I am tapping out a post for Microblog Monday when the phone rings shattering the silence and my concentration. There is no use going downstairs to pick it up, by then it would stop ringing, and anyway people who matter have my cell number, so I ignore it. Never mind that my cell phone is on silent mode always and no one can reach me on time ever when they try.

I pull my mind away from the shrill tones and start typing when the dog starts barking in the ‘there is someone at the gate’ way of hers. The young man at the gate waves a packet. The goodies I ordered for the dog have arrived earlier than expected.

The dog knows the drill when there’s someone at the gate, so stays put on the balcony giving occasional barks to let the man know what she would do in case he tried anything funny, while I myself walk downstairs to collect the parcel.

As soon as I have signed the receipt, the dog starts barking, urging me to get back upstairs, pronto. It has been so long, one whole minute since you went down, she says plaintively, I miss you.

I am hardly back in my seat when the dog starts the routine all over again.

This time it is the postwoman at the gate with an envelope. ‘Signature,’ she mouths and so I walk down. When I have signed and received, I step into the kitchen for some chips and buttermilk, the running up and down having made me hungry and thirsty.  The dog gets frantic at the unwarranted delay, ‘Where are you? Are you lost? Follow my voice!’ she hollers helpfully.

I drag myself upstairs and plonk on my chair. The dog starts barking AGAIN, there’s-someone-else-at-the-gate, she insists.

Not just hungry and thirsty I am now super cranky as well. No self-respecting blogger should be expected to deal with as many disturbances and write under such trying circumstances. In protest I munch a few, nay, a whole lot of chips, gulp down some buttermilk pondering on my next move. Shutting down the laptop, I grab the camera and walk out with the dog in tow, in search of butterflies and birds.

Pssst! Sowwy, this is way too long a post for Microblog Monday! 😀

©Shail Mohan 2016