Part - 3
Extremely sorry for the delay guys. Here's part 3. Hope you like it.
Days and months passed. Angad's orange tree was readying itself to blossom. But the narrator has decided to slightly move its long slender branches and rustling leaves to grant herself a better view of the mansion it overlooked. Here's what she saw.
Garry paced the corridor, phone pressed to his ears. It was clear he was engaged in an intense conversation.
" I am worried, Ma'am". Angad hasn't gotten out of his habit entirely. I see him hammered somedays...hmm..hmm... Garry listened intently to the other side.
"Yes, somedays I see him take a single peg just as you suggested...and there are days when he is clean...but there are days when I see him sloshed on his bed in the most pitiable state... hmm..hmm..okay..hmm..I know Ma'am that this will take a while, but I am worried if he give in to his old ways."
He paused for a minute to listen to the other end of the line and continued "Oh yes...we do see improvement to be honest......it was scary before Ma'am...he'd down entire bottles of beer, vodka or whatever he got in hand...but since the last 2 months...he himself shows a will to quit alcohol ...but I do see him lost in its intoxication a couple of times...hmmm..hmm..I hope so, Ma'am. I hope he quits this addiction soon....yes? Oh you see hope in his case? He's improving at a good pace? Garry's tone seemed to relax as he heard words of reassurance.
I'm glad to hear that ma'am. That gives us hope. Okay, then Ma'am...I'll hang up the...yes ma'am? Oh yes, he's been coming to office regularly since the last 4 weeks...yes..yes ma'am it is a light at the end of the tunnel, all thanks to you...yes, yes...okay, then ma'am I wont keep you any longer... Good night, ma'am.
After wishing Angad's counsellor, Garry cut the line and proceeded to his room feeling much relaxed now. On the way, he heard a wail, which sounded like Angad's. Garry ran to Angad's room, only to see him completely wasted.
" Not again, Angad!! Are you going to slip back to your old ways? Look at you..you are a mess Angad!!..I am soo..."
" I am sorry, Garry." Angad cried. "I coul-couldn't help it t-t-t-oday...I miss herrrr so much, Garrrry...her tender hands, her long loooong locks of hair, her eyes...her light hayyzel eyezzz..they were so large...and..and have you heard her laugh...I..can ..still hear it Garrrrr-y...My life is overrr...i
"Angad, brother, please" Garry interruped
"Ssshhhh...I want to speak of Tara today...so ww-wher-re was I? Y-yes ..mmy laai-yeff is over. Th-her's no hope Looook, ..overrr theree Garrry...to our garden....even the orange bll-los-sons refuse to bloom...bloom...bl-l-oo" Angad trailed off, falling onto his bed, asleep from the effects of alcohol.
Garry looked on at the sympathetic figure wondering about the anonymity of its future, as he tucked Angad into bed.
"Angad... Angad... puttar..." Angad stirred slowly, annoyed by the sun's rays glaring in his face. As he struggled to identify the familiar voice, it called out again, "Angad... Angad... are you okay, puttar? Garry told me you were drunk again last night." As Angad recognized the voice gradually, his senses awakened in a flash. His temples throbbed, his body seethed with rage, and it felt as if someone had unlocked the door to his third eye. He opened his eyes, bloodshot with anger...He sat up and looked at his visitor with such revulsion, that she backed away.
" Who asked you to enter my room, ..." Angad, his eyes blazing with anger
" A-an-gad..puttar..I" Manbeer's voice quivered.
" I asked why are you in my room, Mrs Brar?! Haven't I asked you not to even be in my close vicinity?"
" I can't !!! I want to know how you are doing...I can't see you in the hospital bed again?!!"
" Respectfully, please get out of my room."
"It's been 2 years Angad?! Two years? Why can't you forgive your mother?!!" Manbeer requested, her voice shaking with dismay and desperation.
"Hahaha! Mother, eh? What a joke! What an absolute joke!"
"I did all that because of my love for you, Angad!!!" Manbeer shouted at the top of her voice.
" Love for me, or love for yourself and your stupid inflated ego...don't take that on me woman!...and take it from me...be it 2 years or 20 ....Angad Singh Brar will never forget what you've done to him...how you wounded his soul...for the wound is fresh and blood still gushes from it..."
"Okay..let's not speak of the past..and rui..."
"Speak of the past?...I live in my past...my present and future are all my past...I reside in her....I'll speak of it as much as I want..."
"Okay...listen...I just came here to check on you and ask you to stop drinking alcohol ...wait..whaa...Angad..NO!!!" Manbeer cried as she saw Angad lunging for the wine bottle and take a long swig.
Manbeer rushed to him and tried to wrest the bottle from his hand, but failed miserably.....Resigning, she pleaded "I beg of you.." Manbeer sobbed "Please stoppp, puttar"...
Angad looked at Manbeer...and for a moment, the narrator thought she saw concern and love flash in his eyes, but she was wrong, because when the took a second look to confirm...she saw a vindictive smile on his face...and he spoke..
"I will..I will Mrs. Brar....on one condition...you must leave my room this second and never ever think of entering it again..."
Manbeer looked at him in disbelief, a mixture of emotions traversed her entire being that second. She felt disgusted with both herself and her son, yet she longed to hold him in a warm hug. She wanted to beg him not to put her in such a predicament, but all she could manage was to give Angad a teary smile before running away, fearing her heart would burst from sorrow.
Angad looked on with resoluteness ...not a muscle moved...nothing...he looked on like a living corpse, but was the narrator the only one who heard his heart palpitating at an alarming rate?
After what felt like an eternity, Angad walked to the door and slammed it shut. He looked at his white walls, his muscles tensing as his dark pupils darted rapidly from one end to the other. Hot, angry tears began to flow. "AAAARRRRGHHHHHHH...AAArghhhhh...AAAARGHHHHHH," Angad roared in agitation, as if a dam, tightly shut and overfilled with water, had finally burst.
"HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME, BABAJI?!!! " Angad wailed, " Why did you take her away from me, my reason to live.....and now look!! I am left with no one in a huge mansion filled with people! Noone to understand me...noone to pour my heart to...Angad Singh Brar is the poorest man on earth lying on a bed of riches!! A hollow man...YOU MADE HIM HOLLOWW!!!, Angad roared and threw the bottle of wine with all his might against the plain white wall, tainting it with a crimson red....
"Oh my!! What are you doing?!! Why did you just splatter red so carelessly...are you in a mood to play now?!!"
" Ohooo, you got to wait till the magic unfolds!"
" You and your weirdest ideas always give me a heart attack, Sahiba!" Seerat implored. "Thanks to Babaji and erm..your talent ....it comes off beautifully ..."
" Wait, what! What did I hear? Did Seerat Kaur Monga just praise her little sister Sahiba Kaur Monga....come on now, repeat it one more time...let her itsy bitsy little sister hear that once more..." Sahiba teased Seerat gleefully
"I wasn't praising you, I was thanking Babaji. Anyway, hope you know what you are doing, 'coz this is your entry task to that competition.... I think it would be best if you stop splashing colors carelessly and give a definition to your art"
" But wouldn't art be boring if it had a definition? Art is fluid, Seerat di. Art is free and it sets you free..." Sahiba said in the most passionate yet calming tone, looking as though a dream waltzed in her eyes
" Alright Pandit Sahiba! But time comes with constraints, you better get started with your work..."
" you bebber ge shtarted witsh oor werk" an annoyed Sahiba mimicked Seerat "Now, you see Sahiba work her magic on the canvas, missiee" said Sahiba blowing a rasberry at Seerat.
Seerat looked at her amber-eyed little sister and chuckled " Alright missiee" and sat next to Sahiba's workstation.
After what looked like a hundred rounds of hatching and cross-hatching, thousands of stippling dots and billions of brush strokes..."Done dana doneee!!"Sahiba cried paint all over her face and dress.
"Isn't it De dana Dan? Haa..whatever...move ...I want to see!!!" Seerat cried in excitement
What awaited Seerat was Sahiba's poem through colors and brush strokes. On the canvas was a Sardar sans pag lying near a tree his arms thrown on either sides ...his long flowing hair seemed to be going deep inside the ground, connecting with the roots of the tree. He was looking at the tree with a melancholic smile, and..what was that mass that he was holding in his hand? Wait a heart? No a bleeding heart....there was blood flowing like a stream from the heart....and then it struck Seerat....the splash of red paint was cleverly modified into a natural-looking stream of blood from the heart... "Wait that's an oxymoron...nothing's natural in this...what's gotten into this girl" Seerat thought
" Sahibaaa...this looks ...I dont know?"
" Oh..is it bad?" Sahiba asked her heart sinking
" Nooo..its beautiful" replied a bewildered Seerat..but..but ..all this blood...you don't usually do something....like this!"
" I know " Sahiba agreed with Seerat "but I dont know Di...what got into me...I got a sudden Deja Vu and painted this...it's like I know this man ....his pain seems so familiar ...I dont know... concluded Sahiba, confused.
" Huh? Well, I guess all artists go through all these Deja Vu things..how else do you guys find inspiration?"
"But di...I have never felt like..."
"Now, tell me why is this Sardar holding his bloody heart in his hands for pity's sake?!!"
" Uhmm...As I said I just kept drawing as this image came into my mind...but to me , this Sardar shares deep rooted memories with this tree. The Sardar is facing the most trying times of his life...he finds solace under this tree where his memories rest. He puts on a facade for the world, while his heart bleeds craving for something....something to do with the memory...he wants to plead ...maybe the memory...he also wants company..he gets nothing...and the heart bleeds endlessly forming a stream"
"Wow Sahiba! It's such a beautiful concept..." Seerat replied, beaming with pride. She ran and hugged Sahiba, caressed her hair and continued " You are a blessed soul and your presence makes us feel blessed, my choti behen....the way you work hard at this young age to help our Papaji and Mummyji run this house...In fact, they don't have to do much...nor do I...you don't even let us know of anything...I don't know what punya I did in my last life to get you as a sister...." Seerat replied, tears in her eyes.
" Haven't you also worked odd jobs Seerat di during those tough times..?"
"But , you couldn't even go to college my Sahiba..."
" Yet, Sahiba earns with her head held high no? Yet she knows how to converse in 3 different languages no? College-wollege all are just gimmicks, Seerat di" replied Sahiba as she turned back to hide her tears.
"Sah..." Seerat was interrupted by her phone's ringtone. She looked at the phone, it said Garry. Seerat fidgeted on the spot and ran inside as a puzzled Sahiba looked on.
After 10 minutes, Sahiba heard Seerat scream her name. Sahiba jumped with a start and ran towards her sister...her face sweating, heart-palpitating,petrified to the core, she reached Seerat..." What is it Seerat di?"
"Sahibaaa...Sahibaa" Seerat screamed with joy. "Guess what?!!...They loved your design..."
"Who?!"
"The Brars, Sahiba...the Brars!! Punjab's biggest jewellery brand owners!! You have almost got the job Sahiba....but they just want you to attend the last round of interview with the board members...but that's just for formality it seems...they loved your work soooo much...that they plan to hire you..."
"Oh my goddd!! Seerat dii...YESS!! All our troubles will come to an end , if I bag this role di..." t-ding..a notification flashed on Sahiba's phone. " I got the mail, Seerat di...oh they've asked me to attend the interview at Brar Mansion..the day after...to speak with board of directors to finalize my position at the company.... SEEERATT DIIII.....WE DID ITTTT...." an elated Sahiba ran and hugged her happy sister. Sahiba suddenly broke the hug...and looked at her sister...but how did you know about all this?
"Well...I ...I mean....why do you want to..."
Ding-dong.
"Papaji Sahiba...Papaji and Keerat are back...go tell him..he'll be over the moon..." Seerat exclaimed, quite tensed.
Sahiba's long amber eyes lit up and ran to the door. She opened it, hugged her Papa and broke the news! His joy knew no bounds ...he danced with his daughter and asked..." So when is the finalzing process, puttar?"
" The day-after, Papaji...at the Brar Mansion"
And a few kilomteres apart from the Monga House, amidst a spacious garden an orange tree burst into bloom.
" Angad!! Angadd!!!" Garry barged into Angad's room. "Wake up, will you? Look out...your orange blossoms have bloomedd!!!"
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