Prejudice

43. Firefly

Mumbai International Airport was as busy as it ever could be.

Jay pretended to read the emails on his cellphone, while he waited for the flight to be announced.
Pranav was looking absentmindedly at the planes landing and taking off, while his thoughts ran to his wife and seven year old son, back in Charu Villa.
Siddharth just preferred to close his eyes and think about the woman he was trying to chase for a long time now, but the haughty woman did not pay any heed to his attempts to woo her. He thought of Tara almost all the time. She had caught his attention and wanted to take slow steps to explore the possibilities of a prospective relationship, but she would avoid him.

Jay looked at him and thought if he was the luckiest man to have no worries at all.

The flight was announced and all three of them looked at each other, getting ready for a long journey ahead.
While Pranav wanted to run back to the villa to his family, Jay was being dragged for no reason and Siddharth wished he had managed to convince Pranav's to take Tara along, for a better time in Canada.

The trio picked up their bags and were on their way to board the flight.

They say that life gives you surprises at the most unexpected time. It gives you those things that you desire, when you completely lose hope of getting it. Something of that sort happened that day.

Pranav walked ahead while Jay silently followed his elder brother and his friend.

A boy of around three to four years, came running from nowhere and hugged Jay's left leg. Jay was startled and halted in his tracks. His shoulder bag fell down by the sudden unexpected impact on his leg and Pranav looked behind, startled by the sound.

Jay was confused as he looked down at the child.

"Daddy!" The child squealed in excitement.

Jay gently unclasped the child's arms around his leg and kneeled down in front of him. The child was more happy with the gesture and he wrapped his tiny arms around Jay's neck, calling him Daddy in a louder and more excited voice.

Jay was taken aback by the gesture. He was too shocked to reply react.
He composed himself and gently pulled away the child and held him by his shoulders at a distance.
Before he could he say or think about it, he was distracted.

"Kabir?" A deep but gentle and kind voice resonated and the child looked back.

Jay looked at the man who had called the child. He was tall with broad shoulders and wore an expensive overcoat.

"Papa, look Daddy." The child squealed again.

The man turned his gaze to look at Jay and held his gaze for a mere moment. A cold shiver made its way through Jay, at the way he was analysed for a mere second. The man looked back at the child and his features softened immediately. He crouched down to the child's level and gave a small smile.

"Kabir, he is not your Daddy." The man said in a calm voice.

The boy looked back at Jay with a slight confusion. But a certain sense of determination passed on his features.

"No, he is Daddy." The boy pointed at Jay.

The man looked at Jay and back at the child.
"He is not your Daddy, Kabir. Come let's go."

The soothing calm voice of the man made the child jump in his arms. The man picked up the child and gave a calculative stare to Jay, before turning around. He turned around and he came face to face with Pranav who was frozen like a statue. The turn of events had made him shocked.

The man did not waver his gaze from Pranav for a good second and looked back at Jay, who was still kneeling on the ground. The man walked away, but the child had his gaze focused on Jay until he was lost in the crowd.