A love lost, A life gained

A Step In the Right Direction

He learned the hard way that if the golden trinity says something, they follow it to the dot. If he wasn't being absolutely kept in the sight of the three, some member of the team, once even the literal child Sonu, would be right beside him. He had even been sleeping with Dada, they had been serious about that part too. Yuvi had gotten away with bunking with Viru Pajji. He would have bunked with Zak or Bhajji or someone but Dada had asked him to sleep in his room and well, he didn't want to say no to his face. Not like he had had a choice, Dada had already brought a bellboy to take his luggage to his room. He was trying hard not to scream as he never had a second to himself in two days but it was fair enough. He did cause a bit of a ruckus the other day. Nobody in the team knew what had happened but they did know him and Yuvi were grounded and were on strict orders to not leave them to their own devices. To make things worse, Jammy Bhai had taken to running his laps with him, cutting them short if he felt that they had done more than enough. He seemed to think Mahi was pushing too hard, though he begged to differ. They kept treating him like a porcelain doll. He was itching all over to run away for one minute atleast and just breathe without having to worry about concerned eyes watching him. So he did. He knew it was stupid but he stayed up until he was sure Dada was deep asleep and snuck to the terrace, phone in his pocket and not on silent this time just in case Dada gets up.

Past few days had been turbulent. Atleast at home he knew how to pacify his family. All he really had to do was pretend and anyone apart from his mother wouldn't look deep enough. He had settled into a routine, spending a minimum calculated amount of time with people so nobody would wonder too hard about him. Solitude called to him more than anything else these days, so he did what was required to earn it. But in the team? He had thought he wouldn't have to pretend so much. He was still fairly new only outranking Sonu and Irfan really. He knew that he wasn't exactly into the core of the team though he had started loving being with them. He loved Yuvi and Bhajji's constant search for something stupid, for some smiles. He loved the way Viru Pajji was always looking to have fun. He loved how devious his idol actually was, not many people know just how good a prankster Sachin Tendulkar is. He loved how Zak and Ashu acted cool but were fiercely loyal. He loved how Jammy Bhai was passionate in his own way, knowing a million details of his interests, how he could go on and on about a topic without tiring. Jammy Bhai loved them, it was in the way he would indulge Yuvi's stupidity or sit down besides someone who was struggling with his book and silent support. He loved the way Jammy Bhai loved with his little scoldings, his sarcasm, the way he had pulled Mahi against himself on the bus. And he absolutely loved the way Dada looked at them. Exasperated and proud. Dada wasn't as flamboyant off field as he was onfield, he was pretty chill actually. But there wasn't one thing Dada did that wasn't done with a level of fierceness, of passion, of strength. Be it taking of his jersey at Lord's or holding Mahi tightly for what had felt like hours that day. He loved the way Dada burned bright for them. It was maybe foolish the way he wanted to be a part of them but didn't feel worthy of them. It wasn't his abilities he was questioning, he knew he was able. But he had failed to give love as openly as they did. Mahi felt like dry sand in comparison to the blazing fires of warmth they all were. 

He stood leaning with his back to the railing looking up at the cloudy sky. Perhaps that was why it rubbed off wrong on him, the way everyone seemed to care about not leaving him alone. He snorted at himself, look at him now psychoanalyzing himself. He sat down, his back to the wall and closed his eyes. It wasn't a very pleasant night but there was just enough breeze up there for him to not feel hot. He must have dozed off a bit because next thing he knew, he was jumping out of his skin as something touched his shoulder.

It was Yuvi. 

"You know Dada will kill you if he sees you gone right?"

"What are you doing here then?" he shot back annoyed.