Raindrops of Sunshine
Disclaimer : This FF is a figment of my imagination only and doesn't intend to plagiarise the works of the owners, i.e. BT and ZT. The characters, JW and BD, don't belong to me either but they are thoroughly loved, cherished and treasured by me. The other characters (at least mostly) are mine. I really wish JW and BWD and KS were mine.
This is not a tragic FF, this much I can assure you guys, though it will be interspersed with various conflicting emotions all through.
Feedbacks are always welcome and appreciated.
Part I : Page 1; Part II : Page 4; Part III : Page 7; Part IV : Page 11; Part V : Page 14; Part VI : Page 18; Part VII : Page 23; Parts VIII & IX : Page 29; Part X : Page 32; Part XI : Page 35; Part XII : Page 39; Part XIII : Page 43; Part XIV : Page 47; Part XV : Page 51; Part XVI: Page 54; Part XVII : Page 57; Part XVII : Page 60; Part XIX and epilogue : Page 63.
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Part I
May flowers always line your path
and sunshine light your day
May songbirds serenade you
every step along the way
May a rainbow run beside you
in a sky that's always blue
And may happiness fill your heart
each day your whole life through
Walia Mansion
Juhu
Mumbai
A steady knock at the door at his bedroom door woke Jai Walia from deep slumber. Shaking himself off slowly from the last vestiges of slumber, he sat up slowly when he heard the knock once again.
'Come in', he said, his voice deep and raspy, still bearing the evidence of his yet sleepy state. He turned towards the bedside alarm clock and picked it up as the door opened and his sister-in-law, Ruchika entered the room with a steaming cup of tea.
It was already 7.00 a.m., he noted. Inwardly he thought, I should be getting up earlier than this and hit the track, it will make me feel refreshed and lively. He turned towards Ruchika and smiled at her 'Bhabhi, what happened? You are up so early?'
Handing over the cup of tea to him, Ruchika pulled the chair and sat down beside him and said
'Jai, its not that early either. But yes, I am here to seek a favour from you. As you know today is a very big day for me. The project that I had been working on for so many months is finally ready and today is my presentation before the Board. Although I have partnered Akash in a number of projects yet they were never mine. I hope you are answering what I am trying to imply. That's the basic problem of working with Akash. So once I got the chance to work on this individual project, I put my entire being into it and hence I desperately want it to come out on tops.'
Jai listened quietly, sipping tea once in a while, the corner of his mouth curled slightly in an ironic smile. Ruchika continued
'I have the presentation at 10 a.m. sharp and its always 15 minutes past 7. I want to concentrate on this presentation. So I'd be grateful if you could pick up Nilay today from his play-school at around 10 a.m. His nanny is also not here today. I know you will be late but please only today. I will arrange for some nanny from tomorrow. Please Jai' she said earnestly.
Having finished his tea, Jai kept the cup down on the bedside table and smiled at his Bhabhi
'Of course Bhabhi, you don't worry about it. I will pick up Nilay from school, drop him home and then go to work. Its not a problem at all you see. And I wont be that late either, maybe just an hour or so. You go ahead and prepare for your presentation. After all, you don't get to make presentations every other day with Akash Bhaiyya around. Best of luck.'
After Ruchika left his room, Jai left the comfort of his bed and walked towards the balcony, opening up to the sea. He watched the sea waves lapping the rocks and sand lovingly and making a strange, gurgling noise – a noise that he had come to identify with his inner being. A sort of discontent, no, not really discontent, but a submerged feeling that his inside being was all ready to burst out to the surface, but not finding that suitable outburst. He wondered when would he finally feel free.
He slowly folded his arms and stared at the deep, limitless sea and tried to discern its sense of restiveness. The birds chirped happily all around him but Jai saw around him a world in a state of animated suspension. His thoughts slowly veered to the request made by Ruchika and thought how true was she when she said that today's presentation was vital for her and her survival in the company. Its only rarely that Akash, his workaholic brother, handed out projects to others to prepare and complete, since he found nearly everyone lacking in their ability to prepare project reports and argue or discuss about the high-feasibility nature of these reports. Including Jai himself.
Jai felt stifled working in such an environment but he remembered the pledge he had made to his deceased parents, so many years ago, that he would always be with his brother and abide by his wishes. This remembrance brought some solace to him as he ambled towards the washroom, but he still felt the same feeling of uneasiness. He walked towards the oak desk, his prized possession, and opened the drawer. He looked inside and skimmed his hand lovingly through the contents, his life at this moment.
The clock struck 8 o'clock with vengeance and Jai hurried back towards the washroom to be ready on time. His sixth sense told him that the day was going to be much eventful than his usual ones. He however did not know why.
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Cricket
