A week later, Ramya caught Samyu day dreaming in class. Ramya had just returned from the canteen with 2 samosas. She moved one plate towards Samyu and nudged her saying, "Yaara pathi di dream paneendu irukke? Un urakathai keduthavaan yaar thozhi... oho andha Abhimanyu vo? Avarrrrr thaano?" Samyu slapped her saying, "Ayo seriyana loose di nee. Naane tension la irukken. Inniki college mudinju straight aa studio poganum recording ku. Idhu thaan ennoda first big project. Nalla paadi kudukaname nu adhu pathi yosichittu irukken. Nee vera kadupethadhe." She hungrily gobbled up the samosa.
As soon as the last bell rang, Samyu ran out the door waving to her friends. She put on her helmet that was safely placed inside the snooty seat. She made sure there was enough petrol. She thanked her dad mentally for having filled the tank that morning and off she sped to the studio. She did not want to be later plus she wanted a few minutes to sit down and relax before starting the recording. She parked the snooty and took the elevator to the second floor. There was a young girl at the reception who smiled at Samyuktha. She walked up to the girl saying, "Siddhu sir a paakanum. Recording." The girl nodded and gestured Samyu to follow her. She took her towards the room, knocked first and then opened it saying, "Sir avanga vandhutaanga." Samyu peeked in and said hi. The music director smiled and invited her in, "Hello vaanga Samyu. Ivar thaan Venky, namma lyricist." She quickly shook hands with both the men. Venky said, "konjam changes pannarom lyrics la. Hero ippo vandhuduvaaru. This is his first step so romba careful aa irukanum especially with lyrics nu pakkarar." She nodded not too sure about what that meant.
As they were going through the lyrics, they heard a knock and Samyu's eyes widened at the sight of the person. It was Abhimanyu. He was equally shocked to see her as well. He said, "Wow what a pleasant surprise! Didn't know you were singing. That amazing." Siddhu looked up saying, "Appo Ungalukku Ivangala already theriyuma?" Samyu replied, "Recent aa oru function la meet panninom." Abhi quickly sat down and they all focused on getting the lyrics together. It was time to now record and it did not take Samyu too many attempts to get an ok.
She stepped out of the recording theatre clearing her throat. Siddhu gave her a high-five and said, "Semmaya paadirkeenga. Excellent. Thank you so much and looking forward to collaborating again soon. She thanked him for the opportunity but kept clearing her throat. Abhi noticed that and said, "I think you need a warm drink. Can I get you something?" She wanted to say no but her throat really felt dry and the idea of a warm drink really sounded good. She wasn't familiar with the area so she did not know where to go. Embarrassingly her stomach started growling too. He smiled and said, "Please vaanga. I know a good soup and sandwich joint around the corner. Polaam. My way of saying thank you?" She looked at his eyes and could say no.
In a few minutes they were seated at this quaint place. She ordered a tomato bisque soup and a vegetable panini. He ordered a chicken noodle soup and a salad. As they waited for their food she asked him, "Hmmm... so Neenga actor aa? Ungala movies la paathadha nyabagam illiye?" He smiled and looked away, nervously scratching his eyebrow, "An aspiring actor. I have done a few short films, ads and romba kutty roles. Indha MV is my big break actually. So you being a part of this is very special." She smiled, "Oh I hope I am your lucky charm then." Just then the food arrived and he said, "Well, the food arrived as soon as you said that so that's a good sign" and they both laughed.
He asked, "Neenga enna padikireenga? Future plans?" She said, sipping on her soup, "B. Com second year padikaren. Appa wants me to go abroad for my MBA after this but enakku music la focus pannanum nu aasai. Therila let's see what Destiny has to offer for me. Ellam ezhudhi vachirukardhu thaan." He agreed but chimed in, "you are an extremely gifted singer. Adha mattum vittudadheenga." She smiled.
They exchanged phone numbers. They both clearly felt a connection. They started messaging each other and found excuses to meet. After a couple of months, they did not need excuses. Both of them realized a very strong attraction. She spoke to him about everything. She felt the need to share her day with him and always listened to her. He enjoyed her animated reactions and non stop chatting. Her brain paced faster than her mouth so it was cute to see her fumble and get out of breath while talking. He would constantly remind her, "Medhuva maa, thanni kudi maa, paathu paathu, iru maa iru maa, avasara padadhe maa" this helped her hyper nature too.
Few months into this relationship both of them realized that they had hopelessly fallen in love with each other. Meanwhile Abhi signed his first film as a lead and opportunities slowly started knocking his door. This was something he had been waiting for all these years but in the past few months he had become desperate. He felt more responsible. He knew that he wanted to marry Samyuktha one day but he wanted her to have the best life. She was his Queen and he wanted her to give her the life of one. He wanted to be financially stable. He wanted to travel with her. He wanted to give her all that she wanted. He wanted to put her up in a pedestal. He wanted to treat her like she deserved to be, full of love, respect, kindness and tenderness.
She was his world.
Brinda Subramanian