India

Jai exited the airport and was immediately hit by a wave of heat. He had taken a layover to Chennai as that was the closest route to the his hometown. The sun shone with an oppressive intensity and the people crowded over the handrail with name plaques for different people.

Jay had arranged transport to the closest town from which he took a bus that stopped around his village.

It had been two months and Jay had refreshed on the bare minimum of the language to ask for directions, food, shelter and the works.

Now he arrived at the location of his hometown, tho town was a bit of a stretch. It seemed more like a large village with buildings and long stretches of empty land. Checking the signs he arrived at the plot of land that was his.

The family of the house nearby gave him wary looks as he approached it, with one woman going in and a man coming out and making his way towards Jay with a serious look on his face.

Jay introduced himself, taking a picture of his parents and their names to show them who he was.

The man's eyes widened as he shouted for his wife. They said something that Jay didn't understand and the man laughed patting him on the back.

From what was told, it seemed that the man was a relative of his father, a cousin of some sort. He brought Jay into the home despite Jay's **** and introduced him to the family.

His name was Bala, his wife Meena, his eldest son, Ramesh, and his daughter Janani. Turned o

ut Jay had a rorster of family with more cousins aunts and uncles around the town, which after spending his last two months an orphan, was enough to make him tear up.

Finally he was introduced to the matriarch of the family. Bala and his family seemed to live as a joint family with his brother and mother. Kannagi was a 74 year old woman with the presence to silence the entire family's gaggle with a look.

Jay had to admit he was intimidated as she approached him, even if he stood two feet taller than her. She tugged him down and looked keenly at his face, turning it left and right. After letting go, she said something that Bala translated in a slow tone as an invitation (or an order) for Jay to stay a while.

When Jay explained his situation in his broken grasp on the language, the family have him a strange look. A few mumbled here and there lead to them informing him that some rituals or poojais had to be done for him and the land for him to pass it on.

Knowing well how Indians can be with their religion and traditions, Jay didn't feel confident is challenging it. Reluctantly he was shown to a room to stay in.