The SUN - One shot

NEW

Brought out of ashes to riches from the slums of Dharavi to the respectable living in the eastern part of Mahim, his life was a mystery to many a naive observers !

His cheerful self would hardy reveal the hard work which went into achieving all he had today!

All but ...!!!

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I clearly remember the day I first saw him... 

I would have cheerfully begin with 'It was a lovely day with the sun shining high and bright.. Blah Blah Blah...' but frankly I don't care or remember how that day was... Because as it was - it was my first day at a NEW school in a NEW city and with completely NEW people...

Now in case you are wondering why is that such a big deal... Let me tell you something about myself in no uncertain terms. 

I had been a shy girl, a verrry shy girl since... Eternity...??? Yeah that quite sums it all...

I wasn't much of person to say so then... Life was going on and I was just floating along with it.. I used to watch people, observe them but never talk to them..I simply felt at a loss of words to start any conversation. Add to that my less than decent proficiency in English then and you get a complete package of "Shyness a.k.a. sometimes taken as Arroganceby others" combo. Those infectious bits of self derogation that inflict the mind and make it an easy target to the whims of inferiority complex were ruling high and wide within me. Thus, I was always happy to keep myself to me.

So when the time came for us to shift to a new city, I left behind whatever little respite of friends and fantasies of my observations I had, back and behind in my city and packed my bundle of fears to carry here!

Going to one of the best school in the city should have been a event of excitement but as the D-Day approached I could only find myself foreboding. 

Getting down from the school bus, as I quietly made my way to the interiors of the massive school building, I caught a figment of my imagination of a happy school scene transpiring in front of my very eyes.

Rustled black hair, dark brown eyes filled with an emotion so strong they simply seemed to speak "Life"; an erect stature, natural composure and that shadow of a smile which somehow always seemed to hover on his face even if he was in fact scowling... he seemed to be a perfect picture of a happy-go-lucky school kid to me...  The 'air of comfort' was something which he donned as if it were his family's hand-me-down invisibility cloak from Harry Potter.

Flamboyant as always.. He was animatedly chatting with his friends... Friends if I may say so.. Not until I had walked into my first class on settling in this new place called as the golden city of Mumbai did I realize that he wasn't really a part of this side of the world where everything was golden and glitzy...

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A/N - Yes... You will very soon know who he is... Have patience fellas!