The silence of the dogs

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful house that the family members worked very hard to build. It was the result of the collective efforts of all the family members, sacrificing on their dreams and focusing their energies on securing a roof over the heads of all the family.

There were a lot of wild dogs in the street outside. Everyday, they barked aggressively and attacked people. Kids couldn’t safely play in the street. Guests were afraid of being attacked. They ate a major chunk of people’s food and even took away what wasn’t meant to be theirs. The dogs always tried to be allowed into the house so they could enjoy the comfort and also eat a lot of food. A few times, some family members made that mistake and then regretted it so much that they’d force these dogs back out.

The dogs got a taste of what was inside the house and they were no more willing to stay out on the streets. They were no more willing to put up with the bones and tiny bits of meat thrown at them by the house member. They wanted more and more of what was other people’s food and their hunger became limitless. They started attacking and barking more. Their noise became louder.

Some family members suggested that they should poison the dogs in order to get rid of the noise and the attacks. The family member who was in charge of keeping the house safe from external attacks was given the task of making the street peaceful by getting rid of the dogs using poisoned meatballs to be thrown at the dogs. He decided going against that route and came up with another plan.

The family had a beautiful dog that everyone loved and it lived with them inside the house. It was loyal to the family and always helped the family and worked for the family. The family’s well-being was more important to it than its own needs. They let it watch movies with them and also slept in the same room at times.

The family member in charge of the family safety decided to train this family dog to give a mean fight to the wild dogs out in the street. He trained the dog. The dog became very skilful and aggressive without losing the loyalty it had for the family. It became one mean dog. It was sent out to scare the wild dogs away to other neighborhoods so as to create peace here.

The wild dogs were taken by surprise by this beautiful dog fighting the fight. They also put up a mean fight. The loyal dog fought them all without caring for its safety. It attacked them one by one and scared them all. The wild dogs almost ran away until they decided to team up against this loyal one. They didn’t have loyalty or character but they had the numbers and they were mean by nature not by training. They fought a very mean and ugly fight and started hurting the loyal dog. Everyone started barking and shouting very loudly. The street became noisy, messy, dangerous and ugly. The family was scared and the member of the family in charge of safety started getting very nervous and furious. The noise was becoming unbearable.

Finally, he decided to use the poison anyway. But in the heat of the moment, he made the wrong move and gave it to the loyal dog. The loyal dog died instantly. The wild dogs stopped barking. Suddenly, it was quiet. The family needed a dog anyway, so he decided to bring the wild dogs inside the house. The noise stopped but the family was deeply aggrieved, furious and restless.

In the movie The Silence Of The Lambs, Jodie Foster wants the noise of the lamb to go away by doing good things for the society she calls home. This safety incharge, however, made the wrong turn by trying to make the noise of the dogs go away. This was his breaking bad moment.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 1^st, 2023.

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