the outskirts of Chennai. I have no family. I live all by myself. All I have been doing for years is, wake up at six in the morning every day, do some exercise, russle up a meal, get ready and go to work. Then I come back at one o'clock in the afternoon, have lunch and again go back to office. I come home from work in the evening, relax for some time, watch television, have dinner and I'm off to bed. Pretty boring life, isn't it? I don't think you'll believe it, but I have been following this mundane routine for almost four years now. Maybe I am made that way. My parents live in our village. They do not want to live with me here in the city. They complain of pollution, noise and traffic. Anyway, all these things don't have anything to do with this story. I shall narrate to you a relationship that has had a significant influence on my otherwise uneventful life. It has had an effect on me which I cannot easily come out of. It is a story of love, if you want to call it that. Yes, love is the central element in this story. Coming back to our story, I have a neighbor. (I guess everyone has them.) His name is Venkat. Though he had been my neighbor from the time I had moved into this house, we had not really spoken to each other, until Jean came into our lives. Not that Venkat and I had had a fight or something. He had just been my neighbor and I had been, well, myself. Maybe because I am quiet and aloof, Venkat had not ventured to strike a friendship with me. Moreover, what with all the office work brought home, cooking and cleaning, I don't have time for socializing. But I had constantly been observing Venkat's family. Perhaps the reason for this was that his family is a joint family. You don't get to see many joint families nowadays. The actual story begins here. One day, Venkat brought home a dog. It was actually a cute little puppy. It was supposed to be not only a pet, but also a guard dog. It was an Alsatian. Venkat seemed pretty excited about the dog. He took the dog to the vet for its shots and for some medical advice. I knew this because hectic preparations were made before it was driven to the vet's. And then came a lot of dog supplies. Bowls for its food, toys, rubber bones and such things. As soon as the cute pup entered my neighbor's house, it became a favorite of the entire family. Mine too. No one could help falling in love with it. It was sweet and friendly but its eyes showed bravery and fierceness. It was named Jean. Soon, I made friends with Venkat. It began by me patting the dog as it stood near the gate, and slowly Venkat and I became good friends. The friendship had more to do with I wanting to be close to Jean than for any particular liking for Venkat. I am by nature a shy person and find it difficult to carry on a conversation with anyone. But now, I found it easy to speak to Venkat. Mainly because we had a common topic to talk about -- Jean. The only reason I began visiting Venkat's house was because I wanted to meet Jean everyday. I thought she was the most beautiful living creature God had created. Anyone who saw Jean would immediately fall in love with her. As months went by, Jean grew bigger. She also grew very mischievous. One day, she took Venkat's grandpa's spectacles and hid it under the bed. Poor grandpa couldn't find his spectacles without his spectacles! If anything was lying around, Jean would find a 'safe' place for it. It was like having a naughty little baby at home, always inquisitive and up to something. It was Venkat's responsibility to train Jean. Each time Jean did something naughty, Venkat would say in a stern voice, "Naughty Girl!" and would pretend to be angry. Jean was a fast-learner and quickly understood what was right and what was wrong. Two years passed by. Now, I couldn't imagine life without Jean. My day was not complete without meeting her. I had begun to feel a positive change in my personality because of her. Meanwhile, I had changed my job for a better salary and a more relaxed life. This gave me more time to spend with Jean. For the first time in life, I had begun to love someone. Deeply and truly. Early one morning in March, Venkat told me that Jean would soon become a mother. How soon she had grown! I was overjoyed to hear the news. This was because I had begun to think of Jean as my own child. I could not express my love and affection for Jean. That day at office, another bit of good news was awaiting me. I was to be sent to Frankfurt, Germany for six months on a rigorous training program. I felt it was part of the positive change Jean had brought in me. People at work had taken notice of my abilities. My only regret in going to Frankfurt was that I would be separated from my dear Jean. I did not know how I would be able to bear it. Somehow, six months passed and I returned to Chennai on September 16. Don't ask me why I have mentioned the date and the month. I came home from the airport, took a quick shower and rushed to Venkat's house. I couldn't wait to see Jean after six, long months of separation. When I saw Jean, I couldn't believe my own eyes. She had given birth to four, cute little pups. They were as cute as how Jean had looked when I first saw her. I was too happy to speak. After I had regained my composure, Venkat told me that he would be giving the pups away. It chilled my spine. "I'm sorry to say this Kumar, but I won't be able to keep them here because I'm planning to extend the house," he said. "The backyard is lying waste and we need more space. The construction is going to cost us a lost. Perhaps selling the pups might help our finances." Tears filled my eyes. But there was nothing I could do. My room was too small for me to house the pups. Alsatians require a lot of room to play about. And I would be away at work most of the day with no one to take care of them. Soon, the pups were given away, and there was a perceptible change in Jean. Other changes took place, too. Venkat migrated to the US. Though Venkat's grandmother took care of Jean, I noticed that Jean was not herself. She missed her pups, and more than anything else, she missed Venkat terribly. She was getting restless by the day. I could tell. Within a month or so, Jean began to itch and lose fur. When she was taken to the vet, he informed us that Jean had developed a dermal disease that was incurable. The itches and scratches were growing day by day. I was witnessing Jean sinking. Two months later, Jean found a quiet place for her end. Though I was prepared for this, my heart broke when she died. I felt as though something priceless had been stolen from me. Oh, how much I loved Jean! A year later, a French dermatologist found a cure for the disease Jean had developed. I only wished Jean could have lived a little longer. 1330 words.