Crushed and Created- Tangled series (Overprotective famous brothers)

The fighter

ALISHA

Quite obviously, the entire world seemed to be curious to know why we had made a trip to Atlantic city, then New York and back to Mumbai. Tabloids had theories ranging from movie shoots to secret connections. I spent a lot of time reading all of them, laughing my butt off. Correct or not, their reports were entertaining.

But then finally, finally after hours of sitting, sleeping and eating, we landed in Mumbai. I was half asleep when I was made to walk down the flight and take care of customs. Straightening my hair and dress while slowly starting to wake up, I got a glimpse of the outside. Boy, it was just like JFK.

“If you don’t mind.” I held onto Sohail and he nodded. He was half sleepy himself too, just like everyone else. Except Malaika, she looked fabulous like always.

“Sohail, why did you make the trip to NYC?”

“Why wasn’t Samantha in Atlantic City?”

“Alisha, why did you all go to USA abruptly?” ignoring all the questions and trying to walk through the camera lights, we finally made it to the cars. Sam and Sohail got into the back, so I sat in the front while Ruth drove. It took a few minutes to get everyone out of the way and get driving.

“Now, I can sleep again.” I got comfortable in the front seat and snuggled in. It was morning time, and the rush hour was at its peak. We all knew that going back home was gonna take hours.

“Me too.” Sam placed her head on Sohail’s shoulder and closed her eyes. I fell asleep for a few minutes till someone thumped on the window, waking me up.

I looked outside to see a group of small children and tweens gazing inside the car. They probably recognized Sohail, and were being star struck. I knew for a fact that they were beggars, and also knew better than giving them money.

In India, begging was literally an illegal business. Kidnapping kids, abusing them, making them beg and snatching their money was one of the major activities going on in slums. Giving them food was the better option, but they straight away refused. Sometimes we’d get them into rehab but it didn’t solve the problem. Twenty other kids replaced one.

Sohail opened the window at the back and tried to talk to them. They refused to accept food, just kept demanding for money. I turned and gave a few rupees to them. For some reason, they threw me furious glances and went away.

“Why would you do that?” Sohail asked and I explained.

“A kid we put into rehab mentioned about abuse when they didn’t get enough money to their masters. They don’t even deserve that.” I looked at them going to every car and cab, begging for money. That’s when I realized where exactly I was.

“The funny thing is, I could have been one of them.” I stated. Just on the left was the highway exit where Salman had seen me lying unconscious. If he hadn’t passed by, if his eyes hadn’t darted my way…anything could happen. I could be one of the beggars, one of the malnourished kids working in cracker factories, maybe even a sex slave. Endless possibilities, yet here I was, sitting in an Rolls Royce with Marc Jacobs clutch in my hand. Giving money to the kids who could have been me.

“Don’t think about it. It’s gone, over.” He placed a hand on my shoulder as Sam stirred.

“It’ll never be over.” I looked inside again, changing the radio station.

“So guys, it’s the world adoption month, and this Saturday will be the world adoption day. I mean, it’s a great option for couples looking for kids. So, contact…”