Song of the Firebird

Thirty Seven

'My son, I think your brother has enough help at the farms. You're needed elsewhere.'

Young Paari stared at the torn shirt before him for a long time. He did not expect Mandhira to drop by out of the blue and declare her newfound respect for him. Had he not discovered his brother's affair days before, he would have gone by teasing her along with Kathir. That would, eventually, either separate the brothers or the couple in love.

One of the boys found out about Mandhira's secretive relationship with Jay's brother and he decided to put the prank to action when he despised Jay's popularity in school. The school administration letting Jay out of the hook fearing his family's reputation in the village, added more oil to his raging fire. The boy figured that Jay knew of his brother and Mandhira. He convinced Kathir to make a deal for a mere one hundred rupees in order to play a dare in the presence of the latter's best friend, Jay. His hatred split a strong bond that showed no signs of weakness at all. At the end of the day, Jay threatened the audience that if any part of the incident reached his brother's ears, other than Mandhira herself, then they would have to face severe consequences.

The crowd, out of fear and respect, did not utter a word.

That's when Kathir began a war of words, pulling strings, comparing the role of wealth and academics that involved both the parties. Punches were exchanged after the words. The entire school watched as the two childhood friends drift apart. The boys grabbed each other's collars and rolled on the ground— slapping and punching. Their eyes red with fury, emitted years of pent up rage.

When the P.E teacher split them up, the boys swore their rivalry until the last of their days and parted ways. Caring not to collect his things, Jay ran, his entire body twitched, replaying the scenes of that wary evening on the school grounds. After hours of thinking through, Jay deserted the riverbank and reached his home. He did not expect to break loose in front of the least expected person in his family—his father.

A worried, young Jeeva appeared by the door, 'Hey Paari, what was Mandhira doing here? I saw her carrying your bag. She is ignoring me on- '. Jeeva blinked at his father, who hummed a random tune, 'Oh, father, I– I d-didn't see yo-'

Janarthana smirked at his eldest son, 'It's good to know that you're looking out for your younger brother by befriending his classmates as well, Pratap. That's good.'

Jeeva choked on his own words. 'I—I—her mother accompanies mother to the temple. I– I– am about to pick mother up from the temple. I—think I– Excuse me.' He coughed and bumped into a woman in her fifties while turning away from his father.

'So sweet of you, Pratap. You can pick me up anytime in the future', she chirped and looked at her husband, 'Look sweetie, who just volunteered in your place', she huffed and stared at her youngest. Concerned at his beaten state, 'Heavens, Paari, you're a mess! Go wash up this instant! Let's talk about it over dinner.'

Mumbling, the young Jay left the room, his gaze not leaving his feet. His father began to defend himself from his wife's glare. Raising both his palms facing front, he said, 'I did not say anything, honey. He just barged in looking like that.' He gulped fearing his wife's temper. Nodding, she turned to Jeeva, demanding further about his recent statement.

The eldest, who also gulped, 'I– I heard that Paari was walking home after getting into a bloody fight. I dropped the fodder I was holding and came rushing to see him. I swear, m-mother.'

Mullai shook her head and sighed. A brief pause later, she said, 'What am I going to do with you three? You guys are lucky that you're covering each others' backs.' She swatted the trickling sweat beads from her forehead with the tip of her green silk saree.