A SELF DISCOVERY NOVEL
Lost & Found – The path of self discovery
Chapter 5: Mira’s foreboding
“What is worse? To be confronted with an obvious horror, or to be haunted by a never-ending premonition of what’s ahead?”― Jac Jemc
Mira Aisāk jerked into consciousness, dripping with sweat and fossilized by sleep. It was three-thirty at night.
She could still smell the fumes on the road. The car lay smashed against the barrier of the highway, smoke rising from the engine. There were Police cars all around the crash. There were two people still inside the wreck. Fast asleep, or at least they looked like that by the stillness of their breath.
An ambulance drove up, and the back door opened, and inside was her infant son looking distressed in the arms of a nurse. Mira was standing a few feet away from the ambulance and could hear the ambulance's radio announcing that Mira had just given birth to a healthy baby boy weighing 4.5 kgs. But Mira was confused. If that infant was her son, why was he not with her, and why was she not in a hospital.
Mira walked up to the ambulance, looked at the boy, and put her hands out to pick him up, but she was shocked to find that it was too heavy for her to pick up. As if, bolted into the arms of the nurse, who seemed quite relieved to see that Mira could not lift the baby.
Jordan, her son, had come back into her dreams after many years. Well, her son, biologically speaking. Mira had given Jordan up for adoption the day he was born.
Mira still remembers the night vividly. The night Jordan was conceived.
Mira was the last one left in the auditorium, or so she thought. She had just finished the final rehearsals of Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet. Mira was playing Juliet and was very nervous about the performance the following evening.
It was for her first-year, final assessment project at the National College of Drama in New Delhi. Against her parents' wishes, she joined this one-of-a-kind prestigious college and trained to be an actress after four years here.
She had just turned 19.
Mira could have chosen a more straightforward project for her first-year exams, but she had chosen this project specially because of the tutor teaching Shakespeare that semester. His name was Brian Nelson. He taught Drama specializing in Shakespeare in Oxford and was their visiting faculty for the summer.
It was almost midnight, and her hostel was a 10-minute walk from the college. She planned to sleep late and take it easy tomorrow before arriving mid-day to start getting ready. The whole college was going to be there for the performance, including all the faculty. It was going to be her first big night on stage as the leading actress. A tentative precursor to a famous career, she hoped.
Just as she stepped out of the gates, it started to rain. The monsoons in Delhi strike without warning and can overwhelm you in their passionate deluge. Mira was cursing herself for not carrying her umbrella.
Through the lashing rain, she saw the headlights of a car turning out of the college parking lot behind her, and it slowed down as it came alongside her. Mira was soaking wet by now.
It was Brian in his old beaten-up second-hand Fiat. He bent his head and looked at Mira and pushed the passenger door open, and said, “Get in, Juliet!
Mira giggled and slid next to him while Brian continued to look thoroughly amused at Mira’s drenched attire. He was still smiling at Mira as he teasingly said, “ The last time I checked, swimming with all your clothes on is not allowed in the pool.”
“Ha, Ha, Not funny, Brian,” Mira replied, blushing slightly at the pool of water that was fast soaking into the seat and making the car extremely wet.
“You are melting into the car seat in front of my eyes. I think we might need to find a new Juliet for the play tomorrow!” Brian continued joking and teasing Mira as he drove out of the college gates.
Mira was happy to be alone with Brian for a change.
She usually saw him either teaching in-class or in the auditorium during rehearsals directing the actors. The only time Mira had been alone with Brian was when the students had thrown a surprise party for his thirtieth birthday. Mira remembered how Brian looked visibly moved by the gesture as tears had welled up in his eyes.
Later that afternoon, Brian had invited some of the students to come to his flat for a few beers. Mira had joined the group but had stayed a bit longer to spend time chatting with him while helping him tidy up his room out of sheer pity for his messy, maidless pad.
That day Brian and Mira had talked for a long time. Brian had confessed to Mira his love for Indian spirituality, architecture, and history and how he hoped to keep returning to eventually become a local or `desi’ as they said in Hindi. Mira had laughed a lot that afternoon watching Brian try to speak Hindi and impersonating the actor, Amitabh Bachchan, from his movies.
“So, you excited about tomorrow?” Mira asked, trying to distract Brian away from the mess she was making of his car.
“I am! I am!” Brain replied in an excited tone. But his voice turned somber when he said, “But I will miss the actual performance as they just moved my flight back to London forward to 7 pm.”
No! That is ridiculous”, Mira interjected. “You can’t do that! You are the director Brian”, Mira pleaded loudly.
“Well, technically, I am not. Bose is the director. I am just the Prof. helping you all prepare. I’m gutted!. But I can’t help it. I can’t change the flight, and I need to be back in London. It’s my sister's wedding.” Brian rolled out all his reasons at one go to block out any suggestions from Mira.
“So this is the last time I see you before you leave?” Mira asked, looking hurt and surprised at herself as tears started to well up in her eyes.
“No. I was going to tell you all tomorrow when we met,” Brian retorted defensively.
Mira still does not recall how it happened, but tears started falling uncontrollably down her cheeks that complemented her rain-soaked hair, and Brian had to get off the road and stop the car. He put his arms around Mira and gently pulled her closer to him and hugged her trembling body, and whispered, “Don’t cry, Mira. It’s OK. Don’t cry.” Mira raised her head and looked up to see Brian’s face right up close to hers and his hazel brown eyes looking tenderly at her.
Then Brian bent his head and kissed her on the lips.
To be continued…
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