1 Jake Wilson (Part 1)

It was a summer morning in Mumbai (1). Date 25th May 2016. The morning Sun illuminated the sky and the sea below with the colour red. A cool sea breeze, capable of soothing souls blew through the gaps of the tall buildings and soft chirping sounds could be heard from far away in the horizons. If not for the numerous tall buildings and the pollution of Mumbai, it would have been breath-taking scenery. Although it was early morning but the streets and roads were getting busier and busier. It was a new day but also the start of a new chapter in most of the beautiful stories. People have set out to play their own roles. Some were following the script, some trying to change it while others desperately working to change the entire script. It is hard but definitely not impossible to change their lives. Unknown to the world, one such person who would achieve this feet was still in his dreamlands unaware of the changes the world around him was undergoing.

Near the sea shore, a large society was built for the members of Indian Navy and their family to live in. Daniel Wilson, a Commodore (2) in Indian Navy was allotted a flat in the same society. As his rank was high so were the living conditions. Daniel was a handsome man in his 40's and with the military training he had a well maintained and masculine body. He carried himself with a lot of discipline and conduct. Due to his high rank he also had an air of someone superior and a kind of pride that only people serving their countries can have. His wife Martha Wilson was equally beautiful and dignified lady also in her 40's. She had chosen teaching as her profession and now she was the principal of the Mannett Public School meant for the children of people serving defence services. . His father Luke Wilson, a retired army officer and mother Bella Wilson, a housewife were both in their 70's and were living a blissful and fulfilling life seeing their son's growing prestige. The only drawback in the happy family life was that Martha was unable to conceive a child due to a disease she was diagnosed earlier. This has been a problem that would bring bouts of sadness to the family time and time again. That was until a fateful day, 18 years ago when an accident that changed their entire lives for the better took place when Martha visited the Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary for the school trip with her students. Let's rewind the time a bit and look into the opening pages of the story we are going to witness.

It happened 18 years ago when Martha was still a Teacher and not the principal. She was 31 years old back then and had a more youthfulness to her beauty than the mature charm she has now. The school took their senior students (3) for an educational trip to the wildlife sanctuary. It lasted for 10 days before coming to an end. In this period of time they were staying in a nearby lodge which was situated in a rural area. On the eve of their departure Martha visited the local church and silently prayed for her family. She was married to Daniel for 8 years now (4). The only problem she had with her family life was her not having a child. Whenever she would see her colleagues bringing their children to school, their cute and adorable antics, and their closeness with their mothers, her heart would ache and would be filled with longing and bitterness. Every time she visited the church she would pray to have a child although she knew it was impossible. She and Daniel had discussed about adopting a child but every time some or the other legal or private issues would pop up making the couple lose all their hopes. Although her in-laws were open minded and have never blamed her or taunted her like some old fashioned and narrow-minded old codgers she saw in the television serials, she would occasionally noticed their moist eyes whenever they saw other grandparents doting on their grandchildren. She would lay all her grievances before the god and would occasionally shed tears when no one was watching. She was a strong willed woman and the wife of a proud man, but in the end she was still a woman, who longed for the feeling of motherhood. After offering up her prayers she left the church and joined her group which she was assigned as a teacher in charge and then departed on the bus they had hired in advance. On the way they took 5 stops before reaching their respective destinations. On the 5th stoppage when Martha left the bus, she saw a beautiful scenery in front of her, laced with greenery and freshness. Tempted by the beauty she decided to stroll a little before going to the restaurant to eat. But fate seemed to have decided something else for her as when she was walking a deserted road she happened to notice a lying figure not far from her under the shade of a giant tree. What was more appalling was a baby lying in a basket just beside the figure. She rushed to the place and found the figure to be a woman.