Silence prevailed in the car for some time and Srishti took all her time watching her Professor drive them back from his home. The way his wavy tresses moved along the wind, the way his long tapered fingers tapped on the steering well following the rhythm of the soft music that played in the car, the way the golden street lights casted a dreamy illumination on his beautiful brown eyes.
Srishti blushed realizing that she was ogling him shamelessly.
When Adhiran stopped in front of her house , Srishti 's eyes fell on the light that emitted from inside. There was a familiar car that stood under the front porch light.
'Ennachu Sasha?' his eyes filled with concern once again,
'Athu Dinesh oda car..Avan ulla irukan' she whispered, all the color draining from her moonlit face,
Adhiran cursed audibly this time, his hands fisted and hit the steering wheel hard once again,his knuckles whitening in the process, ' Unnoda anna enga? Na pesren avangata'
Srishti shook her head, ' Illa..Anna oorla illa …avanga vara innu four days aaghum'
He took a deep breath and looked her in the eyes, his features all tensed and pressured, ' Enkita en sollala?'
'I thought it wouldn't make any difference ' she told him in a low voice,
' It does, Srishti, it really does. Ne Inga iruka mudiyathu..you just can't..
Priyanka veedu enga iruku?' he asked, his voice lacing with concern and urgency,
'Ahma Priyu- that's when she remembered their last conversation, ' Illa..Ava parents kooda weekend ku velila poiruka' her small palms held her sweaty forehead as she didn't know what else to do.
' You'll have to stay with me tonight '
Srishti 's eyes widened like bullets , ' What!? No!' but he was already driving them away,
' It's either that.. or ne hotel la stay pannanum.. Kaila la cash illana paravala.. I'll pay it myself.. you-
'Haiyooo! Idhu atha vida mosama idea, Professor Adhiran!'
' Vera enna panna mudiyum ipo?' his tone dropped down to a low husky whisper,
'Illa.. I'll sleep on the sofa.. Early morning aanathum kelambidren
Idhuku mela ungla ennala trouble panna mudiyathu.. you've already done too much for me' she told him, her heart simmered with nothing but adoration and gratitude for his kindness.
' En veetla oru spare bedroom iruku , Sasha' an aggregating scoff left his button lips ,
'Thank you, Professor Adhiran ' Srishti mumbled slowly,
' Don't mention it, he gave her a lone look before smiling again, ' Seriously don't, or I'll be in legal trouble '
Srishti nodded in true seriousness and didn't say anything . Her lips curled on their own accord when Adhiran started laughing at what just happened.
It amazed her at how she had never had a dull moment with him, it marveled her how he had kept his word of ensuring that she had no problems.
Adhiran drove her to his apartment complex and Srishti the sleek white walls and the place. His place looked so delicate and pristine, situated just behind the beach. It was just a ten minutes walk from the shore and Srishti felt the salty breeze kiss her ruddy cheeks.
Srishti had so much to ask, She wondered how her professor could afford this place on a lecturer's salary as she had heard that buildings in this part of the city cost a fortune. But her naive self felt guilty for probing into his personal life.
What surprised Srishti was that she felt home instantly, his place enveloped her like a safe heaven that would shield her from every terrible thing in the world. Adhiran led her outside the elevator and proceeded to unlock his door.
The first thing that Srishti noticed was how clean and organized everything looked. She instantly recognised that her professor liked his place to be comfortably arranged and accessible.
However, she had forgotten a pair of eyes that looked at her with amusement in the process,
'Romba amaidhiya irukiye' he broke the silence this time,
Srishti noticed the way he leaned on the door frame elegantly and proceeded to answer him.
'Apdiya?' she looked at him in the eye and asked again,
' I can see gears turning inside your head… you have a couple of questions ' he cocked his eyebrows, questioning her,
Srishti bit her lips again, 'Illa.. idhu..match aaghala' she began telling him ,her heart racing at the way he took slow and steady steps towards her from the doorway,
'Neenga oru Literature Professor, you're an Oxford Scholar..
Commercial ah yosicha.. why are you living in the outskirts of the city..away from all of its pomp?' she asked him,
'Ne kepenu nenachen.. correct ah ketute' he grinned, his eyes glowing under the alabaster glow of the lights above him,
'Sorry na..-
'Hey.. edhuku sorry laam.. City nalla dha irukum.. but it doesn't really offer much peace after a long day now does it?' he asked her back, crossing his arms together,
'Athu dha purila.. Na vintage ah oru Edam expect pannen… old books and a vintage place' she elaborated,
It was indeed baffling. If he had liked the convenience of the city in his home with equipped technology, then why was he interested in living on the border? Why wasn't his place as vintage as his personality?
Adhiran took another step closer as he whispered, ' You look disappointed '
'Illa.. athu.. ungla purinjukavae mudila atha..'
'apdiya enna?'
'Illaya enna?'
'Epdi ? You've met my family today… that's more than any student would know about me' he told her again,
Srishti crossed her arms this time, mirroring his gesture, ' Enaku purila nu soldren' she narrowed her eyes,
Adhiran stayed quiet for a minute, his eyes buzzing with his own thoughts that brimmed, as if he couldn't deny her claims,
Srishti spoke again, 'Illa.. unga taste romba different ah iruku..
Enna paarunglen.. I have old books because it matches my taste… but you don't care about matching ' she replied,
'Neeyu dha match panla.. you're not a match to anyone at college ' Something about his baritone intensified the compliment even more. Srishti bowed down, giving into her flaming bred cheeks as she blushed,
'Unaku innu questions irukum… intha apartment ah ennala epdi vaanga mudinjuthu nu oru kelvi irukum..
But you are too polite to ask ,so nane soldren.. intha veedu en appa enaku vitutu pona ore oru memory.. before he passed away'
Srishti felt her heart drop to her stomach and asked him, 'Neenga appa kooda close ah?'
But he seemed so unaffected by it and answered, ' Athela illa.. Na chinna paiyana irukumbothu varshathuku oru naal papen avara.. aprm suthama paaka mudila..
Saagharathuku munnadi England vitutu pona kutra unarchi thaanga mudiyaama intha veedu… aprm amma oda Bakery start panna konjam panamum vitutu ponaru..
Ipo sollu.. innu enna purilaya unaku?' he told her, filling two glasses of water for them to drink and sat on the sofa. His eyes gesturing her to sit as well,
Srishti didn't say anything in response to his question and sat down. It was true that he had answered her questions, but there was still a lot more for her to discover. And the fact that she had no chance made her heart feel burdened for some reason.
'Sari..enkooda va' he led inside a door beside his kitchen and it looked like a different building altogether. It was a small library room stocked with old books and a small wooden desk outlined by a small footstool. The room was outlined with wooden bookshelves filled with the finest aroma of lignin from the ancient copies of books he owned, a small lamp hing above her head lighting up the entire place.
Fascination would be such an understatement.
'Ipo match aaghutha, Srishti? ' his bare whisper reverberated from behind and Srishti found him leaning against the doorframe yet again,
It had become her favorite image, to see him leaning against different door frames, leading her inside different doors in his life with ease. Him standing outside as she discovered what's behind the doors .
Something about it felt so intimate.
'Yes' she whispered feeling his cologne from beside her as they overlooked the books together,
' There's always a part of our house that has your trust essence. Enaku en library..
This is where my heart is, Sasha. I spend most of my time here…' he told her with a small smile,
'Enaku romba pudichiruku! Na unga books laam paakalama?' her big eyes looked at him with so much yearning and he nodded instantly,
'Kandipa paaru Sasha ma.. entha book venumo eduthuko.. I'll leave you to explore..' he gave her his word and left her alone.
Srishti giggled and clapped her hands seeing the books. He had a small yet a perfectly stocked library, neatly arranged from early medieval literature. He had a fine collection of books that ranged from Tolstoy, Thoreau, Plath and Browning. Srishti noticed older editions of Shakespeare's sonnets and Donne's poems and was overjoyed!
She was flipping through some of Spenser's sonnets when he came inside, she didn't realize that she had spent twenty minutes gawking at the poems until then,
Srishti wordlessly got the coffee from him with a gentle smile.
'Ne coffee ah paakra maathri yaara paakriyo.. avanga romba koduthu vechavangala irupaanga' he told her, half of his face immersed in his mug. His eyes presented as a fine testament of all of Spenser's finest imagery,
Srishti simply smiled, wrinkling her nose. She watched leave the room after a few minutes,
'Edha saapudlama?' he asked on his way and Srishti placed the book back and followed him outside to place her mug back in the kitchen,
'Ungluku pasikutha?' she asked him,
Something about that question and the situation felt so domestic,
' Ne enna saapudra sollu' he probed again,
'illa.. anything vegetarian will be okay' she stuttered,
'Unaku enna pudichiruko atha ne saapdnum , Sasha' he told her in a gentle whisper,
'Illa- athu.. pasta..'
'Hey.. Was I rude now? I'm sorry,Sasha .
What kind , specific ah sollu ma' he rephrased his question,
'Mushroom pasta ! But only if you like it too' she managed to voice out,
'Mushroom pasta yaaru Vanda nu solluva Sasha ma?'
Sasha ma.. it rang like the music of the Gods in her ears whenever she rolled off his tongue like that.
Adhiran ordered food after finding out that he was running low on groceries in his refrigerator. He dialed the number , reminding himself that he had to go shopping the very next day,
How tiring!
The food arrived soon and the duo found themselves sitting in front of his television opening the boxes, Srishti 's heart beat so fast when his fingers brushed hers innocently,
'Help yourself ' he smiled at her, the soft glow from the television made his brown eyes eyes look like the starry skies that she admired every night,
'Intha show unaku pudikum nu nambaren' he told her, flipping through the cook with comali episode directory,
'Idhu enga favourite show! Her eyes lit up again, ' En anna epovaachu dha veetla irupan.. Avan epolam veetla irukaano apolam naanga pizza saaptutae intha show papom!'
Adhiran's face mirrored her smile .
' Unakum un annaku ore maathiri show paaka pudikuma?' he asked her,
'Illa.. Anna ku action films pudikum.. I also watch it when I'm with him. The thing is that, Avan kooda irukarthe kammi dha..so avanoda time spend panrathu kaaghavae naanga onna tv papom' she shared with him and he listened with utmost sincerity,
'Unaku enna pudikum, Srishti?'
'Athu.. romance..' she looked down at her plate again, her cheeks flaming with embarrassment. Her eyes shied away from his attentive ones to watch the television,
At Least she was pretending,
Srishti dropped her plate in the sink and watched his plate already there, he must've finished eating early,she thought. She smiled and began to do the dishes when he called her back,
'plates wash pannatha Sasha ma, na panikren ' She chuckled and nodded before coming to sit on the couch again.
They had spent more than an hour watching the show, commenting and laughing on the hilarious jokes the Comalis made on the show.
She wasn't sure if it was the long eventful day, or the comfort of his close proximity that made her sleepy but Srishti dozed off sooner and had rested her head on the armrest. She had only realized when he woke her up gently with a soft tug,
'Come' Adhiran helped her rise to her feet and before she could regain her consciousness, Srishti stumbled forward and was pulled closer to his firm chest, Adhiran's hands wrapped tightly around her waist. Srishti's breath hitched that very second feeling him so closely,
Sleep felt so foreign that very moment.
Tbc
Hey guys!
Quite a long chapter again,
Hope you'll like this one!
I'll be the happiest if you'd share feedbacks!