It was finally Thursday morning. The havoc wreaking news his parents
had leaked him about a day and a half earlier now had Jay standing alongside
them at the London airport. It was busy with activities going on all around. Strolling
around casually, doing business were several hawkers selling miniature goods
and keepsake articles to tourists. There were occasional squabbles on the cab’s
fare or while paying the porters. The place buzzed with activity. Jay was not
so excited. His parents on the contrary, seemed to be bursting with
exhilaration. Close by stood Dawn and her family chatting along animatedly with
Jay’s parents, as he quietly took in the scene around him. Beside him, Dawn was
her usual self, silent and alert. Though over the past week they had met a few
times, she hadn’t completed seemed to shrug of her shyness. In fact, her cheeks
still dashed into a flaming red color if Jay kept talking to her for long. Jay,
dressed in a black hoodie and a pair of fading blue jeans, with hair blown all
over the forehead by the wild wind, looked pretty smart. His green eyes were
hidden behind dark sunglasses since it was sunny and it complimented his fair
skin tone.
Dawn was dressed in an oversized
‘Guns-N-Roses’ shirt and cream colored jeans, with hair swept back neatly over
her shoulders. With her blue eyes darting nervously around; she looked pretty
and drew admiring looks from the onlookers. Jay had to admit, each time he looked
at Dawn, his heart skipped a beat too. He could not believe someone could be
this pretty. She wasn’t beautiful. More like unnaturally beautifully. You
didn’t see this every other day.
And then there were her eyes. Glistening,
shimmering peering in which would make the person swirl and be lost in the
world that hid behind them. They always made Jay feel as if Dawn had a big
secret hidden deep in her heart. I f only he could understand it. She was made
nervous easily. Keep on looking at her ten seconds straight and she would start
fidgeting and all. But then again, Jay knew he was a keen observer. His eyes,
noted most things a normal person would probably not even pay attention to. At
times, this seemed to be his greatest strength. He would see right through most
people. And he found Dawn, oddly amusing. There was something about her which
he had not ever seen in another girl.
Lost in his own thoughts, he
nearly jumped a mile when someone softly touched his shoulder.
“Umm, Jay? I guess we should go now. Your dad’s waiting.” Dawn informed
him in a low voice.
He followed her gaze and spotted his dad standing next to a
chauffeur driven Mercedes Benz waving at him earnestly to get his attention.
“Oh! Let’s go then?” He asked her and she followed him nodding her
head. Within minutes, they were inside the car and off to their destination.
********************************************
“Waooh!” Jay exclaimed quite beside his usual self.
The place they had just entered
was something Jay could not have imagined in a hundred years. It seemed almost
magical. A long, curving road dominated the central space of a large stretch of
lonely, unused land. There were only a few buildings around. They passed a
large, rundown church along a steep cut. It seemed abandoned and creepy. Jay
could hardly believe it was still in use. There were a few major food outlets.
He managed to see KFC & McDonalds. As they moved forward, he even caught a
glimpse of a café, serene and quiet, suiting the aura of the surroundings.
Further on, the road steepened dangerously. They were now gaining height.
Jay’s heart pounded in
anticipation while his father’s voice droned in the background, weaving in and
out of his already occupied mind.
“…… Still consider it one of my luckiest
projects. Finding this place, economical and large, just proved to be a
milestone for the latest investment. And you people won’t believe, this wild
place had been turned by me into………….. THIS!”
He rose up his hands and proudly
started gesticulating actively. Jay turned to Dawn and rolled his eyes with a
mischievous smile playing on his lips. Dawn who was trying her best not to
smile, biting into her lips instead, gave up and had to laugh at Jay’s
expression.
The scene outside the rolling car had been replaced gracefully into
something more dark and eerie. The sunny, warm weather a few miles back was now
long gone. Thick, dark and foreboding clouds now covered the whole of the
sky. Several signs, warned them of going
further ahead. They however continued on. A while later, their car stopped near
a glamorous house. They alighted quickly. Jay was held spellbound.
The palace like house before him
was like none other he had ever seen. It had been most intricately premeditated
and had been, even more skillfully, built. With attractive, large sliding
windows, the tea rose painted building with alternating stripes of white and
ash grey & a lavish penthouse roof, the house was definitely handsome. It looked
magnificently inviting.
Jay stopped short right before
the main entrance of the house and looked questioningly at his father. “What is
this place, dad?”
His father let out a laugh,
“Like it? Well Jay, this house has been made especially for you. It is all
yours!”
Jay looked at his father in
stunned silence. He was too lost for words. The glorious house before him was
his. Wow!
“R-ee-al-lly?” He stammered. His
mother nodded smiling and said in a reassuring voice.
“I knew you were going to love it!” and with that she took Jay’s hand
and squeezed it softly. His father unlocked the door and led them inside. A
pink and mauve colored card fluttered onto the ground before Jay. He picked it
up and turned it. It said “Accuiel”. His dad was just this………. Too French.
“……And…..” Jay’s father started with a new sentence but stopped
abruptly just a few seconds later.
“What is it, Dad?” Jay asked.
“Well, you know Jay, Dawn and
you share a common interest?” His father asked hesitantly, handing Jay his
guitar.
“Oh! Yes, dancing and music.
So?” Jay answered and questioned his father at the same time. Dawn too looked
up at his father her striking head bent to one side a confused expression on
her face.
His father looked at both of
them and winked. “You guys are pretty slow, you know?”
Dawn looked at Jay and shrugged
her shoulders. “Come on, Dad! What’s the surprise you have cooked up, now?” Jay
inquired, hardly able to disguise his aggravated tone into a bewildered one.
His father’s smile only grew
wider and he didn’t say anything.
“Prince! It’s nothing to worry about. You and Dawn are going to give
dance and music lessons to a few young children who are interested. It’s kind
of a charity vocation. You’ll love to. What do you think?” Jay’s mother, like
always came to his rescue.
“Really?” Dawn asked, a charming
smile lightening up her face.
“Yes, darling!” Jay’s mother smiled up at her answering her question.
“Wow! That’s awesome, Dad! Mom,
of course. I have always wanted to do something like that!”
Jay’s thrilled
voice completed the wonderful aura that surrounded the house at the moment. Jay
heaved a sigh of relief. Finally, the
whole ‘mystery’ thing was out in the open.
**************************************************
Dawn sat down on the couch and waited. Everyone else was in their rooms
getting fresh before luncheon was served.
She did not feel like changing. Or doing anything for that matter. Her
insides swirled in dismay.
Anybody watching her would have told, she was in extreme pain. What was
she doing here? Hadn’t she already shut out those chapter years before? But her
parents thought it was time for her to get out there. To smile. To be who she
was. Only, she wasn’t who she was. She was someone else. Controlled entirely by
someone else. Why? She had no idea at all. Her eyes were streaming with tears,
her heart pounded deep within her.
All was wrong. She shouldn’t have been there. That’s when she heard a
thud. Someone was coming down. She quickly wiped her face and dried her hands
on her jeans below her. She looked at the mirror before her and faked a smile.
“I am fine.”
She told herself. She was fine. She smiled to herself. Freaked
out, insecure, nostalgic and emotional.
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