by Atul Todi
For Anna, living on the vineyard and exploring the jungles nearby was a fun experience. She was doing crazy things she had never imagined. Being away from the crowded cities and the usual social life that she was used to, helped her connect with the adventure seeker in her.
Besides working together at the plantation, Abhay took her for jungle safaris, and they spent many evenings by the beach that was just a few hours drive from the vineyard. Occasionally Anna's friends visited them, and she threw big parties for them in the wilderness and Abhay reluctantly entertained her visitors.
He had no option but to open up a little to her life. She was making an honest effort to make their unsaid relationship work.
Unlike in the past, Abhay was willing to compromise and accommodate Anna and her requests. Maybe it was because of her father and the deal they had, or maybe it was her strong physical attraction. Abhay was never quite sure what it was that kept him interested in Anna. She made him soften-up a little and brought a strange feeling of hope that he seemed to have lost.
For Anna, unlike any other man she had been with, she slowly started getting emotionally attached to Abhay and hoped that there was a spark in him as well. In him, she saw a man who was wild enough to quench her thirst for adventure, passionate enough to fire her emotions and mature enough to treat her with respect.
Anna wanted Abhay to be all hers and she did everything it took to make him want her.
With time, Abhay had gotten a lot more comfortable having her around, opening up to her and letting her into his life. She seemed like a positive influence on his otherwise drug-induced solitary life.
Anna had access to Abhay's entire plantation and his house; she could do anything she wanted. His only unsaid rule for her was to not ask him about his past, and she respected that.
Everything was going smooth; Abhay was happy to have her around, helping him realise his dream to build a global wine brand. Until that winter evening, when another envelope arrived. Jolly had resent the wedding invite with a little note.
If you are reading this note AB, I hope you are happy wherever you are. Just know that I have looked for you everywhere and still miss the good times we had. I know you must have your reasons for distancing yourself, but I am finally getting married and hope you can make it for my special day.
Your old friend,
- Jolly
With tears in his eyes, Abhay read the note and went over the invite multiple times. Old memories flooded back into his head. He remembered the good old school and college days they spent together; the pranks they played together and the troubles they caused. A little argument they had when Abhay left America had surprisingly stretched too long and distanced them forever.
Jolly did not think it was a wise decision for Abhay to leave everything and go back to India. He thought Abhay's big plans were stupid and completely unwise. He called Abhay selfish and self-centered. He told Abhay that he was chasing dreams which meant nothing.
Even though Jolly was trying to be helpful, Abhay clearly did not see his point of view back then. Overpowered by emotions, they got into a pointless argument that distanced them and their friendship.
By the time Abhay realised his mistake it was too late. He did not know how to reach back to Jolly. He was too emotionally and mentally distraught, and even though he wanted to reconnect, he was too lost in his misery to reach out. Time was not on his side and he had succumbed to his fate.
Too much time had passed since then, and the distance between them had grown. On many occasions when he wanted to pick up the phone and call Jolly, something stopped him. Maybe he didn't know what to tell Jolly or maybe he was just scared that his past would come back to haunt him.
Over the years, Jolly had reached his goal of becoming a maestro designer, just like he always wanted. He was globally recognized for his fusion garments and offbeat fashion apparels. Having reached all the milestones he wanted in his life, he had finally decided to settle-down. Getting married to his Pakistani girlfriend, he had planned a grand wedding on the outskirts of Mumbai.
TV channels had been covering Jolly's upcoming wedding, and there were articles about him and his girlfriend all over the papers. He was a celebrity in the fashion world and the media had made a big deal about his wedding with a Pakistani actress.
Abhay just could not run away from it. The more he tried to ignore Jolly’s upcoming wedding, more he stumbled upon its coverage.
Abhay thought about how on drunken nights they always talked about never getting married and staying single all their lives. Jolly had finally given in and had realised that he could not just keep chasing women all his life. Love had bowled him over, and Abhay was extremely happy for his childhood friend. Jolly was finally doing the right thing: he was getting married to someone he loved.
Not even sure if Abhay was alive, Jolly had resent the invite to Abbey's parents, requesting them to forward it to him wherever he was. While Jolly had tried many times in the past to get information from Abhay's parents, they never revealed anything. Abhay had given strict instruction to them to not tell anyone about his whereabouts. Infact, all they had was his mailbox address and did not know where he was and what he was doing. They were happy to just know that he was alive.
Knowing about Abhay’s past and insistence on isolating himself on a vineyard, Abhay's parents were too scared to upset him in any way. Still, on Jolly's insistence they sent the invite again to Abhay, hoping that he would reconnect with his friends and stop living like a loner.
They were getting old and were worried that their son would never find anyone to love and be lonely all his life. They prayed every day for him, hoping that he would get out of his shell and be normal. Knowing that his past haunted him, they had tried time and again to convince him to return to a normal life, but he was unwilling to listen.
Seeing the invite that evening, Abhay felt sad and happy at the same time. Jolly was his childhood friend, but they had not met for the last twelve years. To him, it felt like yesterday that they were in college, causing a ruckus, running after women and dreaming about making it big in life. Time had flown by in a rush. He could hardly recognize the person he had become and was too scared to reconnect with his past.
With old memories flooding his mind, he sat in the balcony. With tears rolling down his eyes, he kept looking at the invite. Anna had never seen Abhay in that condition before. It was strange for her to see the soft side of a man who always acted tough and heartless.
Strangely happy to finally see his other side, she sat beside him, holding his hand to make him feel better. Being extremely patient, she waited for him to open up.
When Abhay finally told her about Jolly’s wedding and that he had not met his friend for many years, she insisted that he should go for the ceremony and forget about everything that had happened. Deep inside, Anna knew that to find the real Abhay she was in love with, she had to help him let go of his past. Maybe once he got rid of the skeleton of his past, he would be more receptive to her passion and let her into his life.
Days went by, neither of them talked about the wedding that was just a fortnight away. Anna could not force him, and he was reluctant to go back to what he had left behind. Meanwhile, Anna left for France for some urgent business work.
The day before the wedding celebrations were to start, sitting alone drinking by himself, he decided to go and be there for his friend's special day.
In a drunken state, he packed his bag and left for the airport.
-----------x----------
It was a cold winter night in the outskirts of Mumbai. The wedding was at Amby Valley, a sleepy town that had been converted into a luxurious resort area. Thick white December fog had taken over the sloppy landscape densely covered with tall teak trees. The small bonfire pits, burning outside the wedding area, lit up the place and made the chilly weather bearable.
The usually quiet forest resort was buzzing with soul piercing beats that was playing on the loudspeakers. It was not a ra
ve party, but a celebration of a very special kind. Jolly was finally getting married, and he was doing it in style. Unlike the loud and flashy celebrity weddings popular in India, he had decided to tie the knot in the wilderness. Being an adventurer at heart, he wanted his new beginning to be a symbol for what he wanted from life.
Jolly had organized a three-day event: starting with a ‘sangeet' (a musical ceremony before the wedding), followed by ‘haldi' (a ritual to ward off evil spirits from affecting the bride and the groom) and finally the marriage. It was all going to happen at the same location, a beautiful private farmhouse surrounded by thick forests. His going-to-be wife, Zeinab, a gorgeous Pakistani girl from Lahore, who he met during his MBA in Spain, had flown in with her family.
It was a cheerful occasion, a congregation of friends and family members. While there was a significant presence of media personnel covering the occasion, it still was a very personal event for the couple’s near and dead ones.
Bright colours and twinkling lights at the farmhouse made the night stars disappear. Delicious smell from the ‘tandoor' (a clay pit for cooking) filled the air, teasing the wandering wild animals in the vicinity. Amidst all the festivities, parked at a distance with his rental car’s headlight turned off, was Abhay. Smoking a cigarette, he contemplated if he should join the celebration.
Being completely cut-off from everyone, no one knew where he had been for more than a decade. People had assumed he died in some scary accident, leaving no trace. Someone had even started a rumor that one night, drunk out of his mind, he urinated on an electric wire and got electrocuted. Whatever the story was, Abhay had been forgotten, and he was fine with it.
He stood afar, watching guests come in and out of the marriage venue.
Weary of the response he would get from his friends, he didn't know how to face them. So, watching people at the wedding from a distance, he contemplated going there undercover. Attending the ceremony in disguise without revealing his identity seemed like a safe idea.
It has been twelve long years since Abhay decided to leave everything he had and people he knew. A stranger to life, he had failed in finding the only thing he ever wanted, the only thing that he thought made sense, happiness. Yet, he was back there, hoping to start over from where he had left. He missed having friends, people who cared for him.
That night, finding courage to face Jolly again, he slowly walked towards the venue. He had come all the way; he had to meet Jolly.
Expecting some surprises, he did not know that Jolly's wedding was going to change his life forever. At the wedding he was going to meet someone, someone who was going to turn his life upside down.
It was the night before the wedding day. Instead of the usual ‘sangeet', a DJ had been called for entertainment. Alcohol was flowing like water; people were dancing and being loud and crazy. It was a typical flamboyant Punjabi ‘baraat' (guests), while the Pakistani guests added colour and flavour to the occasion with their etiquette, composure and impressive fashion sense.
Standing at the entrance, an arch covered with tulips and marigold, Abhay saw Jolly surrounded by people. He had put on some weight, but still looked fit like the last time they met. He had grown a small mustache and got his ears pierced.
Laughing out loud, hugging friends and screaming, Jolly had not changed much.
Walking towards Jolly, before Abhay could push through the crowd of people around him, Raghav, who was completely sloshed stumbled towards him.
Raghav was a short-heighted Delhi boy who went to college with Abhay and Jolly. Always nosy about everything, Abhay remembered Raghav as the guy who always followed them to the bars. He was once caught with a girl inside a women's restroom of a dance club and had to be saved by Abhay and Jolly.
While Abhay held him and helped him up, in a state of shock, he said, "Is that you? Oh my God, it is really you AB! Where the hell have you been AB? I thought you got electrocuted and died."
Abhay had not been called AB for a long time. All his friends back in college called him AB, mostly his American friends who just could not pronounce his real name.
Besides hearing his old name, Abhay was curious about the rumor that he got electrocuted and died. He suspected that Raghav might have been the one to start it. It was the strangest of the many stories he had heard about his disappearing and wanted to know who was creative enough to make that up.
At that moment, instead of questioning Raghav about it, he tried to calm him down.
Abhay did not want to become the center of attention, with people talking about him disappearing and asking him all sorts of retarded questions. But all his effort in trying to calm down Raghav was pointless; he was freaking out and screaming: "Dude, what the fuck. It is really you! I thought you were dead man. What happened to you? Am I hallucinating or are you really here?"
With his long hair and beard, Abhay looked strikingly different from his college days. He had put on some weight, and all the drinking and smoking had taken a toll on him. Yet, Raghav made it appear as if nothing had changed, and he looked just like he did back in college.
Before Abhay could say anything and shut his mouth, Raghav was shouting out for Jolly, creating a scene.
Hearing the chaos, a bunch of people came and surrounded them; some who faintly remembered Abhay from college or had heard about him and his getting electrocuted, others were just drunk spectators looking for some entertainment.
Helping him up, Abhay gave Raghav a hug, and from the corner of his eyes, he saw Jolly. A big six-foot Punjabi guy, wearing a beautiful red turban, briskly walking towards him. Abhay was not sure if he was going to punch him or hug him, but never the less, all the childhood emotions quickly built up in his eyes.
Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion as Jolly came towards him; with his fist clenched, there was not much emotion on his face, just a serious infuriated look and his eyes-wide open.
Pushing Abhay, Jolly made him stumble. He held his hand at the last moment, stopping him from falling. Pulling him close, Jolly grabbed Abhay by his shirt collar and said: "You freaking bastard; you piece of stupid shit. I knew you would come. I just knew it. I knew it!"
Jolly could hardly control his emotions. With tears rolling down his manly face, he hugged his long lost friend.
As things finally calmed down a little, Jolly called the server to bring them a round of drinks to get the party started. Promising to tell Jolly at length about where he had been the past twelve years, Abhay decided to get drunk and relive his college days with his soon to be married friend.
A couple of alcohol shots turned into chugging down drinks and soon they were drinking whiskey straight from Jonny Walker bottles. The somewhat sophisticated party with the who's who of the fashion world and media suddenly turned into an out-of-control college bash. With people dancing on tables, breaking glasses and others passing on the sides, it was all happening at Jolly’s pre-wedding ceremony.
At one point, Jolly and Abhay were behind the bar table, making dangerous alcoholic concoction for the drunk crowd. There were sexy aunties in their flirty forties, making men feel like boys by forcing them to down alcohol shots. Dancers, who had been specially called for the occasion, had come down from the stage and were seductively dancing amidst the crowd. Drunk media people were shooting all the craziness at the wedding, but no one seemed to care.
Seeing the mayhem, some conservative older folks were embarrassed and decided to disperse; they took the disappointed young kids along. There was no need to stop the party; Jolly was getting married and everyone was toasting to his final few moments of freedom. Zeinab’s family had never seen Jolly like that, but decide to ignore their soon-to-be-married son-in-law and his friends.
Amidst the chaos, Jolly made Abhay meet his fiancé Zeinab and her cute cousins from Lahore. Transforming into the flirty peacock that he was popular to be back in college, Abhay could not help but charm the beautiful ladies from across the border.
It was like the last twelve years never
happened; Abhay was still the same: confident and shameless. With Jolly around, it was like nothing had changed; he felt like a twenty-something with nothing holding him back. Abhay missed his good old college self and having Jolly around made him relive it.
"AB twelve years have gone by, and you have not changed one bit; still flirting around with young women and trying your luck. Just give it up, they are way beyond your league." Jolly tried to embarrass Abhay, but it didn't stop him.
They both laughed while the women felt jealous seeing their brotherly love. It was like nothing had changed between them.
Finally, Jolly could not control his emotions much longer; he pulled Abhay away from all the young girls he was sweet-talking with. He wanted his old friend just to be with him for the night; marriage was a big step and nothing was going to remain the same for him after a few hours. Besides, he could not wait to know where Abhay had been all those years. Having his old friend with him on the special occasion made him emotional.