I counted my fingers, a ritual before weekends and vacations. This time, it announced the upcoming vacation; tomorrow is my last annual exam. Mom caught on, saying, "I know what you're counting on." I smirked, and she laughed. Suddenly, Lakshmi, our cow, playfully called my mom "Moo." Mom, on her way, replied, "I'm coming.”

Lakshmi is remarkably punctual. Without understanding how to check the time, precisely at 8 PM, she calls Mom for food. Despite being a cow – sorry, we don't see her that way, except for my dad, who treats her like an animal – Lakshmi is family to me and Mom. Mom often says, "Lakshmi is like my elder sister. She, too, came from another house, just like me." Lakshmi escaped to her birthplace twice. This angered my dad, but my mom explained, "Look at the love and loyalty she has towards her owner. After a few weeks under my care, Lakshmi adapted to life here.”

My mom frequently compared herself to Lakshmi. Whenever she disagreed with Dad, she would visit Lakshmi and spend time with her. On a day they fought, Mom cried, and she returned to see Lakshmi. I went there to console her, and on that day, she shared, "My family sold me here, just like Lakshmi. I attempted to escape three times, but after a few months, I also adapted to this life.”

I didn't understand why my father behaved this way. Once, I asked my mom why Dad acted strangely. She told me he consumed a poisonous drink that transformed him from a man to an animal. I questioned if he was aware of this, and she explained that he was unconscious after drinking the poison. "Don't hate your dad for this, okay? Even in this situation, he loves you," Mom said. With that in mind, Mom instructed, "Just go to Lakshmi, say good night, then head to bed. You have an exam tomorrow." Yes, I did. I visited Lakshmi, kissed her forehead, and bid her good night. Lakshmi licked my face, and, as usual, she "mooed" once to wish me good night. I lay in bed, eyes closed for a long time, but sleep eluded me. My thoughts lingered on Lakshmi, her entry into our house, and the kindness she showed.

In our village, cows and bulls are usually only approached by their owners. If any stranger goes near, they tend to get defensive. However, Lakshmi is different; she welcomes everyone warmly and loves everyone. That's why Lakshmi is a favourite among all our neighbours. Some villagers even got jealous because Lakshmi produces 8 to 9 litres of milk per day. Currently, Lakshmi is pregnant, and within a week, we are expecting a female calf.

In our village, there's a Mindset that a woman must give birth to a baby boy for the family head to earn respect. Similarly, a cow is expected to give birth to a female calf for the same reason. If Lakshmi gives birth to a male calf again, my father plans to sell her.

This Mindset has made my father anxious, especially about me being a girl. I believe this anxiety led him to drink the poison more frequently.

I forgot to share a special thing about Lakshmi. She amazes me daily. My father, a farmer, adores the fields more than home. Every morning, he takes Lakshmi to the field, where she enjoys eating grass and making friends there. It's my responsibility to bring her home from the field. The challenging part is untying the tightrope knots, a task my dad usually handles. Once Lakshmi is free, she walks straight home without grazing in other fields.

Sometimes, I'd sit on her. Lakshmi never got upset; she carried me gently, giving me a ride home. I often marvelled at Lakshmi's patience. When we decided on a name, I chose Lakshmi. I disliked the name because of my strict class teacher, who often scolded us, likening us to cows. But the Lakshmi in our house, I love. Reflecting on that, I'm smiling now. A few minutes later, I fell asleep.

Still, the moon in the sky, my mom calls, "Sweetie, wake up." She shook me awake. It's hard to wake up. After a few seconds, I opened my eyes. My mom was crying. At first, I thought this was a bad dream, but it was real. My mom's cry shattered my sleep. I asked her, "What happened?" "Lakshmi is missing," she said. I didn't know how to react. My mom is shivering, completely lost; she can't stop crying. Still, I don't know what to do.

"Can you go find her?" Mom said. I nodded and left the house, taking a torch with me. For the first time, I left home at this time. Usually, I was very scared to go alone. I went to every field out there, surrounded by our village. For a day, we got a mirror image on the road. But in this dark, I feel Lakshmi everywhere. Where is she? Lakshmi knows the way home. I just stopped suddenly at the border of the graveyard. I never came this far. Still, I have fear, but comparing the situation, I lost; I want to bring Lakshmi back. I just crossed the graveyard and searched everywhere. I failed my mission. I am not able to find Lakshmi. I went back home. While entering my home, there was a huge crowd. I heard my mom's lamenting. My dad also went out to find Lakshmi. Few people consoled my mom. My neighbour Aunty said, "You don't have school today?" I just came to know I have an exam today. I didn't revise anything. Hurriedly, I got ready and went back to my school. I sat in the classroom. My class teacher, Lakshmi, gave me a question paper. I looked at her. She remembered my Lakshmi. I was very happy yesterday, and suddenly I got a huge sadness. I just cried in front of everyone. Teacher Lakshmi doesn't have an idea why I'm suddenly crying. She just tried to make me calm. And finally, I did. The teacher said, "Just write your exam; we will discuss it later." The very first time I listened to her, I started to write my exam. The question paper was easy, but I answered 70% of the answers. I wanted to leave immediately.

What if my dad found Lakshmi while I was in school? I just filled out my answer sheet and went back home soon. The house is locked.

Mom and Dad both went to find Lakshmi. My neighbour Aunty saw that I was sitting in front of my house. She took me to her house and gave me lunch. I wanted to deny it, but I am really hungry now. I ate it completely. Aunty kissed me for that and said, "Sweetie, just get some rest now, and your parents will get Lakshmi soon, okay?" I nodded. After several minutes, I went to sleep. I am very tired today. Just some voices I heard, and I woke up and went back to my home, same as the morning. The huge crowd surrounded my house. To get close, a huge voice and some people are shouting like huge. In between, I hear my Dad’s voice. I struggled to get near my dad. He saw and lifted and held me in his hands. I am in a position to watch his face closely. Dad’s eyes were red, and his cheek vibrated with rage. He shouted at someone. Exactly he was standing opposite to me. "Some bad words which I couldn’t understand." Dad looked at my face and him again. "You are the reason for my daughter's suffering today." Dad still couldn’t control himself and he kicked that guy. That guy flew and fell on the crowd. He is none other than my relative uncle. Few came there to stop my Dad. Again, he shouted at him. "How can you steal something from your relative?" One elder uncle came to Dad. "Leave it, you got your cow back." After listening to this, I jumped to the floor. I went back to my house and got tears and I called Lakshmi. She heard me and replied, "Moooo, moooo." My mom was there. I tightly hugged Lakshmi.

She came back. Mom was just in her happy tears. There were also so many ladies standing and watching me. I looked at my mom. She understands my look. She said, "Sweetie, you know what Lakshmi did? We went to find her; a few people said today there was a cattle market open, so just go and check out if someone stole it; they will sell it over there. We both looked at a few markets; we lost hope and suddenly some of your dad’s friends said to go to one more place which is 40 miles away from here. We went separate to find her. I couldn't find anything; I was back at the entrance; your dad looked out; there were so many cows and bulls similar to Lakshmi. He lost his hope, and he was on the way; suddenly he heard a sound. One cow mooed continuously. He looked at it. That was our Lakshmi who watched your dad and called him continuously. Your father went there and inquired who took her here, and that agent guy gave the name of this rascal. I was stunned at how long she went, and she found my dad and called him for help.

My mom shared this event repeatedly with our people. My dad came here, and he was emotional and lifted and held in his hands. Walked closely to Lakshmi, and he nicely touched Lakshmi, and Lakshmi licked his hands. I, for the first time, had seen my dad’s tears.

He said to my mom, "You know while she is calling me ‘moo…moo,’ I heard it like ‘Daddy…Daddy.’” My mom also cried for this. I think, finally, my dad accepted Lakshmi as a family member. I called Lakshmi; she replied, "Moo."

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