A week away from that night- those seven days had been ethereally beautiful for Mullai. She fell for Kathir gradually through every minute that passed from when she spoke of the thing she dreaded the most in her life. His chivalrous attitude towards her throughout made him stand high in her eyes. He could have easily belittled her sentiments but he respected and admired her for the decision she took for the mere depth of love she had for her sister. She knew she was head over heels for him from the second she had pulled him for a kiss on his cheek.
In even those other times they spent with each other after that, she couldn't take her eyes off him and he would nod at her with an I-know-you kind of smile. He never prodded her about anything that would discomfort her even a little- it was easy and breezy with him like it had always been. She knew she had lost to him completely by the end of the week. She felt he at least deserved to know the fact that she reciprocated his feelings and that he would definitely understand if she asks for a year or two worth time to think about their marriage. He had been shouldering enough work in Parthiban's project for the whole week and so she thought she could leisurely talk with him that weekend about their future together.
She had been counting the days for the weekend to arrive and it was finally Friday eve, after a week's wait. Kathir and Priya were busy wrapping up the work for the week and they had been in a meeting with the staff for more than two hours straight now. Kathir's mobile vibrated a third time for him to lose patience and he paced towards the table that held it to switch it off for good. But the name on it did have a very contrasting effect on him though. Mullai Calling... His face curved up immediately and he didn't care about the half of the staff goggling him that very moment.
He swiped up the call, held it close to his ear and before he uttered a word, the lifeless voice of hers from the other side made him hold his breath tight for a second- it was exactly the same as when she called to tell him that her sister had gone lost, "Kathir... na unga office keela thaan wait panren... emergency... konjam please seekiram vaanga...", and the line went dead. He gripped his mobile hard and half-ran towards the lift shouting back on his way to Priya that he had to leave immediately and they would catch up on the phone later. Her voice was enough to tell him that the worst was waiting for him around the corner. He spotted her car and as he reached it, he bent onto the slided down window to peer into her pale face, devoid of both blood and emotions.
She didn't look in his face but just moved out from the driver's seat and settled on the passenger's side saying in that hollow voice, "neenga vandi ootunga...", he didn't spare a second but just got into the car and drove it out of his office compound before asking her, "enga ponum Mulla...". He saw her through the corner of his eyes- her eyelids shut tight, palms fisted and her head hit the headrest with a thud while she said in almost a whisper, "Hyderabad...". The wheel screeched and the car stopped dead in the middle of the road. She opened her eyes to hear the horns honking loud behind them and she tapped his hand hard to make him realise that the car stood stumped in the traffic.
He moved the car to the side in a trance state and he starkly gazed at Mullai's side profile as she looked out of her window, "Kalai akka va Mulla... avunga nalla thaana...", and like that he found her slumped onto his front the next second, crying her heart out. He enveloped her wholly within his cocoon and through her tears he heard her say, "she is no more Kathir... one year ku mela aachaam avunga nammala ellarayum vittu poyi... I lost her Kathir... we lost her...". It took many minutes for them both to even move away from each other's warmth and the fact that they had to reach Hyderabad at the earliest possible time, made them brace themselves up for the time being- they had lived with pain for these two years and it had now become a ever-present part of their forever too.
A call had come from an ashram in Hyderabad about an hour back asking for Mullai and they had informed her that Kalai had lived the last ten months of her life there. She had never disclosed to the people there about her family but had spelt Mullai's name continuously before she took her last breath. They never knew where she had come from till they saw an advertisement of Pandian Constructions and Parvathy Interiors yesterday which had Kalai's photograph in it. Mullai couldn't hear more on the phone and had just said that she would come there directly. They stopped once for food and they both gulped down a few mouthfuls only for the sake that either of them should not starve the whole night just because the other did.
It was early in the morning when they reached there and they didn't wait long but just went in to meet the person named Gayathri who had contacted Mullai and she was a Tamilian too. The ambience of the ashram was very much alive even at those early hours of the day. There were elderly people having their morning walk and little children playing around, accompanied by the birds merrily chirping along with them. They made their way straight asking for Gayathri and they were made to wait in front of the office room there. For every tick of the clock Mullai's face turned more whitish and Kathir kept tapping on her profusely sweating palms, gesturing to her to be a little patient- they had at least come to the place her sister breathed last and that itself was something so huge a breakthrough for the mystery they had carried within them for these two years.
They were called in and Gayathri gave them a warm smile greeting them to have a seat. As they settled down opposite her, she stretched front holding Mullai's hands for a few seconds, "I am sorry ma... ungaluku idhu evalo kashtama irukum nu puriyuthu...", a tear rolled down her cheeks but she pulled up a small smile while she was asked, "sir yaaru nu therinjukalaama...". Mullai turned towards Kathir, she would have happily called him her fiance if things had gone the way she had wanted it to be, the day before. Her subconscious smirked at the irony saying, "When has things ever gone the way you wanted?". Seeing her turned into a statue, Kathir replied courteously, "we have been family friends for several years... and naanga sendhu thaan business panrom...". Mullai looked away from him, while her heart screamed, "Is that all that I am to you?".
Gayathri nodded at him, passing him a smile back and looked into Mullai, "Kalai unga pera thavira unga family pathi onnume sonnathu illa... athu thaan we couldn't find you for all these months... Ungaluku idhu keka romba kashtama irukum nu theriyum but I have to say them all to you... avunga uyiruku poradura nelama la thaan enga staff oruthanga avunga road la kedakuratha paathaanga... avunga sethutaanga nu nenachu thaan hospital kondu ponaanga but she was alive... she was hospitalized for three months... external injuries laam cure aayiruchu but her trauma didn't let her be in peace... accident nu thaan it was filed but avungaluku annaiku kalyanam nadandhuruku... her husband had cheated her and left her on the road after he had hit her in his car himself...".
Gayathri couldn't look into Mullai who was having her heart cut into pieces for every word she uttered, she gazed at the table top, "she had insulted him years back... athuku pali vaanga he had made her fall for him and then... ippa she is no more... idhu ellam ungaluku theriyama irundha kooda avunga engaiyo uyiroda irukaanga nu neenga sandhoshama irunthurukalaam... aana she left a valuable possession behind her... for you Mullai...", Mullai shook her head immediately, "akka ve illanu aana piragu enaku ethuvum venaam... my most valuable possession was she herself...", she cried out loud saying that. Kathir held her hand tightly and shushed her to listen to what Gayathri had to say.
Gayathri stood up from her chair saying, "athu ennanu therinja piragu I don't think you would say that... please come this way...", she made her way out the room, with Kathir and Mullai behind, following her trail. Kathir held onto Mullai's hand and she onto him, either of their state was no less panicking than the other. They went into a dormitory where little kids, half of them asleep and half awake, filled the room. There were three staff members moving around the room taking care of the needs of the little ones who did nothing but flash heartening smiles at Gayathri as she moved past them. They were all of age ranging from one to four years and a few older ones waved at Kathir-Mullai too. Their lips automatically formed a deep felt smile looking into those freshly bud little faces.
Gayathri had stopped in front of a bed and they both drowned in those welcoming waves joined her a few seconds later. One look at the bed, Mullai crunched towards Kathir holding his upper arm though her legs turned jelly already, he took a few breaths and held her palms on him tightly too. There was no mistaking what they felt when they had a glimpse of the sleeping figure of the baby girl who would be about a year old. She had exactly all of Kalai's features. Mullai and Kathir realised they were crying only when their eyes clouded up with tears and obscured their vision. They wiped it away immediately and their eyes never moved away from the angel peacefully sleeping on the bed.
Gayathri had a contented smile when she saw Kathir and Mullai knowing it in their heart even before she told it in words, "Kayalvizhi... Kalai ooda ponnu... na sonna andha valuable possession... ivalukaaga thaan antha pathu maasam Kalai ava uyir ah kaila pudichutu irundha... indha ulagathu kulla Kayal vandha konja nerathula ava uyir ah vittuta... Mullai... ungakitta eppadiyavathu avala sethuru nu sollitu... enaku ungala kandupidika romba naal aayiruchu... aana Kalai was my best friend in those ten months she lived with us... Kayal ah en ponnu maari thaan paathukitten ivalo naala...", Mullai ran out from there with tears falling down her eyes like a cascade. Kathir and Gayathri followed her to see her collapse into a chair in Gayathri's office and cry her heart out. Kathir held her shoulders tight and he shivered trying to get a hold of his emotions.
He couldn't afford breaking down when it was indispensable for him to be there for her and lend himself to her as a moral support to overcome the intensity of the situation she was overwhelmed in at the moment. An hour passed and Gayathri had left them alone to give some time for things to sink in them gradually. Neither of them spoke a word but when Gayathri came in later, they both knew exactly what had to be done next. Mullai's face was clear yet void of any colour, it took her time to even bring herself to speak again, "mam... avala naanga kootitu poga enna procedures pannanum nu sollunga... she shouldn't live like an orphan anymore when I am still alive...", Kathir knew her voice had hardened and that it killed her to have left Kayal unaided from her birth, though it was logically unfair to take all the blame upon her.
Gayathri nodded at her and she looked between Mullai and Kathir before saying, "that's the whole point of finding you Mullai... aana since Kalai left her in our custody she is part of this orphanage... enga policy padi we only let married couples adopt children... unga rendu perayum na paakumbothu I just prayed you were husband and wife... aana that's not it la... unless you are married we couldn't let her be yours... ungaluku puriyum nu...", Mullai pushed away her chair getting up ready to leave, "avala seekirame na vandhu kootitu poren...", Kathir got up along with her and why did this all seem like it was meant to be from deep within him. He definitely did feel in him that something like this would make them one.
Gayathri called upon her, seeing her leave abruptly, "Kayal mulichirupa Mullai... avala paathutu ponga...", she stood there holding the door knob and she turned towards her saying with that grit in her tone, "ava modha mora enna paakumbothu naa ava amma va irukanum nu aasai paduren...". Mullai left the room immediately without another word. Kathir thanked and promised Gayathri that they would come back for Kayal in a day or two. He saw her in the car, her face buried in her palms and he sat within next to her, waiting for her to speak first, giving her the space she needed right now. It was many long minutes and she didn't even twitch. He held her shoulder and when she rose up, her eyes meeting his, he saw her eyes reflect at him a million inexplicable emotions- sorrow, happiness, fear, anger, helplessness, vulnerability and all of them surfaced by guilt.
She never even in her dream thought she would put someone in the position she was about to put Kathir into- the person who had gone to the extremes just for her happiness. Her love for him would now be branded as an act of selfishness even if she tears open her heart to him. He would forever think that she married him out of compulsion and of not possibly having any other option left. Her heart bled and screamed to be having to go through such pain. If she had felt she had had enough suffering, it was nothing compared to what she was going through, peering into the orbs that held nothing but the pristine love he had for her. She steeled herself to utter the words she had to, even if it's not for her but at least for the angel her sister had left behind for them, she would have rather chosen any other worst of situations in place for where they were in at the very instant.
Neither of them looked anywhere else other than the other's eyes, when Mullai asked him in the most hurt voice of hers, "Kathir... namma kalyanam pannikalaam... enna neenga evalo kevalama nenacha...", his hands held her lips shut, he shook his head saying, "Mulla I love you... and...". She pushed away his hand and anger seeped in her nerves as she shouted her distress out, "please Kathir... adha marupadi marupadi solli enna uyiroda kollatheenga... I don't deserve your love... at all...". His eyes sparkled looking at her, it held nothing but pure adulation for the woman in front of him, "seri sollala... but Kayal is as important to me as she is to you... idha sollalaam la... Kayal kaaga namma onnu seranum nu irundha adha yaarala maatha mudiyum... it's my honour to have your hand in marriage... namma kalyanam pannikalaam Mulla... odane...".
To be continued...
~~~~~
Happy Birthday to our little angel whom we had the pleasure to have got to know as Kayal. Knowingly or unknowingly you have given me so much solace when things were not the way it should have been. You still continue to fill my life with incomparable joy and bliss. Wishing you only the best in life and I would love to see you grow into a beautiful human. I ardently believe that you had made our darling smile from her heart in the last days of her life and for that we are ever grateful to you.
~ This is the most crucial point of the story and it did wretch my heart to write each word in this chapter. It was painful yet beautiful. I was saving this up for a perfect day and when I got to know a few days back that it was Kayal's birthday on August 15, I started penning it down for her.
The other stories will be following up. Please be patient with me. Writing is not just a job when you have an emotional connect with the story and the characters in it, it is an inexplicable feeling.
And Happy Independence Day to you all too. Be free and fly high, let go of anything that pulls you down. Cherish the truth and all the good things that you have in hand.
Love always- Ziya