"Woof, that was so good," Aalo clapped as they landed back into the starry sky. The moon was still smiling from a distance and the dreams were twinkling in their vicinity.

"Where to next?" Pompom asked, pointing to the floating scintillations.

"That one," Aalo pointed to a glowing blue dream which looked interesting.

"Right then," Pompom clicked his long fingers and the bluish glow grew wider and enveloped them.

And they landed in an empty street. There was not a soul in sight. The streetlights flickered in and out, and the chilly gusts of wind tickled Aalo's fear.

"This is a bad dream," Aalo whispered to Pompom. "Let's get out of here."

"We can't jump out before a minimum of twenty minutes," Pompom stuttered, looking around. The hair on his arms and on his body rose suddenly.

"I don't like the look of this dream," Aalo whimpered.

"Because this is a nightmare. Don't talk. Follow me," Pompom shushed her. They started plodding along the concrete road. Their feet echoed in the night's stillness. The sky was pitch black with no moon and no stars.

Something scurried in the dark. Aalo whelped and grabbed Pompom's hand tightly. A few empty cardboard boxes toppled over suddenly and they jumped. Then they heard a little squeak and a tiny nose emerged. Its whiskers twitched.

"Phew! A rat." Aalo heaved a sigh.

"Eek a rat," Pompom screamed, hiding behind Aalo.

"You're afraid of rats?" Aalo adjusted her glasses, looking curiously at the Gyppie.

"Yes, one of them bit me when I was hiding under your bed," Pompom trembled like a leaf in a storm, as he clutched Aalo's legs from behind.

"I remember. It chewed my favourite cushion and one of my dresses too," she mused, taking a step forward.

"Bad rat, shoo." She waved a hand at the rat. It stood still, not moving at all.

Meow

A raucous screech broke through the night. A black cat dropped in from somewhere and gulped the rat. Only its tail swung outside the cat's maw, and it turned its head slowly to glance at Aalo and Pompom. The yellow eyes of the cat glowed in an unearthly light. It blinked twice and then jumped up on the wall, disappearing as fast as it had come.

"Serves it right, nasty creature," Pompom mumbled, coming out from behind Aalo.

"That is not fair." Aalo was almost close to tears. "Why did it have to eat the rat?"

"Because that is the cat's meal. Haven't you read about the food chain in school?" Pompom sounded surprised.

"But the cat can drink milk too. Why pick the rat?" Aalo said again, her body shaking from the suddenness of the entire hunt.

"Do you love chicken or fish?" Pompom asked.

"I do, but why?"

"Well, if you can eat a fish or a chicken and don't like veggies, why can't the cat eat the rat?" Pompom shrugged.

"Wait, but that is different." Aalo gestured weakly.

"How?" Pompom placed his hands on his waist, waiting for an answer.

"It is the same," Aalo sighed finally.

"Listen." Pompom gently dragged her down by her hand. "It is okay. The predator and prey system has been running before humans even evolved on earth. The strong prey on the weak and it is the way of nature. There is nothing anyone can do about it. It has to go on like this. The snake eats the rat, the bird eats the snake, the human eats the bird and something if comes after the humans in this evolutionary chain, can eat the humans too."

"It's scary." Aalo shuddered.

"The real-world living outside of our dreams is certainly scary," Pompom agreed.

"How old are you?" Aalo asked the Gyppie.

"I'll turn ten this summer."

"Oh my god, you are so much older than me." Aalo blinked.

"Age doesn't matter in a friendship. What we learn from each other in this journey of friendship matters." Pompom squinted his eyes in a smiling gesture.

And then the howls started. It waxed and waned, rising in a crescendo of notes. The shrill voice groaned as it seemed to come from all sides as they stood on the empty street. Aalo's eyes widened in fear as she huddled closer to Pompom.

"W-what i-is it?" she stammered.

"Maybe t-the w-wind," Pompom replied unsurely.

"Or a ghost," Aalo wailed.

They started moving then, as fast as their legs could carry them. The sound didn't reduce, but kept on increasing. Aalo could feel warm tears on her cheek. She was afraid- well and truly afraid.

And then they stopped moving as something stirred in the darkness ahead of them. They picked up a soft thud and more howls. Aalo turned around, ready to sprint in the opposite direction.

"Wait," Pompom said, grabbing her palm. "Someone needs our help."

"I'm helping no one," Aalo wailed, dragging her hand. "I need to save myself first."

"But that is just plain selfish," Pompom seemed angry.

"Well, I've heard my Maa say that it is better to be selfish than be sorry. The world is full of traps," Aalo said in a grown-up tone, folding her hands.

"Your mother really told that to you?" Pompom raised both bushy eyebrows.

"She was speaking on the phone," Aalo said confidently.

"And you were eavesdropping. Didn't your mother teach you not to listen in on the adult conversation?" Pompom raised his voice.

"I don't care," Aalo made a face. "I am not that young and I need to know."

Pompom shrugged. "You listen to half conversations and draw inferences. I'm sure your mother might not have meant it in the way you interpreted it. The adult world is more complex, trust me. They do not mean what they say every time."

The wailing increased as they peered closely into the dark. A sack was rolling on the dark street and something was howling inside it.

"Do you mean the adults lie?" Aalo pointed.

"Not really, but some days they don't tell the real truth," Pompom said, moving a step towards the sack.

"Don't." Aalo held his hand, trying to drag him back.

"We need to help whatever that is which needs aid. Helping someone is always good."

Pompom broke free from her grip and cautiously went towards the sack. Aalo hung a little back, curious but frightened still. The sack was closed with a thick rope. Pompom beckoned her silently, and they pulled the knot from both ends as the tie fell away. Aalo jumped back again as a small dog rolled out. It opened its mouth, letting its tongue hang out as it panted loudly. The dog looked miserable and hungry. Its ribs were prominent beneath a taut skin, and there was something forlorn about its eyes.

"That's your ghost." Pompom laughed.

Aalo giggled nervously. The dog looked from one to the other, its soft brown eyes shining. Then it tried to stand up, but its front right leg bent awkwardly under its weight and it fell back on the cement road.

"This one broke its leg. We need to help it." Pompom got up, looking around.

"We can call anyone from the nearby houses," Aalo said.

"I don't see any lights on. We can't go knocking at random houses," Pompom said, peering around. "Can you go find a piece of cloth, or anything to tie its foot? I'll stay with it and drag it away from the road."

"I don't understand why we need to split up in this unknown dream, just to help a stray dog," Aalo whined.

"Because what goes around, comes around always. What you give, will invariably come back to you. That's what my mom says," Pompom replied.

"Fine," Aalo grunted, wandering ahead. She looked on either side of the road. There was nothing. She glanced back doubtfully at Pompom who was struggling to drag the dog away from the street. Despite his tiny size, Pompom never gave up. It made Aalo smile. Something was charming about that monster that made him an instant friend material. Aalo felt comfortable in his presence. Her fear of the dark was melting away too. She really wanted to help the poor dog.

A few metres ahead, a heap of garbage was dumped on the side of the road, a typical picture of Indian cities. The pile stank like anything but Aalo spotted some twisted pieces of cloth in the dump. Holding her breath, she tugged at one end of the material, which came free. It was an old, worn-out dupatta. Someone had discarded it because of a big hole right in the middle of it. It was so dirty that it was difficult to discern the original colour. Aalo's stomach heaved at handling that dirt, but she knew this had to be done. She bundled up the rag and ran back to where Pompom had managed to drag the dog to the footpath under the streetlight.

She held out the cloth to him. Admiration shone in big eyes.

"Now how do we tie it?" He scratched his chin.

"I know. They taught us basic first aid bandage in school, for when we fall if our mothers are not at home," Aalo said proudly, taking up the cloth tearing it along the middle. Then they both worked together, rolling up the cloth multiple times, trying their best to set the leg straight. After almost five minutes of wrapping, opening and folding again, they sat back and surveyed their handiwork.

Pompom gave her a high-five as they held hands and jumped twice.

"We did it," Aalo beamed.

"Hopefully, someone will find him in the morning and take care of him." Pompom looked at his watch.

"It's almost time to leave, isn't it?" Aalo insisted.

"Yes, we can get going." Pompom held out his hand.

Someone screamed just then.

Aalo froze. It was the shrill voice of a lady.

Pompom eyes the alley closest to them dubiously. They nodded at each other as they cautiously crept forward, keeping to the shadows.

A woman in her mid-forties was clutching her handbag and screaming her lungs out as a heavy man tugged at it relentlessly. The man's face was covered with a black handkerchief and there was something cruel in his eyes.

"That's Shivani Aunty from the other block. She comes to the park and talks to Maa," Aalo mumbled.

"We need to do something," Pompom whispered back.

"But what-"

Aalo's words stayed in her mouth because at that moment, the man turned back suddenly and his eyes narrowed at them.

"Run," Aalo screamed, dragging pompom as they broke into a free run. But the man was faster. Just as they reached the main street, the man caught her from behind, and lifted her off the ground.

"Let me go," she wailed, throwing her hands and legs.

"Stop screaming." He clapped a big hand over her mouth.

A stone whizzed at him from somewhere. Hitting his head.

The man just snarled in pain, still holding on to a squirming Aalo.

"Let me go," she tried to say through the hand gagging her. Pompom threw more stones which only enraged the big man. He stepped forward and kicked pompom aside like a rag doll. Pompom mewed and whimpered, clutching his belly, as the man advanced on him again.

Aalo bit the inside of his palm just then, as he howled in pain, letting her drop suddenly. Aalo hit the ground badly, her elbow taking the fall. She heard a sickening crack, followed by a blinding pain as her hand twisted at an angle.

The big man came towards them again, a big meaty hand reaching out to grab Aalo.

Something shot out from the dark and aimed straight for his outstretched hand. The man howled and staggered back. Aalo could see blood spurting from a deep U-shaped teeth mark on his wrist. He muttered something under his breath.

A dog barked from somewhere as it sprung on him again, this time going for his face. He promptly turned around and started running. The limping dog chased after him for a second, before he disappeared completely.

"Aalo, we need to get out," Pompom warned.

Aalo reached out with her good hand and held Pompom's hand. The last thing she saw before the dark came in was that the dog had one foot wrapped in a dirty dupatta.

What goes around, comes around.

The words of Pompom kept ringing in her ears as they floated out of the dream.

❤️❤️❤️