VIBGYOR

by Keerthana Jayaraj

  “She’s right there you know…” The man said. I had to wonder about that one too. How could these people, who looked like spoilt I had to wonder about that one too. How could these people, who looked like spoiltVIBGYOR

  selfish brats to me, forget the fact that Shivani was there? How could they stand around gossiping as if she was something smelly and nasty without fearing for one second that they might be overheard?

  “I couldn’t care less.” The girl shrugged. “I mean, Nandan wasn’’t a good match to that girl. Nandan and Anasuya are childhood friends and they loved each other ever since highschool. If his family hadn’t…”

  The girl’s voice trailed off as the violins began playing again. A shower of rose petals burst from the ceiling. They floated in the wind, gently flying down to brush both Nandan and Anasuya.

  Another round of cheers came from the crowd. Both Nandan and Anasuya stood smiling as their clothes, face and hair got drenched in the pink shower. Anasuya especially looked like something out of a dream with the bits of rose petals clinging to her hair and clothes. It was a real cool romantic sideshow, which I’m sure the audience enjoyed tremendously. Those who’’ve got money to burn can manage some marvelous feats and wow everyone.

  The crowd started to disperse after that, some to the stage and others through a nearby door. I followed them there and immediately got a delicious mixture of ‘food smells’. 10…20…30…I amused myself for a while trying to guess how many items were on the menu by I kind of lost count after thirty. There were simply too many. More than enough to feed the 50 or so people assembled. What were they going to do with the leftovers? Take them home? I didn’’t think so. Surely the people in the hall considered themselves the elite of the elite and obviously it would be beneath their inflated egos and false dignities to eat anything other than fresh food. And it would be a heinous crime, wouldn’t it, to give all that food away to orphanages and other places. Oh no! These were five star items. They should only go into the mouths of the people of the same level. It was disgusting what humans do in the name of status and luxury.

  Shivani stirred, her eyes looking rather hypnotized. She moved forward as if in a trance and mounted the stairs, not bothering respond to the baffled cries that echoed all around. Nandan and Anasuya lost their charming romantic aura and suddenly looked petrified. As if they were afraid of Shivani…As if they were scared of all the things she could say and do. The photographer who was busy photographing an old couple together with Nandan and Anasuya whispered something to his assistant, who nodded gravely. I waited with bated breath, half expecting someone to come and throw Shivani out of the hall. Weren’t there blue securities in such high class halls?

  The greens in the hall danced excitedly, some of them prancing about in the stage waiting for the drama to play out. I was waiting for the same thing myself. I needed some information before I started out on my mission.

  It was Nandan who took action first, standing determinedly in front of Anasuya, as Shivani came closer and closer. Playing the knight in shining armour. I was not Shivani came closer and closer. Playing the knight in shining armour. I was not particularly impressed by the action. It made me feel slightly nauseous. Hypocritical actions always make me feel the same way. Nandan seemed to me the type who would save his own skin and take off at the first sign of trouble! Not that Anasuya needed any protecting. She looked like the type who could deal with anything and everything with her tongue alone.

  “I’m not to stage an epic fight and play the stereotypical jealous ex.”

  The mocking smile on Shiva’s lips didn’t suit her at all. She looked odd, rather maniacal.

  “Then why are you here?” asked Nandan, his voice frantic. “To make me look like a jerk in front of everyone?”

  Shivani laughed. Something in her voice stopped all the whispers and murmurs in the crowd. For a moment, there was an icy silence.

  “This has nothing to do with you, Nandan.”

  Shiva’s voice was nothing more than a whisper. There was a certain amount of dignity in it.

  “Then…” I always knew Anasuya would interfere. She’s the kind of young woman who always thrives on the centre stage and from childhood, had been granted it because of looks, manners and sweet-as-honey expressions. The angelic looking spoilt girl who doesn’t mind who she hurts in getting her way.

  “Shhhh”

  Shivani hissed furiously, making Anasuya’s mouth snap shut. “This has nothing to do with you either, Anasuya.”

  “Then why are you here, Shivani?”

  The grey-haired man who initiated the ceremony came over from the side of the stage.

  “Uncle…” Shivani said politely. “I just have a few things to say to Nandan and Anasuya. I’ll leave as soon as I’m done.” “Then get the hell over with this nonsense.” Nandan said half under his breath. Shivani smiled serenely and moved closer to them.

  “Anasuya…You seem to be under a delusion. You are so happy today. Is it simply because you finally got to be with the man you loved or because you stole something precious from me? If it’s the latter…I have nothing to say except that you’re pathetic. precious from me? If it’s the latter…I have nothing to say except that you’re pathetic.VIBGYOR

  You haven’t stolen anything because there was nothing to steal in the first place. This man was never my lover……Never my husband with the whole of his heart….Never…Never wanted my…my……daughter…”

  Shivani’s voice trailed away as a torrent of tears broke out from her eyes. But she didn’t stop. She continued to speak out of frantically quivering lips. “I know what you said that day…In the hospital…Every word of it. I wouldn’t be your wife again even if you fell on my feet and wept. I wish you the joy of him Anasuya. I wish you both all the happiness in this world. But…But…”

  Shivani covered her eyes with her hands and howled like a little child, her whole body trembling. Then, still covering her face with her hands, she ran down from the stage and out of the hall.

  I stood still, my head reeling from all the things I heard. There was a daughter after all…But where? And what was all this deal about a hospital? Half the hall seemed to share my puzzlement. People were talking quietly among themselves; all of them tensed and concerned, even Nandan and Anasuya. Speaking about Anasuya! The change that suddenly came over her was nothing short of mind blowing. Gone was cockiness and spitefulness. Gone was the triumphant smile. Instead standing on stage next to Nandan was a frightened girl, not blessed by intelligence but plenty by beauty. Shiva was kind of right. Anasuya was pathetic. Her sort always were. I wonder which intelligent human said that bullies were actually the worst kind of cowards. He really deserves a medal because he was spot on.

  I went over to her, determined to have a bit of fun before I caught up with Shivani. She was in quite a state, her eyes martyr like and lips all innocent and ready to weep. Not that I felt sorry for her. I don’t have much sympathy to spare for childish tantrums. Nandan was looking at her through the corner of his eyes. He seemed to be deep in thought. Making up excuses and lies in his head no doubt.

  “Will you look at me, Nandan?”

  Anasuya’s firm voice sliced through the silence like a knife. Nandan sighed. “She was lying.”

  Anasuya snorted.

  “You expect me to believe that?”

  The grey haired man came over again, his wrinkled face sad. He glared at Nandan reproachfully and turned to Anasuya. “He lied, yes it’s true. But it’s because he…”

  “Because he loved me?” Anasuya laughed mockingly as she said those words, disgust “Because he loved me?” Anasuya laughed mockingly as she said those words, disgustVIBGYOR

  written in every inch of her face. “He lied about his life with Shivani. For God’’s sake they had a daughter…She…”

  “No!!!!” Nandan’s yell echoed in the hall, surprising Anasuya into a stunned silence. The grey haired man gently looked away, his tired lips uttering long forgotten prayers. I felt so
rry for the poor thing. Nandan may not be the finest gentleman alive but this man didn’t deserve to be punished for it.

  “The thing died even before it was born. Did it matter? Did I have to mention it to you? Are you going to leave me for the sake of a piece of flesh that was disposed off in the hospital?”

  It was as if I was struck by lightning. Anger as I have never known before flared up inside me. I longed to slap the man’s face so that he would never look so supremely unconcerned again. I wanted to strangle him so that he would never speak in that cool, devil-may-care voice. A man who could speak this way about the death of his child was……I simply couldn’t think of a bad enough word. A piece of flesh…Did he forget that it was his own flesh and blood?

  “Do think about what you are saying Nandan.” The old man whispered in a resigned voice, not even bothering to look at Nandan in the eye. I wondered why he didn’t give his son a good hard slap and be done with it. Did parents lose the right to do that in old age? I don’t know……Maybe the loss of youth and energy coincided with the loss of authority as well.

  I was so absorbed by the drama onstage that I forgot all about the ‘spectators’. Most of them were gone, probably after hearing Nandan’s distasteful remark. The remaining I’’m sure stayed only for the sake of catching up on the story. Couldn’t miss the juicy tidbits could they? Slimey creatures…Wouldn’t I love to lock them inside a box and throw away the key! Creatures like them deserved to rot in eternity.

  I would have loved to stay like them and hear the so called juicy ‘tidbits’ as well, simply for the sake of what I was released into the world to do. But I didn’t. I may be a spirit supposed to be as indifferent to the plight of these humans, just as indifferent as the man standing on stage but…It simply broke my heart (just an expression humans used. We don’t have hearts.) when I thought of Shivai sobbing over the felt book she had made for her daughter. A piece of flesh…To Shivani that piece of flesh was a piece of her own heart…A dream she nurtured. I simply couldn’t bear to stand around and listen to the heartless words that were sure to drop from Nandan’s lips.

  Ah! But would it be fair to simply go without giving Nandan something he deserved? Of course not! I crept up behind him just as Anasuya let out a sigh of relief. “That was it? You should have told me Nandan. As long as Shivani doesn’t have “That was it? You should have told me Nandan. As long as Shivani doesn’t have

  VIBGYOR

  anything that ties her to you…” Those words changed my mind. Not just Nandan but that girl too deserved a good kick in the back. No…both of them deserved a whole lot of kicks. Horrid selfish, spoilt, heartless, inconsiderate brats! I’m not exactly an expert in the ‘‘art’ of swearing or else I could have called them better names.

  WHAM!!!! WHIM!!!!WHAM!!!!! First Nandan and then Ansauya(who was treated to a bit lighter hit than Nandan) tumbled down on stage, both on their front, in a very undignified manner. Nandan fell on his belly letting out a loud yelp that sounded curiously like a dog’s. Anasuya did not fall that hard but in her attempt to get up, she got all tangled up in her elaborate pink gown and fell down again, her legs and hands one entwined mess. Everyone in the hall rushed over to help them while I burst into helpless laughter. It was good too good…

  For once the Greens let go of all their hostility. They laughed with me, some of them on all fours. One of them even came over, whistling happily and extended hand. “I’m not fond of your lot but...ya…you put up a jolly good show for us.” I laughed softly.

  “That asshole deserved it.”

  The Green guffawed.

  “I’ll say. I know we’re not the best of spirits when it comes to attitude but even we can’t enjoy the kind of thing he said. And the girl…” “What about her?”

  The Green’s form darkened as she replied.

  “She created me.”

  Now, that did not surprise me at all. Considering what I knew about Anasuya’s nature, she could and would have created an army of Greens during her time on earth. “And a load of others like me.” she continued. “They got quite sick of her and left. But I stuck around.” I was quite speechless for a second. I mean…when a human makes a Green nauseous, it was safe to say that he or she had the personality of poison ivy. I couldn’t help shaking my head in disgust.

  “She’s quite a piece of work!”

  “You can say that again.” The Green said, “She was awfully jealous of a lot of people. A girl from school. Her name’’s…”

  “Shivani.” I completed mechanically.

  The Green nodded gravely.

  “The girl who was here just now… That’s her isn’t it? But I have no idea why that spoilt brat’s jealous of her. I mean… I don’t think her fiancé loves Shivani. That’s why I’m with her. You know…It’ll be cool to know what really happened.”

  “I can’t make sense of this stuff either.”

  I couldn’t believe what I was doing. Having a civil conversation with a Green! Miracles will never cease. Ten minutes later, I was outside. The excitement inside had died down. The bride and groom had gone their separate ways in flower smothered cars. The Greens too had slowly drifted out one by one, going various ways. The one I had spoken to earlier waved before she took flight, no doubt to follow Anasuya’s car. In a way, I understood her morbid fascination with Nandan’’s selfish fiancée. Anasuya was a dark fairy. A black aura shrouded her fairy beauty.

  My thoughts were very rudely interrupted by a huge lorry that whizzed past me, it metallic body clanging and banging unpleasantly. Just as it rounded a corner a cloud of thick black smoke whooshed from it. I moved away instinctively as the cloud floated nearer, a sinister mass of poison released into the urban street. How can humans survive in this place? Are they immune to poison or something? I didn’t think so. Maybe…Humans were too full of poison themselves that poison had no effect on them.

  I pondered about the matter while I scanned the streets for any sign of Shivani. She was not nearby. I flew to the park. No Shivani. No Dan and Jacob either. Just a few crows playing about in the heap of garbage.

  I sighed helplessly. There was no way I could find her in the sea of city traffic. She could be anywhere, one among the numerous busy people of the town. I thought it’ll perhaps be better if I went home and waited for Shivani. And I would have gone too if I hadn’t spotted a familiar wheelchair in the parking lot of one of the apartment buildings. Hmmm…I made my over there quickly. Maybe Shiva had crossed path with Jacob again.

  The apartment building was a huge white structure that stood proud and aloof in the street, looking down on the smaller buildings and even smaller humans with a sneer on its face. Something about it reminded me of a sinister group of humans called dictators. The prideful name board boasting that it was the largest apartment complex in the area, the luxury, the craving to be bigger and better…

  Jacob and his wheelchair looked particularly insignificant next to it. He looked the part of the perfect victim. The poor common man just about to be kicked by the big pompous dictator with leather boots.

  Dan, the epitome of patience, was holding on to the wheelchair gently, waiting for instructions from his friend. I had a sneaking suspicion that Jacob lived in the very same apartment building. His relaxed manner as he hung around there supported my idea. Were they waiting for someone outside? Perhaps a family member? Hmmm…I wondered if Jacob even had a family. He and Dan seemed to be affixed to each other with some kind of superglue but…there had to be someone else. A mother, father, sister, brother?

  They were indeed waiting for someone. And that someone was walking swiftly towards them from the other side of the street. A woman all dressed up in a sunshine yellow gown (too bright for my taste) with carefully set curls spilling elegantly down to her waist. She had a naturally pretty face which didn’t need any embellishments. Too bad she almost suffocated it with makeup. Heavy foundation, dark eyeshadow, shocking pink lipstick. She could very well have been wearing a mask.

  “I do
n’t see why you have to enquire into her affairs. She’s…”

  Although Dan’s voice was soft, the anger in it was unmistakable. Jacob smiled serenely and waved his hand.

  “Ah! Are you underestimating me, my good fellow?”

  “I am not underestimating you, Jacob.” said Dan. “I know how you feel and there’s really no need to…”

  “I have to make sure my ex-fiancée’s engagement went well. Duty of a gentleman, don’t you think?” Dan apparently found the remark not worth commenting. He simply snorted loudly and turned away, disgust written in every line of his face. I, meanwhile, surveyed Jacob closely. He was, as he put it himself, a broken man in every sense of the word. Would anyone in this shallow world, want him as a husband? Can anyone look through his deformed body and see the cheery, indomitable spirit within? I didn’t think so. Then, something he said to Shivani came back to my memory. He hadn’t been blind always.

  The woman in yellow hailed them as she made her way towards the apartment. Her face was kind as she smiled at Jacob. “She wasn’t happy to see me. She apparently thought I wouldn’t bother to show up.” Jacob laughed.

  “She just wanted the news to get back to me. She didn’t really want you there.”

  “Inviting me was probably the dumbest thing she ever did. Her engagement was a disaster. Her fiancé’s ex-wife showed up and made a horrible scene and then both the bride and groom took a nasty spill on stage.”

  I gasped out loud. Anasuya…I stared at Jacob. Try as I might, I couldn’t imagine him and Anasuya as a couple. They just didn’t match properly at all. Anasuya was shallow while Jacob was full of substance. Anasuya was a moaning, moping whiner while Jacob was a bundle of optimism.

  “That bitch deserved it.” The comment (especially the swearing) coming from Dan startled me quite a bit. But yes…Anasuya deserved all the swearwords in the worlds. Even the meanest and nastiest of them.