The Beloved

Weekend ends

Arohi smiled at him but looked away as she went down memory lane, "My dad was very fond of me but he had limited visitation. I loved spending time with him. He always made the visits fun but unfortunately, every time I would return from these visits, I would find my mom drunk. She would show her anger on me and hit me because I reminded her of him and her failed career." Arohi's throat started to dry up. SK looked for water but the bottle was empty. He said, "Iru maa naan thanni eduthundu varen" and left the room only to come back a few minutes later with a bottle of water, a hot mug of hot chocolate and some fruits.

She looked up at him saying, "Ennadhu idhellam?" He smiled and replied, "Nee edhuvume saapadaama thoongitte. Adhu thaan. Indha modhalla indha hot chocolate a kudi aparam pesu." She gladly grabbed the mug and took a couple of sips. It was indeed warm and soothing.

Then she continued, "Things did not stay the same. He had missed two of his visitations due to his work. I, at that time, did not know what conversation had happened between them but was thrilled to know that I got a month with him. My summer vacation after 2nd standard. That's when I went to Alapuzha with him. Dad was extra loving to me. He took me around everywhere. He had no shooting at that time so he was always with me. He taught me how to climb trees" she laughed. "unfortunately, right before the trip ended, I climbed the tree. I saw a snake on the tree and I freaked out. I jumped down screaming. By the time he could reach me, I fell and fractured my leg."

He took care of me and I returned home with a cast. Unfortunately, that was my last goodbye to him. My mom used this fall and her lawyers filed a case against my Dad. My mom was well off and my dad couldn't afford legal fees like her so he signed the papers and he gave me up. He pushed me into a tunnel of hell."

SK wrapped his arm around her and she leaned on his shoulder. There was something very comforting and familiar about him. She sighed and squinted her eyes, "My head is splitting." He gently rubbed her forehead. He took the empty mug from her and placed it on the table next to the bed. He then got up saying, "Ippo nee konjam rest edu maa. Unna trigger panninavanga ellam ippo poitaanga. Nee nimmadhi ya thoongu. Naan keezha pogava?"

She looked at him yearningly and said, "poganuma?" He sighed with a smile and looked into her eyes asking, "Poga vendaama?" She realized she was blushing so she looked away saying, "Unga ishtam. Enna thaniya vittuttu ponam na ponga." He chuckled, "Nee seriyana KD fellow theriyuma?" Then he grabbed the extra blanket on the couch and laid down there. She smiled with satisfaction and pulled the blanket over her chest.

They glanced at each other every now and then and smiled but they were both tired both physically and mentally so they soon dozed off. For some reason, her subconscious mind felt like she was in a safe place because after a long long time Arohi slept peacefully.

When she woke up in the morning, the sun was shining brightly. She remembered that she had company last night and she looked at the couch but he was nowhere to be seen. He had nicely folded the blanket and left it where it originally was placed. She was impressed, "Parava illiye, Manishan neat a madichu ellam vachirukaare. Not bad." She looked at the time and it was 10am. She gasped and put jumped out of the bed to put on her bathroom slippers. After freshening up and changing she returned to the room to pack her bags.

She walked down to where the rest were. They were all up. Aisha quickly walked up to Arohi and asked her how she was feeling. Arohi smiled and hugged back, "Fine Aisha. Sorry ungala ellam romba trouble panitten but I slept well and I am feeling much better." Amisha handed her a cup of hot coffee and placed a warm bun with butter and jam. Arohi gave her a flying kiss, "Awww... thanks Akka. You still remember?" Amisha smiled, "Of course eppidi marakkum unnoda favorite bun butter jam."

Arohi sensed how famished she was. She quickly gobbled it up and sipped the freshly made filter coffee. She felt pampered. Although she was having a conversation with the ladies, her eyes were looking for one particular person who was not seen anywhere around. Finally Arohi decided to ask, "Aisha avar enge?" Aisha knew exactly who Arohi was asking about but she pretended to act innocent and asked, "Avar aa? Evar da?" Arohi rolled her eyes and sighed, "Avar thaan. SK"

Just the Aman came from the other room saying, "SK kaalailiye kelambittan. Avanukku Bangalore lerndhu oru emergency call vandhudhu so he had to rush. He asked me to tell you that he will see you at the clinic." Arohi frowned and mumbled to herself,m"Bangalore aa? Ange appidi enna emergency? Ivar ange club la thaane paadittu irupaaru. Adhu enna ezhuppi solittu poirukalaame. Che enna aalu ivaru?"

A few hours later Arohi drove back home. She had music blasting on her car but her thoughts were elsewhere. She was wondering about how her opinion about SK had changed completely in a few weeks. He wasn't the guy she thought he was. She wondered if he had a back story just like her.

Brinda Subramanian