Second Chance (Vol.1) Squandered

33: Spinoff - Flu@17 and 7 months

(Hi - Parts 31-39 are on the spinoff characters Clu and Flu. Aditya enters their lives in part 34. To continue with the AdiYa story jump to part 41- yours truly MissWW)

Clu was so tickled...

Clu was seated cross-legged on the car bonnet and was laughing her head off. M2 protested loudly if Flu went anywhere near the car. M2 also protested if Flu tried to take her off her shoulder.

Flu had only asked tentatively if she could bring M2 along. Clu's travel agent had pulled a lot of strings in the last 1 hour to arrange bookings and permissions for the kitty's passage and an air-travel-cat-carrier mobile-capsule. But he only looked amused at Flu's dilemma and seemed open to either outcome.

Many years later Flu would realize that after serving time with Clu one reaches a Zen-like state.

Flu looked at her new sister in awe. She did not look like a girl who had lost her mom 15 days ago. But when Clu had hugged her, Flu had felt the immense pain that was not visible to others, shrouded behind Clu's flippant facade. The hug told Flu, "I feel your pain. I know your pain. We are in this together" with an intensity that a thousand words could not have ever communicated.

What was true? What her eyes saw now or what her heart felt then.

Clu travelled with a team of lawyers, travel agents and general staff. But then the nature of Clu's current trip was both personal and official. Clu had not come to attend any condolence meeting. She had come to take Flu home.

It was sheer chance that Clu had reached on time for the condolence meeting which she then attended just for the kick of it and to give Flu company. Clu had started the legal process to become Flu's guardian when she was here to arrange the 3 funerals. She had been only waiting for Flu to regain consciousness.

In a matter of hours with the assistance of the general staff Flu had decided what to give away to neighbours, to the Church charity, throw away and pack for Paris. New forwarding address instructions were left at the local post-office. Bigger decisions like property and investments were put on hold until after Flu was 18.

Passage for the 4 heavy earthern urns had been arranged. The lawyers would see what was appropriate for the cremains in consultation with Clu and Flu after reaching Paris. Clu was still undecided. She had placed her Mom's urn in Mom's room in Paris.

Clu jumped off the bonnet, dusted her hands and seat of her suit and advised Flu to ignore M2's protests and simply sit in the car. M2 gave a yowling performance but scampered out of the car and shot into the house. The neighbours promised to look after her. Flu gave a last look at the home where she had mourned one tragedy after another.

Their journey to Paris was uneventful. Clu took Flu under her wing like a mother hen. The following week was spent in and out of all kinds of offices with agents and/or lawyers. By the end of the week Flu's affairs were all in order. Also Clu was Flu's official guardian till Flu turned 18.

Lawyers advised them to bury the 5 cremains at the family cemetery on Clu's ancestral property.

Clu's ancestral property was a good 4-5 hours drive from Paris. They started early even before sunrise. After they had left the city of Paris far behind and the landscape began to grow less urban they stopped at an inn for coffee and breakfast.

Clu discovered Flu was vegan after placing the coffee order. They indulged in a hearty heavy organic country spread. On their way out, Clu woke up an unlucky tramp outside the inn and forced him to have Flu's rejected hot coffee with generous toppings of all things non-vegan: milk cream, white chocolate and marshmallows.

Clu asked Flu if she needed to know anything else about her. Flu held her tongue. Overt or covert, either ways her past would only suck Clu into the unknown realms of Flu's curse.