It has been a month since the last update. A lot happened. I am slowly getting back. Please bear with me.
Apologies in advance if you don't like this as much. I tried my best.
I did proofread but its 2:20 AM as I am posting this. So, in case you find errors... unga pullaya nenachu mannichirunga. Translations will be updated later.
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"Who goes first?", she asked when he was busy strolling through nostalgia as he scrolled into his hidden album on his phone.
"Chellama", the album that held infinite memories which was he had buried deep into his soul. Frozen bits of frames that he cuddled and snuggled on the darkest of nights.
They had shared a million memories. Some together, some apart. And this Pandora box would not just open up the best of those but also the worst.
"Neeye sollu ma", he quickly moved his gaze to bore into hers.
"I will go first", she smiled and scrolled to find a picture.
A picture of her on stage with the Maestro ARR himself on keys. Not only to sing a song for the genius himself but also being able to share stage with him in his live concert was one of those fantasies that she never thought would come to life but never stopped dreaming.
And when the moment came, it was way beyond a surreal experience.
Crowd cheering her name with flash lights, the spot light focusing on her, Maestro playing keys for her and Ani on the first row. It was a perfect moment.
"Andha oru nimisham...", she said as his eyes stayed transfixed on the picture.
"I wished you were there to see our dream come to life", she meekly confessed.
Although she missed him every minute of her life, she missed him the most when her bucket list dream came true.
He moved dangerously close and her heart instantly started to race.
"Apo andha nimisham matum dan miss panna?", he whispered into her ear and smirked with a mischievous smile when her face flushed almost instantly.
Her curls were now dancing on her shoulder blades to reach the length just above her chest and the fragrance was making it very hard for him to quell his urge to give in to his temptations.
A wave of blush hit her from nowhere when she sensed his shoulders brushing on hers.
"Apdi Illa", she managed to blurt when her nerve endings curled into a fashion that was making her whole body more sensitive than ever before.
Being in close proximity to this guy has always been a fine thread of self control that she had managed to keep intact until this moment. All of a sudden it all felt futile.
She leaned on his shoulders and he wrapped his arms around to cocoon her into his soul. A haven that was built only for her.
"Namma neraya pesirkom... Rahman sir ku paadanum... avar kooda stage la perform panra apo Neenga epovum pola rasichu kekanum nu lam...", she said with a vacuous smile.
It was impossible for her to hide the fact that he wasn't with her when the biggest of their dreams for her came to life.
"Na anga Illa nu unaku kandippa theriyuma?!", he asked and his grip tightened.
He scrolled and stopped at a picture. A selfie of him with her on stage. ARR on keys.
"7th October 2022. A day that I will never forget", he asserted with a smile.
"En milestones vida... un milestones dan enaku rombha mukyam. Epodhume", he promised while her eyes were still stuck on the picture.
He was there. He had come to watch her perform. He had been with her on the most important day of her life.
When her mind was lost in a million questions, he was reminiscing those moments of her ruling the stage. She was fire.
With crowd roaring for her, she dazzled like a star that she was born to be. Her golden voice had reverberated in every corner of the stadium and the flash lights danced across in support.
It was a vision to see her blaze through with her undeniable aura.
"My turn", he exclaimed and showed a picture.
It was his Filmfare for Best Actor. First of this two so far.
Placed on the top of his dream car and the background that seemed strangely familiar.
"First Filmfare", she was overjoyed as she said those words.
"Aama... after so many years of rejections.... Modha award for me as an actor", he sure was proud of himself for persevering through all the downs to get there.
"En stage la irukra photo ilama idha kaatreenga ?!", she was curious to know because she knew this man did nothing without a thousand reasons. He may have made his share of mistakes but never did he do them intentionally.
She knew him too well to not ask him this question and he knew her too well not to expect that after he showed her the picture.
"Solren. Aana ippo your turn to show your next picture", he diverted.
"Ok. Aana indha kelvi ku badhil ilama Neenga engayum poga mudiyaadhu", she informed and started to scroll for her next.
It was a picture of her and Ani in Amalfi coast. She was in a beachy dress with a cap and curls swaying on either side. He was in a light blue shirt and white pants that coordinated with the breathtaking background.
Wrapped in a side hug, it was beyond perfect.
That trip was filled with memories for life but most importantly it was the first of so many times Ani had shown his vulnerable side to her with no filters. He had come there just because he could not live 10 days without her in the city that he had grown up all of his life.
Postponed audio launches, recordings and even skipped an award that he was being felicitated at, just for her.
They were smiling at each other and it was caught on camera. A candid picture that the photographer had been kind enough not to release to the world.
"Ani", that is all she said when showing him that picture.
It definitely evoked a myriad of emotions in him including jealously and possessiveness. Yes even after all the conversations with Ani and her, he still could not be unaffected by the fact that he would not be her best friend any more. It was taken away by a guy who deserved that place in her life much more than him and there was no changing that now.
He nodded his head but his eyes gave away that he wasn't all too happy with that picture.
"Na varlana?", he asked faintly.
She remained calm for him to finish his question.
"Ani un life la epodume!? Na varlana kooda?", his eyes pleaded her not to mistake.
"Unga edathla yaarum irundhadhu Illa.... Iruka poradhum Illa. Ani will always have his own place in my heart and life. Avan edathlayum yaarume irundhadhu Illa... iruka poradhum Illa... ", she assured, knowing well that she would have been in the same turmoil if situations were reversed.
"Your turn", and now it was her turn to distract him.
It was a collage of cakes with her name on it . 3 cakes of the three years he hadn't been in her life. All of them in the same background as the award.
She was now more intrigued to know what the background meant. It was a window at a long distance that was filled with a shadow silhouette.
"Idhu enga nu sollunga.... Enaku mandaiye vedichirum", she whined after some serious thinking for a few minutes trying to identify.
He smirked at her pouty face that was giving him vibes of the Sivaangi he had met on the sets of CWC. Innocent, childlike, cute and most of all unfiltered.
Not that she wasn't those today as well but there was something different about her back then, before life happened.
"Cake ah pathi keka maatiya?", he pouted when she had nothing to say about his efforts to make her a cake for every birthday he missed.
A blueberry chiffon coated with soft cream, a white chocolate truffle with caramel filling and an exotic rose pistachio cake.
He went to the same place every year and made it a point to reminisce all that she had brought into his life which included his smile. It was his way of celebrating her presence in his life. He might have been physically distant but she was in his heart for the long haul.
"Cake um Illa iruku", she winked and put her tongue out to make the most adorable face.
He could not stop the grin that involuntarily showed up after watching her being completely candid with him after years.
That's what he missed most all these weeks even when she was right next to him. The innate joy she always held in her aura.
"Your turn", he passed the ball back.
His eyes were looking at her with fervor and she knew why.
There were too many pictures of them that was too close to her heart but there was one that she could never get out of. Her moon on dark nights, her rainbow after the worst storm, her hope even after breaking apart.
A picture that always managed to make her feel his presence. It was their secret. A memory that only the two of them knew.
She pulled out the picture and put it in front of his eyes.
"Kaadhal.... Evlo aazhamaana feeling nu aniku dan therinjuchu", she whispered into his ears.
She had walked out of the sets with uncontrollable tears after he was almost eliminated. She had let him down. She wasn't his lucky charm anymore.
There were so many emotions crushing her soul.
She suddenly felt a hand pulling her and she knew it was him. He took her inside his room.
Pulled out his phone to take a picture.
"Ippo edhuku Ashwiney photo edukra?!", her voice broke as she said those words.
"Nammalodha modha kashtatha face panirkom ma... adha namma memory la irukanum la", he asked making her eyes widen in shock.
"Oru prechana vandhu... adhayum thaandi jeikradhu dhaane vaazhka... Adhuvum nee enkooda ninnu Enna jeika vechurka maa... idhu vara en kashtam elame naa thaniya dan face panirken.... Aana iniku en kooda nee irunda.... Adhu enaku Evlo perusu nu solla kooda mudiyaadhu ma...", he divulged all that he was feeling at that very instant.
Tears dropped down her cheeks and he continued to wipe them off.
"Enna paaru ma", he pleaded.
After a few minutes, she slowly moved her gaze to meet his that were yearning.
She drowned into his hypnotizing deep orbs that reflected his love for her and him in hers. The world seized to exist when the two souls changed irrevocably in that fragile instant.
Their breaths danced in harmony and her eye lids shut down, not wanting to ruin the perfect moment to any complicated thoughts. He had closed his unable to mask his need to take her lips and show her all the love he held for her.
His finger clicked a picture of that even without any conscious effort, just before their dreamy state was disrupted by the loud call for her from her brother.
"Aniku matum un Annan varlana", he said with his annoyed tone.
"Onum nadandhurkaadhu", she said with utmost confidence and smirked leaving his male pride bruised, just a little too much.
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An update after forever. Apologies if it is not up to the mark.
Thoughts?
Thank you for bearing with me and my inconsistency. I hate myself for this.