Redux (Discontinued)

Behind The Mask

Mom. Don't leave.'

He never said it.
And the lady who had given birth to him never heard it.

But that was no reason for her to not stay.
She'd left anyway, taking with her every resemblance of normal from his life.
His dad's occasional sip of " juice" had turned to a full blown a bottle a day at the bar.
And once he'd ran out of the wine in the cellar at home, there were bottles and bottles of beer in the fridge.

Randhir shuddered, remembering the burn of beer down his throat. The taste of the beer from the bottle he'd shared with his father a day back still lingered on his tongue. And it was not a pleasant taste to remember.

The loud buzz of a cellphone cut through the silence in the room.

Not again.
Randhir pulled the blanket over his head.

"Haan Baa. Good morning." Jiggy's voice was heavy from sleep but still happy.
Happy to hear his mother's voice.
Randhir felt his jaw tighten.
"Jii. Jii Baa. First Day hain Haan Baa, Ashirwad..." Jiggy thankfully returned to his mothertongue, sparing Randhir the horror of listening to a loving conversation between a mother and a child.
Not that Randhir knew what a loving mother was supposed to be like.
He scoffed.
"Haan Baa. Randhir hain mere sath. Aap chinta mat karo." Jiggy sighed.
Randhir knew that the boy was rolling his eyes, tired with his mother's repeated reminders about little things like washing his clothes, wearing clean underpants and having his meals.
Luckily he, Randhir, did not have to deal with such things. On the other hand he hardly had a mother who cared about him. After all, a woman who cares about her son would never up and leave the house. She would never stay away from him for 10 years and she'd atleast try to contact him.
If she cared.
But it was clear Renuka Saniyal did not.
"They are all the same, those career oriented woman. Do yourself a favour and marry a woman who knows her place. And make sure she stays in her place. I loved your mother too much and it blinded me son."
Randhir heard his father's slurred advice ring in his ears everytime he thought of love.
"Love. Bah." Randhir hissed.

"Did you say anything RD?" Jiggy raised an eyebrow.
"No. Your ears must be ringing. What's the time?" Randhir got out of bed.
"Almost seven." Jiggy looked at his Titan watch.
Baa had gifted an identical one to Randhir. He hardly ever wore it, afraid of getting attached to the kind yet strict lady. Attachments were the root cause of all suffering.
Jiggy however, wore his watch religiously.
"We should get going. I can't afford to be late." Randhir got out of bed and grabbed his towel.
"Yes yes, Rank One pride and all that. I wish you'd loosen up and be normal for one. Then maybe Baa won't push me to be like you" Jiggy muttered.
"See you at lunch Jiggy." Randhir was out of the door.
The door closed with a bang.

' hope to God's sake there won't be another Vishad incident here. If anyone crosses RD and gets on his wrong side...God help us all.'Jiggy frowned.
His Phone buzzed again.
"Haan Baa, I'm definitely up.... No RD is up too...Yes Baa I know I have classes at eight. I need to take a bath. Jai Sri Krishna Baa."

Jiggy sighed.
His mom cared too much about him.
And Randhir's cared too little.

His phone buzzed again.
Jiggy almost howled.
Was there no justice in the world anymore?
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A/N: Hello to anyone who is still with Redux so far. And thank you so much for reading.
I always feel that the male protagonist is something that is always portrayed as more arrogant and heartless than the female one.
I'm going to try to make both of them arrogant and emotional. Because there is always shades of pain and anger in all of us.
Do tell me of the sad/tired Randhir makes you upset. I feel that he would naturally be that way because of his family.