'Anna…Kitchen la tap marupadiyum leak aaghuthu' Srishti turned the faucet down with utmost difficulty and asked again , 'Enna panrathu?'
'Ne edhum pannatha chellam..' she heard Barath's voice from the living room and heard footsteps indicating that he was coming to the kitchen, he came to hold her hand checking for any scratches before looking at the sink,
'Enaku onnu illa na.. Anga paaru!' she told him,
' Ayooo… veetla neraya vela irukum polaruke.. Bathroom layum tap sari illa.. ingayum sari illa..
Front door lock uhm fix pannanum.. ne vera oru book shelf vekka solli keta..athuvum maranthuten kochikaatha da Papa' he smiled sheepishly and Srishti chuckled looking at him.
Despite the mess and the shortcomings, family truly is forever!
'Athunaala enna vidu.. Vaa namba kadaiku poitu apdiyae plumber ahyum kootitu vanthrulam' she told him , knowing how difficult it is to lift pieces of wood alone,
'Ne Vanda papa.. na Chandru kootitu poren .. ' he told her, putting on his jacket as he grabbed his car keys,
'Bathrama poitu vaanga.. ahn.. lunch na panidren..velila saapda vanda.. ' she told him and gave him a side hug,
'Sari da chellam.. Na alarm set panitu poren.. edhum na athu press pannanum sari ah?' he asked and watched a disinterested Chandru set the alarm with a blank face. He didn't even bother to say bye as he stepped out of the door.
Srishti smiled, masking her hurt again.
Srishti watched her brothers leave , her mind distracting her misery by thinking about Lunch. Her taste buds felt immensely British that day and she made up her mind to cook some authentic English vegetarian food. Her eyes fell on the cauliflower in the refrigerator and took it out, it instantly reminded her of her parents.
Her mother came from West Bengal and her father was a Tamizhan , they fell in love during their Undergraduate days and married young. Srishti remembered having a lot of Cauliflower in her childhood as Bengal faced the wrath of scarcity at that time.
Her eyes teared up as she envisioned her parents cooking together, laughing at sweet nothings despite being hit by the hardest storms, how they loved each other despite the struggles. How they were strong enough together, through scarcity, through social agitation and through the years. If only they were alive,
They'd have loved him.
Her eyes crinkled another happy tear as she thought of the man of her dreams as she cleaned and boiled the Cauliflower to make roasted vegetables along vegan cottage pie.
Srishti forgot the world as she mashed the potatoes for the pie before mincing the vegetables along with soaked lentils. Her eyes fell on the butter beside and made up her mind to make a Banoffee pie as well.
She remembered how Haritha had taught her the recipe that day, describing her son's love for the combination of chocolate, coffee and bananas. Srishti chuckled at herself.
She was making food for his preferences already.
She had just finished with the upper layer of the biscuit when she saw a figure standing by the window, her palms swiftly reached for her phone and opened the application that Adhiran had installed in it, the app that accessed his cameras. But there was nobody in the spot but Srishti saw something move, she was sure of it,
Her insides shivered as she heard someone knock the door, Srishti's tiny fingers pressed the alert button that'd notify her brother immediately. Her heart stopped for a moment seeing Dinesh standing outside the door,
She quickly closed all the curtains as a lame attempt of concealing herself and stood in the center of the living room, holding her phone with both of her hands near her heart. It started ringing the next moment, revealing it to be a call from Adhiran,
' Sasha? You pressed the alert button? Ennachu da?' his concerned tone made her shiver, Srishti was confused for a moment, how did he know?
Perhaps she wasn't aware that he had set the notification in his phone as well.
'Ath- athu.. Dinesh ..Dinesh vel..velila irukan.. I'm.. I'm alone..Bayama iruku Professor Adhiran ' she mumbled, her cold palms clutching her phone closer,
Srishti heard him curse on the other side of the phone before, ' Baby, listen to me. Bayapadatha sari ah? I'm on my way, sweetheart.
Barath ku already notification poirukum.. na odanae varen.. ' he assured her, calming himself down ,
'Avan …Avan..door ah vegama thatran..neenga..
Neenga sikrama enkita vaanga.. na vechidren ' she told him before hanging up as she breathed hard. Feeling extremely powerless that very moment.
She watched him enter the door easily, pressing the right digit code as if he already knew it. Adhiran had warned her to keep it a secret.
Srishti's heart dwindled so fast, her mind trying to figure out how he knew the code and what he planned to do. She tried to utter small prayers to calm herself down but they didn't have any effect, she felt frozen at sick, looking at the malicious glint in his eyes,
'Hello, Srishti ' there was the arrogant smile again,
'Una..unaku epdi.. epdi code theriyum?' she stood straight, trying to be strong for herself,
'idhenna kashtama? Chandru anike code ah enkita solitan.. Neenga dha enna Vara koodathu nu solitinga' he told her, shutting the door behind him and Srishti took a couple of steps behind,
'Idh..idhu en anna oda veedu.. avaru varaatha nu sonna.. ne varakoodathu.. avaru varathuku munnadi neeya velila poidu ' she told him, mustering all the courage she had within her,
Dinesh looked like a raging mad man, a human being who didn't have an ounce of humane feelings in his eyes,
'Nee en enna apdi paakra nu enaku therila di… oru ponnu azhaga iruntha avala naalu per follow panna dha seivaanga..
Idhuku en ipdi over ah react panra nae therla ' he walked forward and Srishti backed instantly,
Srishti felt tongue tied by every passing minute , figuring out what he was saying and how she should respond to it considering the situation. Dinesh saw the vulnerability as her weakness,
' Na sonnathilla … but you're a very beautiful woman, Srishti. Evlo azhagu na..ne vanda vanda nu solla solla.. enaku ne venum nu dha thonuthu..
Unaku theriyuma ? Antha appavi thanam.. it turns on men so much.. ' he told her and that moment, the power went off leaving them in a fit of darkness that made Srishti frazzled,
' Unkita dhaana di pesitu iruken?' he held her hand and she pulled back harshly,
'Inga paaru Dinesh.. ellaruku ellaru porunthida maatanga… namba.. we are different…
Enna vitru please ' she told him and closed her eyes worry as he neared her,
'Opposites attract na chummava sonnanga' his hands fell on her forearms as they felt her waist, he came even closer and Srishti 's eyes teared up , feeling extremely vulnerable,
Srishti's heart thudded fast as she looked for ways in which she could push him away and run out of the door, her hands tried pushing him away but he only got closer, arresting her hands in his, blocking her with his frame entirely,
'Enna thodaatha nu soldren la? ' she yelled forcing all the power within and tried pushing him away again, making him even more furious than he already was,
'Enkita apdi pesaatha!' he slapped her once, making her fall down, her head hitting the table, Dinesh's eyes were horrified seeing a drop of blood from her forehead. Srishti pushed him away harshly, tears flowing down her face.
'Oh god.. what have I done ' Dinesh's whisper echoed around the room as Srishti tried to gather herself together, the pain made it very difficult to think,
That moment, the front door swung open revealing Adhiran the minimal light from the street lights and their glowing phones highlighting the way, his eyes fell on hers before he launched himself on Dinesh, thrashing and punching him on the face like a mad man. Srishti's eyes fluttered seeing the rage in his eyes, something she'd never seen in him.
Thankfully Barath had stopped him , holding him by his waist before he could do something that'd risk his reputation entirely , 'Adhi.. Adhi.. vidunga Bro.. Avaluku illa.. Avaluku onnu illa..' he held both of his hands away from him,
'Kadavulae' Chandru's voice reverberated from behind as he ran to kneel down beside Srishti, hugging her to him, 'Sasha.. onnu illa.. oh god.. you're.. you're bleeding' he hugged her to his chest, his own frame shivering in disgust and concern from his twin sister for the very first time.
Srishti 's eyes fell on Adhiran as she extended her arm to hold his chest, pulling him to her by his shirt as she whispered, ' Enaku.. enakonnu illa.. neenga vanthutinga ' she told him, holding on to him closely,
'Avan.. avan unna hurt panitan.. he.. he hurt you' Adhiran mumbled the same words again and again in fury as he had quite the hard time calming himself down,
Srishti ached to bury herself inside him and comfort him, proving that she was fine. But she didn't have the moment as Cops had already came in and a couple of them helped her sit on the chair beside, a couple of paramedics rushing to her aid,
' You okay ? Little one?' asked the elder woman and Srishti simply nodded, unable to form words,
' We are glad you are safe, Ma'am. We will need your statement and we hope you'd be able to give us one ' A Senior officer who looked to be of the same age as their father patted her head gently, offering her his kindness,
Srishti nodded again , letting the paramedic bandage her head and forearm.
That evening went on as a tensed one as the cops were coming in one after the other, taking in her statements. They took Dinesh by handcuffs and offered their greetings to her as well. One of the officers asked why her professor was there at their house for which Barath had smoothly told him that he was a family friend.
The paramedic came to examine her again and checked her vitals before offering her some pain killers assuring her that she will be fine soon and she had nothing to worry about.
Adhiran came to see her after everyone left as she stood on the terrace, trying to get some fresh air and to clear her mind. Her palms shivered in the cold and her bruise ached but she didn't really mind much when he came to stand beside her, ' Kulurla enda ninutu iruke.. ne ulla poi konja neram paduthuko.. you need rest ' his fell below a whisper,
'Ponum… thookam varla.. athudha.. neenga okay ah professor Adhiran?' she asked him,
' Ipovum unaku enna pathi dha unaku kavalaya di?' he mumbled, as if it wasn't meant to be said outside but Srishti heard it anyway, Adhiran stepped closer, his hands loosely around her waist,not entirely touching her,
' I'm okay ' she whispered and leaned fully on him, he still hesitated to hold her to him thinking that it'd hurt her, but she had other ideas,
' Enaku onnu illa ma..' her small palms pulled his hands to crush her closer to his frame as she buried her head in his chest. Adhiran loosened his hold after a moment, 'Valikum ma' he mumbled pulling away, his gentle touches were followed by an innocent kiss on her forehead.
'Poi paduthuko ' he told her, adjusting her kurtha properly as his hold had shrunk it and kissed her head once again, his eyes peering into hers looking for any sort of pain. 'Neenga pudicha valikuthu ' she murmured close to his heart, brushing her lips there once before walking away.
Srishti came down and went straight to her room, hardly caring about having dinner. While Adhiran was just about to take his leave.
'Adhi' He turned around to see Barath standing in the doorway with teary eyes, 'Bayapadathinga Barath.. Srishti ku onnu illa.. ' he assured him even when he wasn't fully convinced himself,
Barath didn't say anything else but moved forward to hug him. Adhiran embraced him silently, rubbing his shoulders as an act of offering his comfort. 'Neenga ulla Ponga Barath...Sasha thaniya iruntha edachu yosichite irupa.. she needs you beside her now
Avaluku edachu saapda kodunga..neenglu saapdunga.. ' Adhiran told him, pulling away slowly,
He left shortly and Barath entered his sister's room , watching her lying down facing the other side. He sat in the edge of the bed and called for her, 'Papa'
Srishti turned to look at him and wordlessly lifted her head to place it on his lap, pulling his hand to hold as she slept.
Chandru stood outside the door watching the scene with teary eyes.
Tbc
Hey guys,
Finished writing this with utmost difficulty. Now I'm leaving it to you..
Tell me your opinions and what you think of the chapter..
Thank you for the love !