June 15. “Dost sent me an email.”

“Really! And what did he say, Button?”

“Read on—Hi, Button. How have you been? And where are you these days? I don’t see you as often as I used to. Hope all’s well with you. Don’t you come out to play with Rani and Mowgli anymore? Hope Rani has not chased you away with her bad breath! Stay well. I still remember the way you hugged me. Recollect the pillow fight we had and how angry the lady of the house got? Write. And come chat with me once in a while. Miss you. Dost.”

“How cute. And what did you write in return?”

“I told him I was well. I also told him not to say such bad things about Rani and that I am at home just as I used to be and he misses seeing me because he’s so busy. I also told him something that I am dreading will make you very angry.”

“I can guess what you are hinting at. Are you talking about the pillow fights?”

“I told him we can pillow fight whenever he has the time.”

“I’ll kill you the next time you tear my pillows.”

“You two just got back from feeding Shabby and the others. What took you so long today?”

“Two out of the five were missing. We’ve not seen Sin since yesterday. Hope he’s okay.”

“Must be hiding somewhere to escape the rains.”

“Can you call this rain? It’s more like a frog pissing in a well.”

“What’s does that mean?”

“It’s an expression that describes scanty rainfall.”