It came years ago,

A grey comet of fur and mischief,
Landing on their quiet lane
With the confidence of a visiting dignitary.

No one knew why it chose
Chaube. The hermetic bachelor,

Sitting on his balcony

Drinking his morning tea.

The langoor appeared
Like a shadow with opinions,
Snatching fruit, upending buckets,

Staring Chaube down

With a hooligan’s intent.

Neighbors gathered and whispered about 

resemblances, 

Chaube’s simian features.
Was there a cosmic connection?
Or did the langoor simply enjoy
The symphony of Chaube’s startled yelps.

After weeks of harassment,

The forest department arrived,

Nets, tranquilizer, paperwork,

And the langoor was gone

Leaping back into the wild,

Leaving behind a jumpy man 

To unlearn the fear of grey tails

Temper and thumping visits.

Years pass.

Peace returns.

Solitary life resumes.

Tea is sipped without incident.

And then,

The langoor is back.

This time with a baby….

As if fatherhood has crawled 

Out of the trees to claim Chaube.

And poor blushing, slinking Chaube
Avoids his chuckling neighbors,
Knowing full well
The entire lane is doing the math
And trespassing on his silence.