Song of the Firebird

Five

So far, he couldn't find a simple excuse or make room to place a call, when Danny's eyes were constantly following him. His inner self had been reminding him that Natasha would come to his place that weekend and he had to go grocery shopping, besides cleaning his mess. His second-hand Corrado had other plans, rather than help it's owner. It won't start. He could do nothing but knot hand on his black mane and mutter inaudible profanities.

When Danny started rejecting his lover's calls, leaving nothing but a promising short text that he would get back, Jay could understand how much he owed to Danny for all the care and kindness when he needed the most. For a healthy bromance that they shared.

That evening, the crowd roared with boisterous laughter in the Hope Stadium. The comedian truly did his number on all the conservative and orthodox habits based on religion and race. Had the high priests and old hags listened to these tales, he was likely to be assigned a rag doll so that they could prick all over him, chanting dark magic. Sometimes, the world deserved a break from all the barriers that divided the entirety of the human race.

In the middle of the event, Jay's phone craved for attention, emitting a low vibration alert. He ignored it and decided to call back later. When the phone didn't seem to give up, incessantly vibrating for a whole minute or more, he excused himself and went to the restroom to respond. 

When he found a silent place, he took his phone and looked at the caller.

Jeeva.

Knowing that it was an ungodly hour in his brother's place and his brother was not the type of guy to stay awake for a long time, thanks to his sister-in-law and his daughter, he wondered what the matter was.

After a couple of rings, he picked up. 'Jeeva, hey, how are you all doing?'

Jeeva is Jay's big brother and they roughly have an age gap of seven years, to begin with. A protective big brother he is, took up farming in their family lands worth five hundred acres back in their hometown. He is always one step ahead of Jay in terms of settling in life. Age is another reason, though.

Before his mother's tragic accident, all the fortunes were equally shared between her two sons. Those properties were the dowry she received from her father on her wedding to Jay's and Jeeva's father. Her then late husband, Janarthana Kumaran, let his wife keep those lands for herself. He had a lot on his plate rather than manage the two hundreds more. That news did not settle well with their uncles, their mother's brothers. They were greedy enough to see more money from what their father had given to their sister. The fact that the rest of the property to be shared among the sons, enraged them more than anything else. They had been trying to procure the land and when their sister came to know of it, she wrote them in her will and the rest was history.

Though Jeeva was the one who was taking care of the agriculture with the help from a bunch of farming families, time-to-time, he sent over half of the profits, in terms of currency, to Jay's bank account. Jay could do nothing but protest. As long as he had a roof above his head, a few nice shirts to wear and food, he was okay with living in this complicated world. His own salary out of his education answered all his needs. He also began saving for his wedding. If things worked out well with Natasha, another box in his checklist would also be ticked. Together, he from his desk job and she from the café, they would be able to plan furthermore in their life. If that didn't work accordingly, he should have to wait for some time or agree to all those blind dates that Danny would set him up with.

Answering the call, Jay didn't talk for a long time. His lips parted and his eyes furrowed. He could feel the tension as his shoulder muscles tightened and closed his fist.

Grimly, he asked, 'Have you called Mr. Roy yet?'

A moment paused. He seemed unable to find answers to whatever questions his brother was asking. He collected his thoughts in the issue presented and slowly filled himself with the consequences that highlighted the incoming alarming instance.

'Can you hold for two days? Is it possible to buy some more time?'

Once again, there was no change in his emotions. He then continued, 'Okay. I will come back in the next flight or the one after. I will call you when I board. Stay safe, until then.'

Jay disconnected the call and looked at his phone for a long time. He felt that swearing didn't help after his last call. 

Sighing, he dialled Natasha's number. He hoped that talking to her lifted his burden for the moment. He smiled at the picture of her and June cuddling in his bed at his mobile screen. That was the first time they made love in his home. Home. He let out a sad smile when he had linked her to his home. All his wait went fruitless, when the call connected to the voicemail.

'Hey Tasha, it's me, Jay.. How are you? Hope everything is fine at your end. Erm, you see. Eh, how should I put this? Sigh. Okay. I am heading to my country for about a month, starting tomorrow, possibly. There was a family emergency and I had to be there. I hope I will be back soon. I will be. I cannot disclose anything over the phone, you know, it's very complicated and I will tell you the details as soon as I get back. I .. Uhm.. I'm sorry I had to go all of a sudden. I .. Damn! I am an idiot. Oh. . Hey. I missed you and I want to see you so bad right now. Gosh! Please, call me back if you get the voicemail. Damn! Damn! Damn! Sorry, baby. I love you.'

Jay groaned and screamed at the door. What bad had he done that it had to backfire him at triple-fold. He was getting the hang of life recently and now was being pushed deep into the pit. He steadied his breathing and came out of his hiding place. He hung his head and stared at the faucet for a long time. He didn't even notice people entering until a few droplets of water landed in face. He blinked and his right hand came in contact with the water droplet on his cheeks. The stranger beside him, noticed his actions and the reasons, muttered polite excuses.

And then there was Danny, thought Jay.

Danny might have known the superficial story in his textbook, but not in depth. He would now have a hard time conveying his departure. If Danny figured out the exact reason for his leaving the city, there would be chaos. He had to cook up a story, as soon as possible. It was only a matter of minutes before Danny entered the door. 

Jay had never been this anxious except for the last time he was drenched head-to-toe when locked inside the university men's restroom. That's what happened when he had to get into fist fights for defending a lower-caste junior from his classmate. Casteism is migraine in schools.

While Jay was fighting to come up with all sorts of believable lies, he didn't notice a silhouette closing behind him.

'Jay.'

Jay blanched and turned to the familiar owner of the voice.

Danny continued, 'Is there anything bothering you? I'm listening.' He stood, slumping beside one of the electric hand dryers.

Soon as their eyes met, sweat pricked him, running along his back from his nape. There was also a rat race between the breaths and words, anticipating whichever should come out first. Fists clenched and unclenched. Jay diverted his gaze towards the exit. 'We can talk somewhere else. I suppose this is not the place.' Jay wanted more time to compose himself.

Danny being the smarter one among the two, said, 'Okay. You're right.' He moved towards the exit and turned to Jay, who hadn't moved yet. 'Are you not coming?'

When Jay took a couple of steps toward the door, Danny slammed the exit door and locked it. Stopping in his tracks, Jay looked at his friend, questioningly.

Danny, taking in his gaze, said, 'I said I'm listening. I don't care if strangers eavesdrop our conversation, as long as it didn't have the codes to a nuclear missile. Which we both know that we are not smart enough to retrieve one of that kind.'

Finally, Jay picked up his courage and said, 'I had to fly back home tomorrow. A family emergency.'