Karthik's point of view
The traffic was light, so our journey was fine. She was a very balanced biker. Her driving skills were really good. It was very steady when drove her bike. Even though I have been on her bike before, this time was different. It was like we were going on a long drive. Just the two of us. I would really like to go for that kind of a ride with her one day. She parked her bike inside the gate. She knocked on the door and an old lady opened it. " Look who is here ". She had a huge smile on her face. " How are you grandma ? " She touched feet and then hugged her. " I am absolutely fine darling. How are you ? " " I am good and this is my friend Karthik ". " Oh ! It is rare that you bring anyone with you. Nice to see that you actually have company ". " Hello ". Even I bent to touch her feet. " No need for all those formalities. Come here ".
She gave me a huge hug. Then we went inside and her grandfather was sitting in a chair reading a book. " Hello grandpa. How are you ? " She touched his feet too and then hugged him. " Oh! Hello dear. I am totally fine. How about you ? " " I am good. Grandpa this is Karthik ". " Hello ". I bent forward to touch his feet. " Bless you my son ". " Thank you... sir ". " No need for those formalities. You can also call us grandma and grandpa. It is fine ". " Thank you grandpa ". " Go and fresh up. Then you can have dinner. Come Karthik I will show you your room. You know your room right ? " " Of course I do ". Chandu replied with a smile. I followed grandma and the room was really nice. It was similar to my room. It was really neat too. I liked it. The house was not really big, but it was beautifully decorated. Anyone could feel the village vibes. I changed into some comfortable clothes after taking a shower. I went towards the kitchen to see that I was the last one to arrive.
" Sorry for the delay ". " It is fine. Even she arrived just before you ". Then grandma served us dinner and we all ate while chatting. They were really fun to talk to. Once we were done with the dinner, we came back to the living room. We both sat on the sofa while grandma and grandpa sat on the chairs beside it. " I will call mom. Just a minute ". She excused herself and went out of the room. " So how did you guys meet ? " Grandpa asked me as soon as she was out of earshot. I told them everything that happened between us. From meeting at the bus stop till today. " You really like her don't you ? " It was too straight forward. I hesitated for a bit. " I don't know. Maybe, maybe not. I don't know the answer myself. I really want to find out the answer too. But I assure you one thing. I want to be by her side all the time and protect her. No matter to what extent I might go, I will always keep her happy when she is with me. In fact I want to be by her side to keep her happy ".
I answered wholeheartedly and the words were an absolute truth. I told him what I felt. But telling it to someone seemed to reduce my confusion a little. He laughed at my answer. " That's nice. I feel like I am seeing a younger version of myself ". I smiled at his comment. " All the best to both of you. You will get your answer soon enough ". Chandu was back by the time he finished his sentence. And then he changed the topic and they were speaking about their parents and other things.
The next day I woke up by 8 in the morning. The sun was shining in the clear sky. The backyard had a well and the water in it was really cold. The bathrooms were also to one side of the backyard. I finished brushing my teeth and was just loitering in the back yard. There were fields on three sides and the house on the fourth. There was a lot of fresh air. It was a beautiful view. Chandu came out just then. " Good morning ". " Good morning. Slept well ? " " Yes". I really had a nice sleep. " I will show you around. So get ready around 10 or something. Okay ? " " Okay ". She then went inside again. After that I finished my bath and was ready. She sent me a text to bring the bike. So by 10 I was in front of the front door of the house, sitting on her bike. I was waiting for her.
The doors opened and she came out. I was frozen in the spot just looking at her. She was in a sari. It was a blue sari. It was pretty much plain with only a gold zari border. I wonder if she is an angel. She always made me spellbound with her beauty. I was speechless looking at her. She walked up to me and was now standing in front of me. She waved her hand in front of my face. I came out of the trance. " Shall we go ? " " But how will you drive a bike ? " She laughed at my remark. I think I lost my mind. Of course she wants me to drive it. I face palmed myself mentally. " I thought you know to ride a bike ". " Yeah, I do. Let's go ". I started the bike and she sat on the back with her hand on my shoulder. I never expected that I will be able to take her on a ride. Not even in my dreams. I felt ecstatic at the thought of it.
So as soon as we were out of the gate, she told me the directions to the place she wanted to show me. It was a temple of Lord Krishna. It was really beautiful. There were trees all around. It was at the middle of the village. The statue was made of white marble. There was a garland of different colored flowers around the neck on the statue. We spent some time in the temple. On our way back Chandu suggested that we take another route which is along the rice fields. It was picturesque. The green fields on either sides of the road were really beautiful. We parked to a side and decided to take a few pictures. So we went on to the fields and took a lot of photos. After some time we walked back towards the bike. When we were almost near the bike, I caught Chandu by her wrist and she stopped in her tracks. I took a few steps closer to her and stood close to her. She was not meeting my eyes.
-MG