Chapter 5: The Institute and the Final Test

Once the cat woke up, I took it to Rohan’s office. He works at an animal research institute in Pune with a menagerie of animals, but none of them are pets. When Rohan saw my cat, he gave it a long, appraising look. Instantly, the cat’s fur bristled, its back arching high as if facing a mortal enemy.

The corridor smelled of Dettol and boiled eggs, and distant dogs barked in the kennels. Rohan, in his white lab coat, looked more like a mad scientist than ever.

Rohan put on gloves and grabbed the cat by the scruff. It tried to wriggle free, but Rohan held firm, glancing at me. “Do you know why it’s reacting like this?”

He held it expertly, while the cat glared at him with narrowed, murderous eyes, its tail fluffed up like a bottle brush.

I nodded. “It’s afraid of people.”

Trying to sound confident, my voice still came out small. The cat hissed, agreeing with neither of us.

Rohan shook his head. “No. If a cat’s just scared of people, it runs or hides. Bristling like this means it sees me as a threat—it thinks I’m very dangerous.”

He set the cat gently on the exam table, gloved hand ready.

I remembered: people with a strong murderous aura—like butchers—make goats freeze at first sight. Maybe, since Rohan does animal experiments every day, the cat sensed it.

I recalled how, in our old neighbourhood, goats would fall silent when the Eid butcher arrived. Maybe animals really do sense these things. My cat, sensing danger, was no different.

I grew uneasy. “You’re not going to dissect it, are you?”

My voice was barely a whisper. Amma’s warnings about mad scientists flashed in my mind.

Rohan rolled his eyes. “Bas karo, yaar. We study animals, but we don’t harm them.”

He laughed, then put on a mock-serious face. “You think I’m Dr. Frankenstein or what?”

Still confused, I asked, “Then why is it so scared of you?”

I tried to steady my voice, but the room felt colder now.

Rohan grinned mischievously. “Ever tried something sneaky as a kid? And when your parents caught you, you knew your plan was about to be exposed? That’s the exact look your cat has now.”

He pointed at the cat, which stared at the floor, pretending not to care but clearly uncomfortable.

I looked—sure enough, it looked both angry and embarrassed.

Whiskers twitching, ears back, it kept glancing at the door as if plotting escape.

Rohan turned to me. “Next, I’ll run it through a series of tests. It… might have atavistic traits…”

He grinned, eyes shining with excitement. For the first time, I wondered—maybe my cat was just too smart for its own good. Or maybe, just maybe, Rohan was finally about to meet his match.

Rohan’s grin was almost wicked. My cat’s tail flicked once. In that moment, I realised—maybe I was the one being tested.