Song of the Firebird

Twenty Six

It was 5 30 in the morning and there was no trace of the sun's arrival yet. If it were summer, the rays would bring in a dimly lit hue, starting from the Western Ghats. If one were to travel deeper to the Ghats, they were in for surprises every single time. Especially, along the farms.

Even summer felt less hotter near the foothills.

Until he could put an end to his uncles' plans to acquire his family's farmlands, Jay decided to travel around the lands very early in the morning, keen to learn about more than their routine. He grabbed his Canon gear, wallet and phone. Sending a quick text to his brother about taking the latter's Thunderbird for his morning adventures, he sneaked silently out of the main house.

Jay drove along the dusty one-way sand roads, clueless about his starting point. There's no doubt that he knew the map like the back of his hands. A couple of days ago, he did consult with Jeeva about the field trip that was supposed to happen in the next few hours. He was quite nervous of the public reactions that his plan carried. With too many booked appointments than his predicted numbers, he braced up for any form of negative feedback directed at his way.

In a matter of minutes, he parked his motorbike along the banks of the Vaigai river. He stood before the endless stretch of the waters along with spectators of other species housed in a budding neem tree. He could hear a dog howling in the distance. Taking his seat on the grass, Jay lounged against his ride, one leg fully rested and the other bent. He pulled the lowest branch off the neem and stuck it in the corners of his teeth. The bitter sap was working its wonders on the insides of his mouth. He found that location in his teens after returning from a bitter fight with his then best friend, Kathir. He could not stop fuming at the memory of Kathir pulling a prank at school, confessing his one-sided love to Mandhira in his very own presence. An utter realistic confession out of the blue shook Mandhira and the fellow boys began to bully the crying girl. Jeeva and Mandhira had been going on and off on their relationship at that time.

The sky appeared purple with a tint of pink visible at the corner.

Jay took a picture of the scene, to later show his girlfriend about the places he had been to. Girlfriend. He smiled, portraying her image amidst the fluffy morning clouds. His mind settled on an imaginary picnic-cum-date on that particular place on evenings. If she were to plan a vacation in the future, he began listing things to do in their itinerary—jog round his farm, go fishing on the river, take her for a ride in the tractor and bullock carts, chase around the ducks and chickens, set a campfire on the river banks and let her taste the country liquor. Only, if she said yes when he was about to propose to her, he added the vicious note to his vibrant thoughts.

Did Natasha feel the same way?

Jay felt that they both needed to open up a bit. He was aware of her strained relationship with her mother. He also figured that she was hiding something from him. At times, he was quite disturbed when she didn't want to go dates out in the public. Even when they were so in a crowd, she appeared quite uncomfortable and he could not ignore even the slightest of the details from her behaviour. There were many times that he wanted her to assure that nothing will befall her in his presence. He wanted to hold her by her arms, look into her eyes and tell her that no one would be able to make even a measly scratch on her, when he was beside her. For a brave woman, she seemed a little fearful.

On the other hand, Jay was scared of her rejecting him when she learned about his raucous side. He was going to come clean about that side of him before any possibility of slipping a ring into her finger.

Soon when the heat began to surface, he stood from his place and drove to the guest house. He stopped on his tracks, giving the camera a purpose to instil the setting into pixels. Glad with the photographs, he moved to the next leg of the journey.