Sabrina

Business tycoon and well respected man, Patrick Jane receives a letter that cuts through his very bones. Along with his reverted money comes doleful news, revealing that Marie has fled from the orphanage. Within the ken of the orphanage, she was last seen on the streets of Rue de Berne, the very famous place for prostitution in Geneva. Patrick immediately sets off to find her.

18 years down the line, a college fling had resulted into an unexpected pregnancy for Patrick’s girlfriend. Marie was born and soon left outside an orphanage in Zurich. His girlfriend had left him soon, never to be re-encountered. Patrick secretly sent money to the orphanage every year. His wife Nadine and daughter Ana were oblivious about Marie's existence and Marie was told her parents died in an accident. Secrets covered the lives of the entire family.

Patrick searches for his daughter only to find her in a brothel. He is agonized as he couldn't adopt Marie; neither will his family accept her, nor would Marie accept him. And disclosing this arcana would ravage both, his life and Marie's too. He couldn't risk his reputation and stable family life anymore.

On meditating, Patrick chances upon an unwonted notion. He decides to disguise as a transgender and befriend Marie. This seemed the sole way to help her. While in his masquerade, he could be a moral support to Marie who didn't have any friend. He had to find a body double that would replace Patrick while he was with Marie. No suspicions would be raised and he could balance both his lives. And the answer to his quest was Claudio, a perfect duplicate of his. Patrick takes the form of a new entity as a transgender- Sabrina.

He provides money to Marie and proves to be a friend to support her. His struggle to equipoise his life with that of Claudio and Sabrina takes form of an inverted U, that starts off on a good scale but soon attracts problems. Patrick supports Marie; mentally and monetarily by being Sabrina. He even takes her out of the brothel and promises a good job. Nobody doubts his absence as Claudio is too good at playing Patrick’s role. But, fate takes Patrick's game in his own hands. Nadine, Ana and Claudio (as Patrick) die in a car accident. The fateful fortuity is all over the news.

For the people, Patrick is dead. His companies are to be vended and hidden in the form of Sabrina, Patrick sees his life being sold while he is still alive. A tough choice was to be made, whether to continue his life as Sabrina or to reveal himself. Finally, money wins the day and Patrick leaves Marie, relinquishes his transgender disguise and reveals that he is alive. The appalling case is taken over by the Swiss Intelligence Agency. And after long deliberations, the identity of Patrick as truly being himself is accepted. Patrick admits of being Sabrina and fathering Marie. And more chaos and rumors start off.

But, amongst vivid rumors and interrogations from the paparazzi, Marie stands alone. Inside the room of her brothel And while the investigation takes place, Marie is reduced to nothing. The mounting exasperation that tightenes in her throat turns in the worst of awful thoughts and in a fit of anger she sets out to confront her father. The doorbell on Patrick's frontdoor rings and when he opens it, his daughter emerges with a pistol.      

Part Four

Hours passed. Around mid-afternoon, he got up and brought some coffee for himself and the others. “Thank you, beta”, said uncle, managing a faint smile. He put his hand over uncle’s shoulder to show his support. How easily does grief bring people close to strangers? He sat down beside the couple. The girls were resting in another room. She rushed to uncle and aunty and pulled them towards the room. “She’s opened her eyes, you were right. We should be positive. She’s asking for you and aunty.” As the couple went inside, she looked at him, tears of joy in her eyes. Suddenly, they were hugging each other. That tiny figure fits so perfectly in his arms. It felt good, amazing. Something that he had longed for since the first time he saw her, was happening right now. Stating that it was anything but magical would be an understatement. They remained like that for a few seconds, not letting any air pass between them. She broke from his embrace suddenly, looked at him for a second and rushed to tell the other girls. He just stood there, amazed and confused by what had just happened.

Everyone gathered outside the room. He stood beside his friend but made sure he could see his beautiful lady from there. Did he just call her his beautiful lady? Oh, he was losing control. He felt his phone vibrate just then and wondered if it was his girlfriend again, who through some black magic knew what was going on in his mind and had called to pull him back to reality. But, it was just Vodafone..trying to irritate him at this hour of the night. It worked though; he got a little distracted and returned to the seats outside the ICU. He was expecting many emotions to rush inside him at that moment. But all he got was emptiness. He didn’t know what to feel. He wasn’t one of those guys who cheated on his girlfriend for a newly found fling. Nor was he one of those guys who went around changing girlfriends. But this was new; he had never felt something like this before. Never before had he wanted his singlehood so badly! He wanted her. He wanted her presence around him, his life. But he knew it would be wrong. He was already in love. And they were made for each other; him and his girlfriend, or so he thought until he hugged this girl. What was happening to him? He needed some sleep to clear his mind. 

He was woken up by his friend. “Coffee?” she asked, passing him a cup of Nescafe. They sat in silence for a while. Things had changed so much in the past one and half day. He remembered talking to her in CCD, laughing and making fun of each other. And here they were, with coffee in their hands again, but complete silence. “We are taking her back home. Uncle knows a Doctor there who can treat her. She is out of danger. Thank you so much for being there. You’re a great support!” He raised his hands in objection, “Hey, that’s what friendship is about, honey. Don’t thank me for being a friend.” They smiled at each other. 

His phone rang again, this time it was his girlfriend. He excused himself and went outside. The fresh air hit him hard like reality replacing imagination. “Where are you? I wanna know!” she shouted. “Baby, please Arnab Goswami mat bano yaar. Wo ek hi kafi hain!” He tried to calm her down with his stupid joke. “Very funny!” she said in an irritated voice. He knew he would have to explain her everything. And he narrated the entire incident, skipping the romantic encounters with the girl. He was walking on the lawn outside the hospital, talking to his girlfriend. The sun had replaced the night sky and the rays made their way through trees. Finally, he went back inside. Uncle and his friend were talking to the Doctor. “We will take her to the hospital in our town then. Thank you so much, Doctor”, uncle was saying. He motioned towards the ICU, but the bed was empty and so was the room. He must’ve talked for really long over the phone. He turned around only to find the pretty face. “Thank you, she will be alright. The doctors back in town are very nice. We are taking her in an ambulance, in case. She’s out of danger though.” she told him, smiling her sweet, innocent, magical smile. “Oh yeah, of course. She’ll be alright”, he replied. She shook hands with him, smiled and went to where everyone else was. 

One by one everyone came and said goodbye. Uncle and Aunty thanked him genuinely before leaving. His friend came, hugged him and said, “I’ll see you soon, okay? Be a nice boy. Bye.” Everything happened so quickly, he couldn’t quite register it. Since the accident, things had slowed down so much that it suddenly seemed like the situation was playing in fast forward. He walked behind them, absent minded. They were leaving. She was leaving and he hadn’t even cleared his confusion or wished her goodbye properly. He was gonna be stuck with it now, stuck with her memories for quite a while. Dammit! What was all this confusion? He had a whole day, week, month, as long as he wanted now; to figure it out!

Part Three

Like most people, he woke up in the morning to his phone. 7 missed calls. He narrowed his eyes to take a good look at the name. It was his friend. He immediately called her back. “Come to St. Joseph’s hospital. Room No 52. Now!” She disconnected the phone. A chill ran down his spine! Was it because of her? Had something happened to her? He got up from his bed and quickly got ready. Never in his life had he been in such a rush. 

He met his friend who was standing outside the room. She looked calm, staring at some invisible spot on the ground. He put his hand on her shoulder. The minute he looked at her, she burst into tears, hiding her face in his broad chest. He was equally scared because although he didn’t know what was happening, he sure knew it was really bad. He let her cry, fighting his own fears. What was happening? He was getting restless. Just then he saw the beautiful girl walking towards them. She looked older now, with her hair tied back and her eyes swollen from all the crying. He was relieved in a way that she was safe. But then, something was wrong. She walked towards them and put a hand on her friend’s shoulder. It brushed his hand and even between all the tensions around him, he felt a current pass through his body. She signalled him to wait while she took her friend to the waiting room beside. She emerged out in a while and sat beside him.

He could smell her fragrance. She was nervously playing with the corner of her kurta. In a reflex move, his hand covered hers and he gently squeezed it. She looked up at him; her eyes sparkling with tears. Finally, she managed to speak up. “We were going to the beach. It was early morning and the roads were quiet and empty. We were crossing the road at our own ease when suddenly a car came by at full speed. Before we could realise anything, it had hit her. She’s in a bad...very bad condition. The doctors aren’t even sure if she’s going to...” Her words got lost in the tears. He held her in his arms. “Everything will be fine, don’t worry”. “I hope so”, she said, looking him right in the eyes. She looked beautiful like this also, he noticed. He wanted her, he badly wanted her.

The doctor came by, talking to an elder man and his wailing wife. “Her parents,” she said. The doctor and the couple talked a little more before the couple came towards them. She got up and the lady hugged her, not giving a break to her tears. There was silence for a while, broken only when the father spoke, “They are going to observe her for few more hours. But, I’m sure my daughter is going to be okay. We will pray for her, and be positive. Sab theek ho jayega, hena beta?” he looked at her. She nodded her head and more silence followed...

Part Two

The group of girls returned from their shopping spree which might’ve qualified to be the quickest one in history! He looked for her among them, but she wasn’t there! Where was she? What was going on? His thoughts took off once again and he got desperate. Equally puzzled as he was, his friend inquired about the girl. They got to know she wasn’t feeling too well and had retired to the hotel. Surprisingly, he couldn’t hold back his concern. “Is she fine? Does she need medicines? Shouldn’t we take her to a Doctor?” The girls giggled again, like the last time. 

“Relax, she’s fine. Just tired I guess”, one of the girls replied. Phew, he was relieved. But, he couldn’t see her and he badly wanted to. In his mind, he already started making plans. The girls said goodbye and started walking back to their hotel. He immediately offered to walk with them, under the pretence of “protecting them”. His friend looked at him, and he knew she was thinking about his actions. Her eyes were full of questions and confusions. He was shocked by his behaviour himself. But, he had to see her.

They reached the hotel and good nights were exchanged. He looked up at the windows of the building; some dark, some lit up and wondered which one of them was hers. He walked back to his apartment and his phone started vibrating. Wi-Fi in the house, no data pack on the phone does this to you. He saw his mobile - 124 messages from 14 conversations on his WhatsApp, 6 unread emails on Gmail, 2 friend requests and 5 notifications on Facebook. Facebook! How can he forget it? He quickly started his laptop and went to his friend’s profile. Like he had guessed, the girls had put up pictures from the trip so far. There, he spotted her! And a beautiful smile replaced the wrinkles created by the concern. 

He easily found her and spent the next 15 minutes completely stalking her public profile. His cursor kept hovering over ‘send a friend request’. He was about to send her a request when his phone beeped playing “1 thing 2 do 3 words 4 you...” Of course, right timing! It was his girl friend. “Hey”, he said in a low voice. “Where have you been all this while? Koi aur toh nahi mil gayi na?” She asked the most cliched questions. “I am not feeling well, let me sleep. I’ll call you later.” “Oh my God, kya hua? You want me to come over? You never take care of yourself!” He could imagine the face she was making on the other side of the phone. He smiled and said, “It’s alright. I’m just tired. Goodnight.” “Goodnight, love you” she replied.

 He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and shut his laptop. Sleep wasn’t going to come so soon, he knew. He looked out of the window at the dark sky and the beautiful moon and stars. “What harm could one time do? Just spend some time with her, get to know her. She’ll leave soon and you can return to your normal life.” The night was really provoking some bold thoughts. “Am I insane? I have a girlfriend! It is this mere attraction and would go away with the night”, his sane mind said.  He chose sleep over everything else and closed his eyes. For a moment, everything was under control. Suddenly, he could see her coming out of the cluster, shaking hands, smiling, walking away. He got up, more wrinkles on his forehead than before. 

Walking towards his laptop, he slowly opened her profile. Staring at the screen for a few seconds, he changed ‘Add Friend’ to ‘Friend Request Sent’. Enough for a day, he realised and went back to his bed, hoping to catch some sleep.

Part One

He looked at the beautifully dressed bride walking towards the mandap. All eyes were set on her as she made her way towards the to-be husband. He just stood speechless, admiring how perfect she looked. He could hear people behind him commenting just how lucky the guy was to have such a perfect wife. 6 years back, this gorgeous woman was his, even if only for a moment, all his. And today, she was getting married to the man she loved.

Watching her walk, he went down the memory lane.. 6 years back, he met her for the first time. He had been keyed up to meet his childhood friend after quite some years and she said she was bringing some friends. They had all come to his part of the state to spend some time with nature and enjoy the beach. It was an all-girls trip, so he knew he was going to be the only male around them. Not that he was nervous or excited; he was in a relationship with a wonderful girl since two years, a happy relationship for that matter. His train of thoughts was broken by a very familiar voice as he turned around to face his friend. She looked the same after all these years he noticed. Geeky glasses, chubby cheeks and the ever-so-cute smile. He returned her cute smile with a broader one. 

She turned to introduce her friends one by one. And as she called out the last name, a slim figure came forward from the cluster of girls to shake hands with him. She had a smile that could melt any heart and little brown eyes that sparkled with excitement. She was so tiny that he probably looked like The Hulk in front of her. He tried to imagine how it would be like to hold her in his arms. He was dazed and couldn’t take his eyes off her and could’ve imagined more if it wasn’t for his friend who coughed to interrupt his day dreaming. He looked up with a smile that said I-know-you-caught-me. “She looks like one of my friends”, he managed between his urge to look back at that girl and hide his embarrassment. “Control dude. She probably thinks you’re an idiot. And oh, how can you forget? You have a girl friend!” he soliloquized. Luckily, his friend rescued him and told everyone she’ll see them later. The girls exchanged goodbyes and turned to walk the other way. He waited to see if she turned around or if he could catch a glimpse of her face again but snap, he was caught again. 

“Stop trying to do that, you have a girl friend and that’s where you must concentrate,” his friend said as she pulled him inside CCD. They sat there for about an hour talking about life and everything that had changed since they last met. He constantly kept praying she would talk about the girl whose smile had not left his mind all this while. He lost his patience and finally asked her, “So who are all these friends you’ve come with?” Who was he kidding? This girl in front of him, who was now grinning, knew him inside out. “She’s my junior. We share an apartment, all of us in fact. She is single, if that helps”, at which he smiled like a little kid eating his favourite candy. “But, you have a girlfriend and she would eat you up alive if this reaches her”, making a face at him, she finished the sentence. He knew it all along, but there was something that kept pulling him towards her. He had to be with her, even if for a few hours. He just had to.