The Rainbow (Part 3)

If he was the head of The Rainbow, Stephen was its face. He was, by far, the most popular among the six. He was the best among them, and crowds thronged just to watch him. Most of the money therefore was collected due to Stephen's charisma. But the celebrity status slowly and steadily got to his head. And therefore one day he announced to his friends.

"I am moving to Hollywood. One of my friends is a director there, and he said I had great potential to be one of the best actors in the country. I'm leaving The Rainbow for good. I hardly get any recognition here."

So that was it. Even after much persuasion by the others, he refused to change his decision. He left, and since there was no more Stephen, there were no more crowds. However innovative they made the script, there were hardly any people to watch it. They even tried a couple of new actors in his place, but none worked. And there, the end started. The people moved on to better things, and quickly forgot The Rainbow.

As for Stephen, he got to act in a couple of scenes in a B-grade movie, and that was it. There was no news of him for a long time. They later learnt that he was found dead in one of the streets, and he had died of starvation. They shed tears for their dear friend, and a very good stage performer.

He forced his mind to come back to the present. He continued speaking to his friends.

"I have decided that we will have one last show. That will be tomorrow evening. It will be the end of The Rainbow. We divide whatever we get tomorrow among us equally, and part forever, my friends. Is this fine with all of you?"

No one spoke a word. The talk ended there, and the rehearsals for the last play began. The play was aptly titled 'Rainbow's Ending', written by Noel Greig. The rehearsals continued till late at night, and then they all dispersed to their respective abodes.

The day quickly passed, and the time to start the play arrived. They hoped that at least one spectator to turn up, but there were none. They waited for audience, but for half an hour, there was none. He decided that they would start the play, with an audience or without. Just as they were about to begin the play, a man entered the old hall. He wore dirty clothes, and had himself covered with a tattered rug. They couldn't see his face, since it was dark.

"I am a beggar. I have no money," he spoke in a coarse voice, "but I thought I can watch the play."

They didn't object, and were actually happy that there was at least one person who was going to witness their last play. They started the performance.

It was an astounding performance. The play was a very emotional one and it was portrayed well by all the five men. If only there were people in the audience, they would have all been in tears. The lone man clapped at the end of it all. The lights were turned on at the end of the play. They then saw his face.

"It was really an excellent performance, my brothers!" Stephen spoke. "It reminded me of our old times, when I was alive and was one among you. I tell you, there was not one day after I left The Rainbow, that I didn't regret my decision. But I couldn't just come back and join again. I thought you wouldn't accept me again. How wrong I had been!!"

The others couldn't believe what they saw and heard. They stood dumbstruck to talk anything. But Stephen wasn't waiting for a reply. He continued.

"I was up there, listening to all of you speaking about today being the last play. I couldn't afford to miss that, can I? I have already missed you people more than anything else. So, I decided to witness it. Now as I have seen it, I am at peace. I ask for your forgiveness, my dear brothers, but I have been the result of your downfall. Please forgive me. Lord be with you."

Before any of the five could react, Stephen disappeared into thin air, right in front of their eyes. And there was darkness again.

Image courtesy: http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1357/790656725_a3c6ae5eb0.jpg?v=0

Related posts:

1. The Rainbow (Part 1)
2. The Rainbow (Part 2)