Hello everyone, after my SS (Jai's Story) which I posted to get out of my system got such a great response from you wonderful people, I decided to try my hand at a full blown FF, or at least my interpretation of a FF. My criteria remains the same - its based on the current track post leap, characters are the same. This is just the way I would have loved to see the track go. Once again, please keep in mind I tend to get heavy on both conversation and scene because I visualise as I write, so in my mind I'm actually seeing RK and the way he would play the scene (bear in mind that I am a huge RK fan so my stories tend to be from his POV as I see it). And I have taken some "artistic" license at times so please bear with me.
As always, your feedback would be most welcome and I will try to post updates regularly.
Index: Chap. 1 (pg. 1), Chap. 2 (pg 2), Chap. 3 (pg. 2), Ch. 4 (pg 4), Ch. 5 (pg 5), Ch. 6 (pg. 6), Ch. 7 (pg 10), Ch 8 (pg 11), Ch. 9 (pg. 13), Ch 10 (pg 17), Ch. 11 (pg 18), Ch 12 (pg 20), Ch 13 (pg 22) Note (pg 25)
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Chapter 1
The van moved along the meandering roads leaving Meerut behind. The Walia family was returning to Bombay after attending the wedding of Karuna's daughter. The wedding had gone off without any major incident after that first time when the catering service was questioned. Every one was contemplating the wedding and the successful union that took place. That is all except one person. Jai could not get the sad face of Ganga out of his mind. He still recalled her face when all the adults were taunting her about the fact that she didn't have a father and couldn't understand the pain he felt on seeing her tears. He had tried to find her after the concert, but she had seemingly disappeared. The following morning, Jai and Aditya had gone to finalize the deal with the Thakurain, and had attempted to meet the owner of the Dhabba to tell them to vacate the premises. The lady had told them there was no need as she would take care of that mild detail. Obviously this was something she was dying to do herself!
After Jai and Aditya returned to the house they began their return trip to Bombay. Jai, staring out of the window, kept seeing her sad face and the tears streaming down her face. Why did memories of Krishna and Atharva assail him when he had hugged Ganga? In his mind, he recalled the way she had tried to draw him out and asked himself why he felt the need to comfort her. Feeling eyes on him, he raises his and sees Meera looking at him. He angrily turns away, wondering again why on earth this woman was even in his life. He returns to his thoughts as they leave Meerut, not seeing the figure in the distance, watching the car depart.
In Bombay, Jai settled back into his life, focusing on his work, making plans for the building he intended to raise in Meerut. He intended to build a shopping mall attached to a Walia hotel. As always, he worked exhaustive hours, staying away from the four walls that seemed to choke him whenever he was there. A couple of days after their return from Meerut, he heard that Jigyasa was returning from London that night, and though he knew he was expected back home for dinner, he would have given anything to stay away. Standing at the window of his office, he hears the phone ring, and knew instinctively that it was the call asking him to go home. He reluctantly takes the call and listens to Meera asking him to return as Jigyasa was back and wanted to meet her Jai Bhaiya. Acknowledging the call, he tells Meera he will be home soon, and returns to work. He looks up an hour later to see Adi at the door and nods when Adi asks if he's ready to go home.
At Walia house, Jigyasa was regaling the crowd with stories of her stay in England. As Jai observed, he noticed that with the exception of Karuna, no one was paying attention. Rano and Rashi were focused on Varun and Siddarth, Rashi's son. Veer was playing with Purva and Nachiket. Dadi was in her room watching television while Meera was sitting at the dining table, cutting vegetables, her mind obviously on something else. She looks up as Jai and Adi walk in, and smiling at them, goes to Jai to take his briefcase not seeing the exchange of smirks between Jigyasa and Karuna as they observe her trying to play the role of the devoted wife.
As they sit around the dinner table, Jigyasa looks around in satisfaction. Everything was going according to her plans. She ruled this house which was her birthright, and no chit of a girl could take that away from her. She observes Jai bhaiya under her lashes, noting his total disinterest in everything around him. All he cared about now was making more and more money. Money which eventually would come to her and her children since he no longer had children. That chit of a girl thought she could deprive Jigyasa's children of their birthright!. No-one except Ranveer and Anu had any rights to the Walia property. Of course now, there was Varun and Siddharth to consider, but still, it was wealth that she would control since her heirs would inherit it.
Jigyasa's eyes fall on Meera whose head is bent as she eats. She knew that Jai bhaiya had absolutely no interest in Meera. In fact that was the reason why she had suggested their union. Meera needed support and Jai needed to present a dignified face to society. If society found out that his young wife had cuckolded him for a younger man, Jai's reputation would suffer. Jai who couldn't care less, and was still reeling from the double tragedy in his life, said he had no problem if she wanted to call herself Mrs. Walia but he was done with religious ceremonies. Let Meera tie a mangalsutra, wear sindoor and play at being married.
Mohan had been hard to convince but Jigyasa managed, telling Mohan that this way Meera would not be pitied, and who knew, perhaps eventually they would fall in love and the marriage would become real. Jigyasa, smirking because she knew that was impossible, convinced Mohan that the union was in Meera's interests, and Mohan, not wanting the responsibility of an unwed widowed sister, agreed, especially when Jigyasa promised him that she would get 10% of the Walia estate.
On the day of the ceremony, Jai had categorically refused to do anything. He watched impassively as Meera tied on her mangalsutra and put on her own sindoor. From that point on, Meera considered herself Mrs. Jai Walia, taking pride in that role, and trying to fulfil her role as the unwanted wife of the richest industrialist of India. Meera had tried but realized after all this time that Jai had no interest in even playing at being married. At functions, he made minimal efforts to even pretend they were a couple. Once in a while, they shared brief moments, and whenever that happened, he retreated even more. Meera knew in her heart that he was heartbroken by Bani's actions, but she still held on to the hope that perhaps one day he would soften towards her. The one thing Jai had categorically refused was to share his room, and he had made that very clear to Meera. So they had adjoining rooms, but the doors were firmly closed, and locked from his side.
Jigyasa observed the other occupants of the table, scowling in disgust at Rano who she couldn't get rid of because of Varun, and at Rashi who finally gave birth to Siddharth, her Sahil reborn. Nachiket and Purva were talking quietly among themselves and paid little attention to the occupants of the table. Karuna was engaged in her food, while at the far end, Dadi and Adi sat together. There was a strange expression on Adi's face, one which she would eventually find out about.
Finally, she looks at Jai again, seeing him seemingly engrossed in the food. He never participated in any conversation, but respected the rule that they would all have dinner together. Meera beside him, was as usual, staring at her food. Looking at her scornfully, Jigyasa talks to Karuna under her breath, making snide remarks about Meera knowing full well that Meera could hear them. Jai, who could also hear the snide remarks, observes Meera's face contort in pain for a few seconds before she controlled her expression and wonders for the millionth time why she would subject herself to this. Once he finished his dinner, he rises saying a quiet "excuse me", and heads to his study where he puts in a couple of hours work before heading to his room.
Though he was immersed in work, and time flew by, Jai would find his mind drifting back to the little girl who seemed to have made a place in his broken heart. What was it about her that even after two months, he couldn't forget? He kept seeing her face contorted in tears as she listened to the taunts of the people around her saying she couldn't know what a father was since she didn't have one. Whenever he closed his eyes, he would see her playing with him, imitating him. There was something that drew him. Something that made him feel there was a link.
Scoffing at the thought, he thinks "you're going soft Jai. What link? You have no-one and no relationships mean anything to you." He had gone back to Meerut a number of times and had tried to find her, but heard from the thakurain that since the land had been sold off, they had disappeared. When Jai asked what had happened, the thakurain disdainfully told him she had thrown them out and didn't know or care where they were. She claimed the Dhabbawali had taken advantage of her compassionate nature and owed a lot of money to the thakurain and since the dhabbawali couldn't pay, she had told them to leave. After the building project starts up, Jai's trips to Meerut become less and less.
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