The Beloved

Leela and Kathir

Before letting SK in, Arohi quickly scanned her living room to make sure it was "guest friendly". She smiled with satisfaction and looked back saying, "Come in. Please make yourself comfortable." She then winced as she removed her heels and then took a heavy breath saying, "ufff.... My feet is killing me." She took off her shoes and threw it into the shoe cupboard. SK looked at her a smiled at her action. She immediately rolled her eyes saying, "Adhukku ellam avvalo thaan mariyadhai." He chuckled.

She quickly went into the kitchen to start the coffee pot. She noticed her breakfast bowls and cups still in the sink. She mumbled to herself, "Ayyo kadavule andha manishan kitchen pakkam mattum vandhuda koodadhu." She then stepped back to the hall smiling. She handed over the remote to him saying, "You can watch something if you want. Naan quick a poi change panindu vandhudaren. If you would excuse me please?" SK nodded and took the remote from her hand.

Arohi's quickly grabbed some comfortable clothes and tampons from the draw. Her monthly visitor had arrived promptly. She rushed into the bathroom and returned in a couple of minutes. She returned back to the hall only to find the TV turned off and SK missing. She quickly walked into the kitchen to see the man putting her dishes away after washing them. She sheepishly said, "Naan pannalaamnu thaan irundhen. Morning avasarathula...." He looked into her eyes and said, "Idhula enna maa irukku. You don't need to explain to me. You do what works for you. TV la onnum illai. Coffee maker sound potuchu adhu thaan vandhen and I thought I will help you. That's all."

He then glanced at her oversized t-shirt, a pair of loose cotton pants and her hair tied up in a bun. Her make up was all gone and she looked ravishing. She caught his attention by asking, "Evvalo milk and sugar?" And he nodded saying, "Illai I drink black coffee." She handed him a cup of black coffee and she got herself a cup of hot water and chamomile tea. They walked back to the living room and sat on the couch right beside each other.

She took a sip of the tea and relished it for a moment before saying, "It is your turn now." He looked at her puzzled, "Ennadhu my turn?" She replied, "Unga story. Tell me about you. I barely know you." SK looked at his coffee and said, "Good coffee by the way. Yes I was waiting for the right time to bring it up. We have had such a beautiful evening. I don't want to ruin it though." She gently touched his hand and softly said, "Look at me." He looked into her soft eyes and she said, "I want to know you better and for that I have to know about you."

He held her hand and nodded. He took a deep breath and then started, "Appa Amma ku love marriage. Appa oru sutha Tamil payyan from CBE and Amma Malayalee Christian from Kochi. They met in college. Appa is extremely good looking and a charmer. He was very popular in college especially among the girls. Amma though did not care for him. She was very focused. She wanted to be a professor but Appa was not someone who would give up that easily. He could not believe that Amma wasn't giving him attention. At a certain point even his friends started to notice that Leela was ignoring Kathir and he was not ok with that."

"After several attempts and persuasion, finally he got her attention. Like I said, Appa was very charming and he swept her off her feet. Finally they both graduated. Amma was vey clear about her ambition though. So she worked part time and worked on her Master's degree side by side. Appa was a thorough business man. He started his own ad agency. He slowly managed to creep into the film industry with his PR skills and soon extended his business to photo shoots and casting agency. Models would come up to him for portfolios etc and then would befriend him knowing that he had connections. He just started making money out of it."

"Mom finished her M. Sc. and went on to do her B.Ed but became pregnant with me. She continued to study during the pregnancy. Unfortunately, Appa became extremely and extended carried away with his business. He had no time for Amma or for me. He would return home at odd hours and would get irritated with me if made a noise while he was resting. Hence I never got to build a relationship with him.  I am not sure when Appa and Amma started to keep a distance from each other but they lived in the same house but barely spoke to each other."

"Amma and I always slept in one room and Appa in the other. Sometimes I would hear Amma crying in her sleep but I never knew why. I would see her wincing in her sleep but assumed she was just tired by the days chores. I would see black and blue marks appear and disappear in her body but never bothered to ask her about it."

"One day, I was about 11 or 12. It was a Saturday morning. Appa had returned home early in the morning and was sleeping in his room. I did not know that he was home. Amma was making dosai for breakfast and I loved to help her in the kitchen. I wanted to learn to make the perfect dosai. I had finally made it and Amma and I were laughing. I was excited and Amma clapped cheering for me. That was the first time it happened in front of me. Dad came out of his room straight into the kitchen. He grabbed the tawa from my hand and planted it straight on Amma's arm. I can still hear that deafening scream. He then gave a tight slap on my face saying, "Aambala paiyanukku kitchen la enna velai? Velila poi pasangaloda velaiyadu poda. Innime Unna kitchen la Paathen apparam nadakardhe vera." I left the kitchen but only because I didn't want him to hurt her again."

SK looked down in shame. Arohi wrapped her arms around him. It was her turn now to show compassion because, at this moment SK was that innocent, helpless 11 year boy.

Brinda Subramanian