Not A Simple Engineer Boy!

Fifty One: Lateral Torsional Buckling (Part 1)

Earlier that day...

"Who's this?", a cuter younger version of Satya Devi was standing next to her, scrutinizing Krithika openly as her fingers tapped on her phone.

"She's Krithika.", Satya replied and narrowed her eyes at the teenager, "Stop scrolling through Instagram, you should welcome our guest.", she chided.

As usual, Satya looked like the regal queen that she was, dressed in a dark green Kanchipuram silk saree with a contrasting red blouse. She looked beautiful, her hair was tied in an elegant bun with jasmine flowers and she looked like a picture of grace.

Krithika was sitting quietly in the living area lounge of Satya Devi's bungalow- well, it could be considered at least a mini palace. It was exactly like what she had thought- marvelous. She knew that Satya preferred minimalism and graceful living, but the palace was packed with every royal sense possible.

It wasn't shiny and sparkling, it was spacious and bright, it was about choosing the right things. The giant wooden doors and pillars, Thanjavur paintings, and brass sculptures adorned Satya's house. There was a constant fragrance of sandalwood in the air, tiny brass bells hummed to the light breezes, and that calmed her.

It felt like home.

"Hello, Krithika!", the teenager tapped her shoulder, "I am Dhanya Devi, only sister of the great Satya Devi.", she looked at Satya with puppy eyes, "Am I right, Akka?"

Suppressing a smile Satya admonished her, "She's Krithika Akka to you."

Dhanya shrugged and threw herself over the plush sofa next to Krithika, "All your friends are either Akka or Anna only, you are so old."

"Dhanuma...", Satya clicked her tongue, "So much for not embarrassing me in front of anyone."

Dhanya made a pouting face, "But I was just stating a fact."

Satya shook her head at her sister's behavior and glanced at Krithika, "Don't mind her.", she smiled, "Make yourself comfortable. I have already instructed Selvi. You can ask anything you want; she'll bring you.", her eyes peeked at Dhanya, "Don't annoy her, please."

To which Dhanya rolled her eyes.

Satya excused herself saying that she had to prepare for the Poojai.

It was kind of awkward for her to sit quietly with a vivacious adolescent who was loudly chewing gum. She checked her phone and saw a message from her mother.

'Miss you, Kannamma.'

No, she wasn't her mother's Kannamma anymore. Especially when she hadn't had the guts to support her daughter, her first child when the time had come.

Krithika tried not to think much about her past. She had struggled, but she was out of her cage and knew how to fly.

"Your hair is so beautiful.", Dhanya's surprised tone brought her from trailing thoughts.

"Thanks.", she smiled, "You are also beautiful."

"Is it?", the little girl's eyes shone with excitement, "I want to look like Satya Akka."

Krithika grinned, "Why?"

"Because she is pretty!", pure admiration for her sister flashed on her face, "She is a bit nasty sometimes but if we ignore that then she is a good person."

"Hmm..."

"But I realized that you look prettier than Akka."

"Is this why your sister told me to not mind you?", Krithika chuckled as the chatty teenager glared at her.

"Even though you tried to troll me, I think I like you.", she cleared her throat, "You are cute, and I like cute people."

Krithika didn't know how to respond to being called cute by a kid, "How old are you?"

"Fourteen. I was a surprise to my parents and sister.", Dhanya sadly chuckled, "Akka always saw me as her baby, and with our parents gone she tries hard to fulfill whatever parental duties she could for me."

"Oh.", Krithika didn't want to pry anything. It would be hard to comprehend the pain of losing parents at such a young age. Even with her animosity she never wished anything to happen to her parents.

"Amma passed away when I was born and Appa couldn't survive in some complications with COVID.", Dhanya turned to face her and gave her a weak smile, "It's been two years."

"You are lucky to have a sister like Satya.", Krithika tried to reassure her.

"Hmm...", Dhanya agreed, "I know."

After a moment of silence, Dhanya stood abruptly, "Can I braid your hair?"

It felt like a figment of imagination, Krithika felt shocked by the sudden change of topic, "Whaa...tt?", she stuttered.

"May I?", Dhanya had big eyes, and whenever she tried to plead, those eyes became even rounder and bigger, "Please."

"Okay.", she couldn't say no to those eyes. She felt powerless in front of them.

"Let's go to my room, I hope Selvi Akka hasn't cleaned out everything.", Dhanya tugged her hand and she followed her.

After walking a few corridors, they ended up in a giant room- did all the rooms were equally enormously spacious?

"You don't live here?", Krithika asked.

Shrugging, "No, I study in a boarding school.", Dhanya replied as a matter of fact.

Krithika sat in a wooden chair and waited for the kid to do whatever she had planned to do with her hair. She smiled every time Dhanya squealed in excitement and murmured 'wow', 'so long', 'so silky'. It was just genetics and she never saw them as miraculous as the kid spelled.

"Done."

Krithika's eyes fluttered open.

She had dozed off for a few minutes. It had been a habit of her, to sleep whenever her hair was combed and braided, her mother used to massage her head lightly to relieve any ache.

"You seriously are so pretty!", Dhanya yelled again, "I am not a fan of Disney princesses, but you make me believe in fairy tales."

She stared at her reflection, the braid did look intricate and complimented her whole look. She was surprised by the fourteen-year-old's talent, she had the hands of a sculptor.

"You did that, thanks!", Krithika stood next to the kid, appreciating her work.

They both heard the noise of a car honking somewhere in the far and Dhanya's eyes widened, "I have to go now. Have to surprise him!"

Him. Okay. Probably not him.

--

A/N

Again, one of the best albums out there, every song is so beautiful :*

Also, talking about long hair, do you guys ever think to chop it off to scalp cos it's frustrating af. Yes, I feel that daily. T-T

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