Song of the Firebird

Twenty three

Jay stood up and excused himself out of the house. The woman called out, 'I will send Deepak wherever you need help.' He nodded turning to his side, without looking at her and drove to the mansion, feeling the slightest of the hopes brush through his body.

Upon arriving at his place, he saw a black Pulsar parked near the gate. Curious to know the recent guest, he ran to the common hall. He saw Mandhira serving coffee and snacks to a man of his age, his newly dyed straight dark brown hair, a thin long face with a drawbridge moustache donned by a thin beard. From the last time he had seen the visitor, he could not help but gawk about the lost traces of bulked up body fat.

Mandhira was the first one to notice his arrival. 'Jay, where have you been since morning? Look, who's here for you? You remember Kathir from school, right?'

Kathir looked at Jay and smirked. He hugged Jay and whispered in his ear, 'Ah! My dearest rival. Drop the look. It doesn't suit you.'

Jay clenched his fist. Pulling himself out, Jay said, 'Oh, yeah. Kathir. How have you been doing?'

'All good. How's your desk job treating you?' Kathir snickered.

'Never been better.'

As the men settled on the couch, Mandhira called out, 'You guys catch up while I will bring another cup of coffee. And Jay, have you got me my vitamins?' Fiddling with the tablet strip, he strode towards his sister-in-law. In the pretext of getting the strip, she whispered, 'He is still the sly fox. Please bear with him for a while.' Jay nodded and went back to his seat.

When the pregnant female made her way to the kitchen, Kathir said, 'You are not the one who has enough patience for the field trip. Entertain me.'

'You're the prodigy. Figure it out.' Kathir studied Jay for a few seconds and looked inside the house for signs of Mandhira or other people. The hall was empty.

'Trouble in paradise, isn't it?'

'You deserve a standing ovation. Would you like one?'

'The coast is clear. Your servants are not clever enough to place recording devices in the mansion. You know, you guys are the talk of the town, especially the High Court.' Jay glared at him demanding more explanation. Kathir continued, 'Come on, rival, I work there now.'

Jay sighed and asked, 'What is your part of the deal?'

'My boy, you are slowly growing to the standards I have set for you in my mind.' The sound of the anklets passed through the air. Mandhira placed the mug on the table opposite to Jay.

Happy that she was as the conversation didn't pick up any fists, she said, 'I am going to check on Poorani upstairs and get back to you guys. If I find any damage to a human body or the hall's furniture, you two will be expecting something so unearthly from my part. Are my terms clear enough?' Both the men nodded, turning a bit pale. 'Good', she said and stormed off to her part of the mansion. She was more interested in the bundle that Jeeva brought from the guesthouse near the meadow. The bundle from her father-in-law's study. Picking her pace, she reached their bedroom and found Jeeva immersed in a pile of documents. She moved closer to him, to take a peek.

'I see, Jay is now talking with Kathir.' Jeeva said, acknowledging her presence.

'Have you found anything yet, dear?'

'No leads yet, darling.' His eyes did not leave the documented papers. 'I wish I had some time to pick your birthday gift, in the meantime.' He turned to her and let out the charming smile that he only reserved for her. 'Tell me what do you want on your special day?

'Gifts? Let me– Wait. What are those papers? Why haven't you gone through them yet?' Mandhira pointed to a large yellow bag at the end of their king-sized bed. Jeeva looked in the direction she pointed. 'You haven't even dusted them off.'

'Oh, they are some gift deed papers-' Jeeva dropped the document he was holding and jumped across the bed to reach the bag. In one swift motion, he dusted the bag off with his bare hands and blew them off. His hands brought the paper to the light. Most of them had turned a light shade of brown in the borders, indicating that they haven't been opened in a very long time. It was a small bundle with few papers that had been threaded in the top left corner. Most of them had his grandfather's name and his father's name on it. Clouded with impatience, he began to swish past them, not caring about the fragility of the papers.

When he was on the verge of throwing them out through the window, his eyes landed on a white paper in the same bundle that hadn't looked much old. For one moment, he deduced that it might be some letter until his name and his brother's name, written in block and bold letters, swept past his vision.

Reading through the contents, Jeeva felt his breath take a hitch.

A gift settlement deed. From their own father.

On reading further, he found that it held the strongest proof on their side regarding the farmlands. A wicked smile graced his lips.

'J-Jeeva, are you alright?' Mandhira was startled by her husband's reactions.

Looking up at her, 'Mandhira, you are the genius one, not me. I will get you the entire city of Madurai, if you wish for it.' He leapt to her side and planted a chaste kiss on her lips. 'Come on, we have a lot to do. Let's go downstairs!' He grabbed her and led her to the common hall.

When the couple blasted their way to the other men, Jeeva said, 'I have found the one we are looking for.'

Jay ran to his brother's side and checked the paper. He read and re-read the contents and wolfishly grinned. 'That's terrific! Now, meet Kathir, our new lawyer.'