By the time the bus made its way through the town and reached the outskirts, Aman was engrossed in day dreaming. Strangely enough, he didn't imagine strangling his sworn enemy... ahem, I mean his uncle. Instead, he was busy fantasizing about mesmerizing brown eyes, long black pleated tresses dancing on a slender waist and flowy ankle length skirts! He was missing her. He had started missing her the moment he had stepped on the bus. But he couldn't turn back. He was sure that she would also be feeling as miserable as he was. They had that sort of a two-way communication channel between them. Telepathy, is it? He could almost see her fuming at her beloved Katti Appa. As that thought came into his mind, the corners of his lips, on their own accord; turned up in a smile. Pleased to have her as his feisty friend for life, he dozed off to sleep even as the bus raced on to the highway, taking him closer to his destination with each passing mile.
Long after the bus had moved out of her eyesight and the dust had settled, Sandy blinked. She had been routed to the same spot for a very long time now. She was not motivated enough to shift an inch from her place. His warmth still lingered where Aman had last held her... as if, he was still holding her. In due course, another bus came and people started getting off. Her trance was broken as a random tourist brushed shoulders with her. As she was brought back to the present, her heart sank, for she had truly come to terms with the gravity of the situation. He might never come back! As if mechanically, her feet carried her back in the direction of home.
It was already nearing 8:00 pm. By now customers would have started trickling in for dinner. But she had no inclination what so ever to go and attend to total strangers and a few mere acquaintances. She did not want to hear Katti Appa scolding her for not preparing the meal tonight. She did not want to see him scowling down at his staff including her, for their tardiness or their laxity. If anything, she wanted to lie down on her bed and drift to sleep. She was bone tired and the last thing on her mind would be an altercation with Katti Appa. If he would have been just the strict disciplinarian, she would have had no problem coping up with his demanding nature. But he was on a different level altogether. He was whimsical. One moment he would be considerate and the next he would do a complete 180 degree turn and not care at all! She had always insisted that Aman try to understand him and behave when dealing with his uncle. She was not sure anymore. Day by day, her patience was wearing. Things were difficult to manage with her mother no longer present by her side. How she wished that her father was here with her, but he was always away on duty. For him, his duty came foremost. Even at the cost of his family. Not that she had any fond memories of him, though. She didn't even remember seeing him even once but she had vivid recollection from her past, of the joy her mother used to feel when his letters came. There always used to be a money order and a note stating for her mother to buy anything that Sandy wished for. She had taken pride in that fact, since her mother was fiercely proud of her husband. But ever since she passed away and he didn't turn up, Sandy had had a change of heart... of sorts.
She had frantically tried to get in touch with him, posted letters to the last known address in the hope that he would come and meet his ailing wife. He didn't come to see her even once! Neither when she was on her death bed, nor for the cremation. What she received from her father was a note stating that he was sorry for the loss and that he wouldn't be able to come. Along with the note, she did receive the usual money order. Sandy didn't feel like taking the money and since that day, the money kept on accumulating at the post office. That was two months after her mother had passed away. Soundarya Prabhu had herself performed the last rites of her mother under the watchful guidance of Katti Appa. She had come to respect him for the solidarity that he had extended in the times of need and out of that respect for him, she had pushed Aman to take interest in the diner. But in hindsight, it had been a big mistake since Appa had behaved in his typically unpredictable ways and berated Aman for doing something that could have been very good for their business. Appa's business to be precise, for she was a mere employee. Now, she knew exactly how Aman felt in his uncle's company... frustrated and dejected. Not that she didn't know beforehand but now she was definitely experiencing it first hand.
Only when she dropped on the bed did she realize that she was in fact in Aman's room and not her own house. Her feet it seems had taken her there on their own accord! Even before her mind could process this information and could think of getting up and going home, she was fast asleep.
Sandy woke up to a strange noise. But the first thing she registered was a tingling sensation on her forehead. All she could recollect was that Aman had kissed her on her forehead before he left. He left! Simultaneously, her heart soared to new highs and then, sky dived to ultimately crash and burn to the ground. Must have been that, that sound. Even as she was actually entertaining that peculiar thought, the sound registered in her brain again. No. it had not been her heart mind body or soul, but an actual door closing! Looked like Appa had returned home and in all likelihood, crossing paths with him was inevitable tonight.
Bracing herself for the onslaught, she climbed down the stairs. She mentally conditioned herself for the best defense, as to why she had been absconding from work. Moreover, why she was here of all the places. More than that, she told herself that she was not going to cower down. As soon as she saw him, her resolve flew out of the window and she tried to sneak out of the place, undetected behind his back. As luck or in this case her bad luck would have it, Prasanna spotted her!
"Soundarya?" he asked, taken aback by her presence at this late hour. It was nearing midnight.
"Ehem.. Appa!" She started off timidly. "I was just leaving."
"Oh." For a moment she thought she had seen his eyes deflect to the upper floor.
"I was in fact waiting for you." She said, sounding confident than she actually was.
"Is it?" he asked narrowing his eyes. "What for?"
"This." She said, extending her hands. She was thanking Aman internally, for he had that foresight to hand over his set of keys to her. "Aman asked me to give these to you."
"He did?" Prasanna asked, surprised.
"Oh yes. He did." She confirmed. This time, she could have bet she saw him looking upstairs.
"He could have these." Prasanna said, brushing it off. "I don't intend to keep more than one set with me."
"You need not worry. He won't need them at the University."
"Univ.."
"YES. He left. You finally drove him away. Congratulations!"
"SOUNDARYA!" He raised his voice at her. "Mind yourself!"
"What if I don't want to?" She rebelled. "You can't dictate me and you will certainly not harass me further than you already have."
"You are out of your mind? This is not how you are supposed to talk to your elders."
"I am out of my mind? Are you even listening to your own words? If anyone is out of their mind, Appa... in all likelihood, it's you! . You keep everyone at arm's length, including your own nephew."
"You need to calm down. Sleep over it for the night. We will talk tomorrow."
"I don't want to talk to you. Not now and certainly not tomorrow." She shouted at him. "Or ever again!" Sandy started towards the door when Prasanna called out.
"Wait! Where are you going?"
"I am going home." She snapped.
"It's late. You can stay here overnight if you wish to. Go home at day break."
"Why, thank you! How very considerate of you!" She replied with a sarcastic smile. "But I will have to turn down your offer. One... It's not that late. I have worked later than this at the kitchen on your orders. And two... it's none of your business where I am at this hour. So, Mr. Prasanna Katti, you need not bother with me and my whereabouts. And since you have achieved your desirables for the day, you may sleep peacefully tonight. Have a good night!" With that, she stormed out of that place.
Sandy did not lower her pace until she reached her home. Once there, she reached for her front gate and put her hands on the lock to open it. She heaved a sigh, took a deep breath and put her head over her hands. She was weary and all she needed was a moment to collect herself.
Once Sandy had left, Prasanna picked up the key she had tossed on the center table and hung it on the key stand by the door. Securing all the locks in place, he went to bed. He tossed and turned, but couldn't sleep well. His mind constantly drifted to what she had said. You are the one who drives people away, she had said. He was ill at ease. He knew he couldn't set things right between himself and Aman. He didn't know when and where, but things had gone far too bad between them both to set right. But he had not expected Sandy to have such an outburst at him. A sudden chill ran down his spine and he sat up bolt upright. He couldn't shake off the restlessness and the weird feeling associated with her name. Out of the blue, he wanted to make sure she was alright. It was 3:30 am. Hardly the time you could go and knock on a girl's door without scaring the life out of her. He walked into his washroom, splashed a good amount of water on his face and went to bed again. He tossed and turned a little more. In due course of time, he started pacing the floor. Once he got tired of pacing in his room, he shifted to the living room. His eyes, every now and then went up the landing and finally, he found himself on the terrace. He lingered by the door of Aman's room. But still he couldn't bring himself to go into that room. For some unexplained reason, his feet refused to carry him into that room. He turned in the direction of Sandy's house. It was sixth house down the lane and he could still make out the faint outline in the ambient light. Thank God for the Christmas decorations and lightings!
It was eerily calm and everything was deathly still. Yet, an unknown fear gripped his heart as Prasanna tried to look beyond the gate. A slight push from him and the gate opened. He cursed at the girl's irresponsible behavior. She should know better to lock her gates at night. He slipped the spare key back into his pockets and went up the house. It was locked from the outside!!
A thousand alarm bells started ringing in his head. He did open the door, went inside, ran through the whole house and the garden but he didn't see her anywhere. He went back uphill to his own house and straightaway went to Aman's room. She must have come back. She was not in the room either. But where could she go? It was still 5:00 am. Thinking she might have gone for an early morning walk, he followed the trail that Aman used to take for his morning jogs. Oh yes! He very well knew about that, even if he never showed it. He had kept a close tab on Aman's whereabouts whenever he was in town. Still, no sign of Soundarya.
With growing concern, he pulled out his age old, battered, primitive model of something akin to a phone and dialed the only number where he was confident of finding an answer. He was desperate and desperate situations call for desperate measures. Soundarya had vanished into thin air and he needed to know where to search and how to bring her back.