Manan and Shruti

‘Even Moon searches and identifies her Sun among the clouds. No cloud can hide him for a very long time!’

Alice rebuked Jack.

‘And what if the cloud changes the sky,’ smirked Jack with his evil eyes. 

Alice opened the window’s curtains, saying sarcastically, ‘O Sun, did you know Jack can change your sky!’

Some stories are never incomplete, maybe they are waiting for a different place to get complete.’

Grace, a quiet child enters the room, compared to other teenagers of her age, she had a vivid imagination of colors, butterflies, and her favorite fireflies.

She was always drawn to fireflies!

‘Dad, can’t we travel to India, I mean we do have our great-grandfather’s ancestral home in Rajmachi, also home for fireflies.’

Jack never wanted to revisit Rajmachi, and Grace suddenly is uttering the word RAJMACHI!

Though Grace has a different nationality her diction is so much Indian!

The big mansions’ lights went off, and all of a sudden, a gush of winds opened the window from outside.

‘Yes Grace, we can definitely visit India, your grandfather, and even your father’s childhood was spent there, and there is this sto…’; Alice could not complete her sentence.

Jack interrupted Alice from uttering further things.

‘Grace why don’t we visit our near countryside instead, if you really have to visit a village’?

‘Fireflies Dad, I wish to view the spectacular fireflies! 

‘Fireflies triggered the memory of Jack!’

Jack sat down on his easy chair,

‘Shruti.’

Uttering this name, Jack covered his face with both his hands.

The scene opens, somewhere in the British era.

‘Mid-June, the night is little cold, as rainfall has made the climate chill a bit in Rajmachi.

The rain had just started,

‘Shruti… O Shruti, can you please lend me your umbrella!’ Manan was shouting from his lungs out; and as usual, Shruti could not hear him.

‘What an irony, the name is Shruti, and madam cannot hear things properly,’ Manan laughed.

Interestingly, Manan’s words were heard by Shruti, as she came closer;

‘Name is Manan, but you too do not speak from your heart,’ Shruti pulled Manan’s ears playfully and continued, ‘If you would have asked from your heart, I would have heard!’

This playful act of both teenagers was watched quietly by Jack, the third teenager and son of General Edward, a British Army Officer.

Jack had always liked Shruti and was apprehensive about the brewing love between Shruti and Manan.

Jack hated fireflies, as Manan and Shruti used to spend a good time in the woods at night, with the glorious, magnificent, and enormous fireflies flying around the woods.

Jack hated this to his core.

Once in such a night the trio: Jack, Manan, and Shruti were walking in the woods. Shruti touched a tree lovingly, and a firefly came and sat on her hand.

‘If only you knew Shruti, Manan is not the one for you, I am!’ Jack whispered as he knew Shruti is hard of hearing.

Manan was adjusting his shoelaces while sitting down. ‘Let us go home guys.’

Jack had some other intentions, ‘Shruti, why don’t you go home? Manan, can you come to my place; my father wanted to gift you an umbrella.’

Manan’s eyes gleamed with happiness, as it was rainy season, he direly wanted one umbrella!

Scene shifts

 –

Grace along with her mother Alice and father Jack had landed in India and were on their way to reach Rajmachi, as they were traveling via road, they reached very late at night.

Jack’s eyes were enthralled to see so many fireflies hovering around the roads near Rajmachi village; It was spectacular!

They reached the ancestral home close to midnight. 

Grace and Alice entered the age-old house, Jack stood outside.

He started strolling in the nearby woods, fireflies all through the roadways.

It was already raining and suddenly the rain started gaining speed.

Jack quickly paced forward and stopped below a tree. He looked at the bark of the tree and touched it, closing his eyes he remembered, it is the same tree!

A scene from the past opens in front of his eyes.

‘Manan, take that yellow umbrella kept on the table; you’ll like it.’ 

Manan became happy like a small kid; he clapped his hands and ran towards the table, and picked up the yellow umbrella. 

Suddenly a loud gunshot was heard from Jack’s room. Jack whispered again, ‘‘If only you knew Shruti, Manan is not the one for you, I am!’

Jack opened his eyes with a jerk. 

It is the same tree, where Jack had hidden General Edward’s revolver.

Jack saw he was surrounded by fireflies all around now, and before he could understand anything; he saw Grace standing before him with a yellow umbrella in her hands, A firefly was sitting on the umbrella, it was slightly different from other fireflies!

She moved the umbrella towards Jack.

‘‘See I can hear! It was Manan and always Manan, never you Jack.’’