Short Story: Potla’s Happy Birthday by Madhumita Roy

Madhumita Roy’s short story is poignant, heart-warming and a beautiful reminder about how love is the only thing in life that can heal the deepest of wounds.

“Potla !!!” He could hear Bhalo baba’s voice from a distance. “Look, I have got ruti, tadka for you. Come.” As Bhalo baba was getting nearer, Potla could hear each word clearly with his big ears. Rumail ruti and tadka were indeed appetizing, particularly as cooked by Babai kaku in mutton fat in his fast-food shop. The spicy tadka wrapped in paper-thin rumali ruti would just melt into your mouth, and Potla could die for it. But now, possibly the little soul in front of him needed help, so it didn’t die. It was tiny but still screaming its lungs out. “Maybe, this one is lost,” Potla thought. The furs on the kitten were standing up. It was black, and nobody would have noticed it in the dark corner of the small field, now piled with garbage, had not been for its robust and piercing meowing. Thankfully, Potla frequented this part of the para when he felt sad. Although being sad was not Potla’s ideal way of being, today, something good might come of it.