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July 2nd, this day is the one day which always has Fangchu lost in thoughts just wandering “What could the Surprise be?” It’s Fangchu’s 12th birthday and like every child he is filled with excitement and curiosity. His little sister gave him a beautiful card which she made herself. She beautifully drew a young boy planting a sapling and wrote Happy Birthday and along with the card she gave him a rose plant as she knew her brother would have yelled at her for cutting the flower.
Having the luxury of being driven home in a school bus he preferred to cycle to and fro everyday to school and back home. Riding back home, lost in his thought regarding his birthday gift he wondered what the surprise was which his Dad was talking about. Could it be an autograph from Saina Nehwal or Ashwini Ponappa, as off late he has been playing a lot of Badminton, or may be a remote control car or may be a Solar charger making kit. What could it be?
Suddenly his thoughts were broken by a noisy rustle behind the bush. Fangchu stopped. Being a curious child by nature, his curiosity was accompanied by a little fear and adventure. His take on life was to find excitement and adventure in every little thin. This was one such day. He stepped off his bike and walked towards the bush. As he went closer to the bush the rustle stopped. He reached the bush and to his surprise he saw the most adorable sight. It was a golden brown pup.
Fangchu kneeled down and leaned closer to the little pup. Fangchu found the pup behind the bush with a twig in his mouth; it seemed the twig was his most prised possession as he wanted to hide it in the little pit that the pup had dug. Fangchu called him “Tweego” and the pup seemed to love his new name too. He barked reassuringly and wagged his tail.
Fangchu carried Tweego and put him inside his school bag and zipped it leaving only a little room for Tweego to breathe. He reached home and to everyone’s surprise instead of asking about his gift he ran straight to his room, shut the room and took Tweego to the wash room. He wandered whether he should wash him first or show Tweego to his parents or feed him. He realised that since Tweego was dirty his Ma would throw a fit so he first cleaned Tweego.
Fangchu finally steps out of his room to meet his parents in the living room who are worried about his strange behaviour. They are used to Fangchu returning from school and hugging his ma and telling her all about his day. His ma asked him what the matter was. He told her that it was nothing and he wanted to know what his surprise gift was. His body was tensed with fear of losing his new found friend. He told his father, “Daddy, Ma I know you have a surprise for me and am really excited for my gift but i also have a surprise for you which i will show you after you give me my gift.”
His sister quickly went and shut his eyes and kissed him and said “ ‘appy Birthday Bhaiya, see what Ma Daddy got you”. He moved her hand in excitement and saw it was his very own “Composting Kit” along with gardening tools and a book on “How to recycle waste”. He was very happy and filled with excitement and was so content to know how loving his parents were who supported his little Green Dream.
Fangchu was still basking in his birthday surprise when his sister asked him “ ‘Bhaiya now your turn. ‘urprise ‘urprise”. Fangchu looked at his parents who were waiting eagerly with a big smile for his surprise. He said, “Dad, Ma thank you very much for my gift. i love them a lot. Before i show you my surprise i just want you to know that whatever your decision is i will respect it but i also would like to say that i really want to keep him.” His parents were a little puzzled but were keen to know what he was talking about. He asked them to follow him to his room and he opened the door of his room and to their surprise it was a little golden brown pup sleeping peacefully on Fangchu’s wash room door mat. Fangchu looked at his parents and told them the story of how he found Tweego and how he gave him the name.
“Daddy, Ma could we keep Tweego please? I love bhaiya’s gift.” His little sister asked with a puppy face. Fangchu’s parents agreed and gave the kids a warm hug, while they quietly looked at their new family member sleep.
