Prestige lover

D K Piyarathna

Mrs Fairy is a very old practitioner coming to court in one of her immaculately maintained three vehicles at home, driven by herself when Mahinda joined the bar about six year back. Even the bench was tolerant even if anything has gone wrong on her part considering her age and in the way she makes her submissions in her superb English, she being a product of an aristocratic girls’ school in Colombo.

There is nothing to say about her English fluency. Anyway the opposing lawyers take extra care when Mrs Fairy appearing for a party in a case because she vehemently fights for the rights of a client of hers in a case.

She being one of two daughter professionals of a lawyer father and being the widow of a university professor she had amassed a sizeable wealth both got as an inheritance as well as she had earned with her nearly sixty-year long legal practice.

During Mahinda's short period at the bar two lady Juniors were with Mrs Fairy.

They did not go long with her. Mahinda doubts because they would not have got a better treatment from her. That is because she is not sympathetic towards those who are weak. If not she would have helped them built up a practice. Mahinda's view is how could she, being one of those who depend on the weak, help the weak to prosper.

One day when Mahinda went to her residence he saw a photograph of her kept on a sideboard taken just after taking oaths as a lawyer. She was a beauty queen those days.

Mahinda can't believe why she had marked time till she passes her mid forties to get married.

Mahinda got to know that there were so many aspirants in the bar itself on those days, as they were not prestigious enough to be her life-long partner. Mahinda is indecisive who were unfortunate: them or her.

Mrs Fairy had become a victim of values imparted to her from the environment to which she was exposed being a lawyer's daughter and the prestigious alma mater in which her life was rounded.

As she did not have children from the late marriage now she happened to be alone in an spacious bungalow. Although she needs an attendant in her extremely old age, late eighties, she was very much adamant to have one because if one was kept he or she would steal things at home she loved her properties more than her life.

Recently her office room where she was on rent was bought by a lady junior. The sum involved there is negligible when compared to her wealth. There she did not take an interest to buy it in time being late as in her marriage, but later was concerned about her losing the place because it is a blow to her prestige.

That Monday morning when Mahinda and his colleagues were glancing the day’s papers in the low library for their astonishment the honourable District Judge came and sat near them to know about the funeral arrangements of Mrs Fairy's remains. Everybody was surprised to know she had passed away.

Even last Friday she had driven home after work. Although she was not interested in buying, her implied ousting from the premises would have affected her prestige so much. During the weekend when she was alone in the bungalow she had fallen ill.

On her way to the bathroom with only the underskirt on she would have fallen dead. If she had loved people not the prestige Mrs Fairy would have been alive among us still. Mahinda went to the funeral. It was mentioned in the funeral oration whole host of meritorious acts carried out by her spending so much money. But she was adamant to keep an attendant to save her property. Mahinda is of the view she did all that in the name of prestige not that they love people.