Thooriga

Smart move, Mama. I wasn't expecting this.

Raj walked into our bedroom dragging our trolley bags behind him in both hands, looking around the room. I took silent steps behind him before hoping and wrapping my hands around his shoulders.

"Hey, Papa, enna panra?" He left the handles of the trolley bags and held my thighs without letting me slip off. (What are you doing?)

"Appadiye... Nenjukule Innarunnu... padikittu, ennai uppumootai thookitu room tour kodu." I wrap my legs around his waist from behind. (Take me on a piggyback room tour as you sing a song.)

He turned his head to look at me and pulled my hands front to balance me properly without strangling him. "Ithu kooda nyabagam iruka?" He rubbed his nose against my cheeks. (You remember this too?)

"Marakum ah Nenjam?" I kissed the tip of his nose. (Can I ever forget?)

He twirled us several times before stopping. "Intha suthi katunathu pothum ah?" (Is this enough?)

"Mokka podama suthi kaatu, Mama." (The joke was too blunt, Mama.)

"Suthi kata enna iruku?" He carried me and ran around the room. "Inga walk-in closet iruku athu kula bathroom iruku antha pakkam balcony iruku." (What is there to give a tour? There is a walk-in closet, a bathroom connected to it and here is a balcony.)

"Haan. Dance venum ah dance iruku. Fight venum ah fight iruku. Poo ma." I slid off him and he removed his shoes before falling face down on bed. "Enna mama paduthuta." I crawl and sit next to him, shaking him. (Haan. Don't be a spoilt sport, Mama. Why are you lying down?)

"Chumma oru five minutes." He pulled me closer and rested his head on my lap. (Just for five minutes.)

"Just a minute." I lifted his head, cradling in my hand and sat properly before placing his head comfortably on my lap. "Are you feeling tired?"

"Nah. Just giving rest to my eyes." He rolled to lay on his back.

He will never agree.

Since our childhood days he always hides his tiredness and pain which led him to hide the most painful moment in his life. I caress his hair and peck on his forehead. His breathing even indicating he has fallen asleep while 'giving rest to his eyes'.

I really don't know when he is going to change this attitude.

Only when we share something the burden will be reduced and if there is a problem a different perspective of solution can be discussed. But no, he would never do that but pent up everything into himself. I know that he didn't tell me the entire truth and was trying to hide his stress.

When I heard him punching something in the flight cabin I went to check on him but Jagan bro handled him. Realising he is going to the lavatory, I hurried back to my cabin and pretended like I was watching television with Tanya. When he left after talking with Mohan bro and Madan, I went behind him and helped him forget everything except me. What I'm doing for him is less compared to what he is doing for me.

"Thoori, adam pidikatha ithu konjam mattum sapudu. Mathira podanum." My mom tried to feed me when I was sick. (Thoori, eat properly without throwing a tantrum. You need to take medicine.)

"Enaku poothum." I pushed her hands away not wanting to eat the tasteless food. (Enough. I'm full.)

"Papa," Raj mama entered the house hesitantly, looking around the house. "Mama," I called out to him and tried to get down from the top of the dining table but it was too tall for me to jump off it. As I was running away from eating, mom lifted me and seated me on the dining table, moving the chairs away from my reach.

"Enna aachu, madam.." He lowered his bag outside the dining room and stepped in. (What happened, madam?)

"Dei," Mom gave him a warning look.

"Enna aachu, ka. Papa ku ipo otikitu irukeenga?" He walked towards us and I raised my arms for him to take me in his arms. (What happened, Akka? You are feeding papa at this time.)

"Avala thookatha. Avaluku fever iruku." I frowned at my mother for stopping him. "Fever iruku la athan six hours once medicine kodukanum. Iva sapdama adam pidikura." Mom released a frustrated breath and I imitated mom making mama laugh. (She has a fever, don't touch her.) (She needs to have medicine for every six hours for the temperature to reduce. But she is throwing tantrums to eat.)

"Yen en kitty cat sapda matenguthu?" He held his arms behind him and bent his neck to look at my eyes. (Why is my kitty cat not eating?)

"Enaku nasam satham venam." He laughed again. "Athuku peru Nasam illa papa rasam." (I don't want Nasam rice.) (It's Rasam, Papa, not Nasam.)

"Enaku venam." (I don't want it.)

"Nee sapta, inaiku enaku kedachatha unaku tharuven." (Let's make a deal, if you eat, I'll give you what I received, today.)

"Nee kodu naan sapduren." He shook his head and I turned the other way, not looking at both of them. (You give, I'll eat.)

A few seconds later, a ribbon came around my neck with a golden coin. "1. F.I.R.S.T first P.R.I.Z.E prize. First Prize. Woah. Mama, first prize." I turned around to look at him with my mouth open and my mother took the chance to feed me.

"Moraikatha, di, sapudu." I frowned at her as I chewed my food. "Hey, ethula gold medal?" She asked mama. (Don't glare at me. Eat!) (In which sport you got the gold medal?)

"Swimming la ka. Diving la silver." He took out another medal but didn't show me. (Gold in Swinning and Silver in Diving.)

"Mama, kaatu." (Mama, show it to me.)

"Nee innoru vai sapta thaan kattuven," He shrugged and I opened my mouth looking at my mother for her to feed me. (If you eat another spoon, I'll show you.)

"Here," Raj mama put the silver medal around my neck. I held both the medals in my hands which had my hands full. My mother fed me another spoonful when I gawked at the medals.

"Mama, enakum kathuku kodu naan unna mari valanthu medal vanguren." I lifted my hand high to his head level to match his height. (Mama, you teach me, I'll also win medals when I grow up like you.)

"Okay, papa." He pinched my cheeks and I giggled at him.

"First uh nee joram la irunthu seri agu apuram ellam kathukalam." My mother taunted me and I frowned at her. "Enaku sapadu venam po." (First, you get well from your fever, afterwards you can learn everything.) (I don't want to eat. Go!)

"Seri, TV pathutu sapudriya. Cartoon Network vaikuren." Raj mama turned on the television in the living room and Sun Music started playing. Mama was feeding in the channel number while a song played where the hero carries the heroine on a piggyback with her luggages on his head and shoulders. (Okay. Will you eat while watching the television? Shall I play Cartoon Network?)

Nenjukullae innarunu sonnal puriyuma

"Mama, channel mathatha." (Mama, don't change the channel.)

Athu konji konji pesurathu kannil theriyuma

He stopped and exited the channel number feeding as the song continued to play.

Nenjukullae innarunu sonnal puriyuma

Athu konji konji pesurathu kannil theriyuma

"Mama, ennai antha mari uppumoothai thoku naan sapduren." He smiled and walked towards me to lift me. (Mama, carry me on a piggy back like he does in the song, I'll eat.)

"Raj, vendam. Avaluku joram irukum, Unnoda sports day vera varuthu, intha varusham 10th board exams vera." Mom warned him for the second time. (Raj, no. She has a fever and your sports day is nearing, also you have your 10th board exams.)

"Onnum Aagathu, ka. Nenga ootunga." He turned around and lowered himself. (Nothing will happen, Ka. You feed her food.)

I stood up on the dining table and wrapped my arms around her neck. He held my legs around his waist and carried me around the dining table as my mother fed me until I finished the food. The next day he fell sick, missing his football match and sports day and my mother scolded me for it.

All these years, he hasn't changed a bit in loving me. His priority has always been me and doing the things I asked him. He loves me to the core but asking me why I love him so much.

How can I ever forget him and his love? It's not only your responsibility to protect me, Mama, it's mine too. I will always protect you.

Ulagae azhinjaalum un uruvam azhiyaathae

Uyire pirinjaalum uravethum piriyaathae

I cupped his face and bent to kiss him on his forehead. I tried to lean back but he held my head and kissed my forehead before leaning up to capture my lips in a shearing kiss.

"Fraud. You weren't sleeping?" I slapped his arms when we broke our kiss.

"I told you, I'm just giving rest to my eyes." He moved his head from my lap to the pillow and patted the space next to him.

"I saw your breath even." I slid a little and laid next to him, facing him.

"I'm a light sleeper, I wake up to small movements and sounds around me." He pulled me closer to him.

"But I remember you as a heavy sleeper." I cupped his face and circled my thumb on his cheeks.

"Maybe, I'll get back to that mode once everything is over." He held my head and bumped our foreheads together, playfully. "So tell me, what were you thinking when you sang those lines?"

"Just a little memory lane when we were little." He pretended to recollect the moment, pouting his lips and looking up at the ceiling. "Don't act as if you don't remember the song and what you did for me and its consequences." I patted his cheek, playfully.

"I just missed five days of school. That's all." He shrugged casually. "And then we weren't little, you were a cute little kitty cat."

"How can you make the same word sound both adorable and dirty?"

"Because my kitty is both adorable and naughty." He pinched my cheeks and I blushed. "Oie, are you blushing?" He placed his hand against his chest and threw a dreamy look.

"Maman unnai kandu

Engum malli chandu

Thozhil ennai alli kondu

Thoonga vaipaai anbae endru," I rolled him on his back and rested my head on his chest.

"En kannil nee thanamma" He wrapped his hands around my shoulder and head.

"Unaamal urangaamal unnal thavikum Raj Vajendra

Nenjukullae innarunu sonnal puriyuma"

"Athu konji konji pesurathu kannil theriyuma."

I closed my eyes and tried to sleep for a while hearing his heartbeat, so that he too can have some rest which we didn't have last night.

~~~~~~~

Rudhran

When am I going to give her an explanation?

When I said we are not like them, I didn't mean that they are real and we are fake, I meant that even if we were real, we wouldn't have been like them. I'm not romantically expressive as Raj and have never been with a woman, intimately. I have never experienced the real feeling of love or intimacy.

I looked at the closed door of the walk-in closet and checked my watch. Tina has yet to come out and we have only ten minutes for the time by which Thooriga asked us to be ready. After our miscommunication when we arrived, I waited for Tina to come out so that I could give an explanation but she didn't come out. I checked on her but she just replied that she was fine.

I needed some air, so I took Taran to the play area in the hotel and Madan for safety. We spent some time there and when I returned, Tina was sleeping. By the time she woke up, it was seven and dad wanted to have dinner at the restaurant with the entire family. During dinner, Thooriga was talking with Dad more than Raj by signalling through eyes. And finally while the dessert was served, Dad spoke out his suggestion.

"Thooriga, Why don't you take your friends for clubbing?"

"That's a great idea, Thatha." She clapped her hands and looked at her friends. "Shall we girls? After our graduation night we didn't go clubbing."

"Cool, I'm in." Tanya agreed, wiping her hands with the tablecloth and her eyes moved to the table where our guards were having their dinner.

"But, I didn't pack any dress for the occasion." Tina pushed her hair behind her ear, nervously.

"No problem, I have an extra dress, if you don't like it, we can get one from the hotel boutique." Thooriga hurriedly ate her dessert.

"Naanu?" Taran leaned up on his chair. (Me?)

"Not until you are 21." I warned him and his eyes went wide. "I'll read books or we'll go gaming."

"Yayy!!" He danced while seated.

"Parvathi and I will take Taran for gaming, and others will enjoy the night.." Dad smiled at me.

"Yes, Mapillai, Ilakkiya, you two go with them." Mom patted Ilakkiya akka's shoulders.

"Vayasu pasanga poitu varatum, Aathai. Naan pogal." Eshwar mama as usual denied mingling with us. (Let young people go and enjoy themselves. I'm staying back.)

"I'll also stay back." Akka smiled faintly. She never goes alone for any event without Eshwar Mama.

"Appa..." I wanted to protest but Raj held my hand. "Eppadiyum naan Thooriga ku guard ah poi thaan aganum, avanga dance floor pora apo enaku company kodu." I looked at him for any reaction but he maintained his usual stone face. (Anyways, I have to go guarding Thooriga, why don't you give me company when the girls hit the dance floor.)

Yeppa, samy illana mattum neenga pogama thangitalum. (Talking as if he would stay back letting her go alone.)

"Did you check the club for safety?" I raised my eyebrows.

"The entire hotel was checked in the morning, no worries." He patted my back. I looked between him, Thooriga and Dad. Them acting to be normal was evident that it was pre-planned.

"But I don't have a dress suitable for clubbing." I copied Tina's reason and she looked at me, shocked. When I turned my eyes away from her to Raj, he looked me up and down with a snarl before shaking his head in disbelief.

"Chitha, boys can manage with any dress, formals or casuals anything will go. Let's go and get ready." We left the restaurant and Thooriga took us to her suite to give Tina the additional dress she had packed. But it pretty much looked as new.

When we got back to our room, I just changed my shirt into a black turtleneck shirt. I was already wearing a black jeans which would go well with it. It didn't take five minutes for me but it's been more than fifteen minutes since Tina went to get dressed. I know girls take time but if we didn't leave now, my dad will come knowing at the door.

I got up from the sofa in our bedroom and went to knock at the walk-in closet door. I raised my hand to knock but Tina opened the door at the same time. I stood frozen at my spot and my eyes travelled up from her feet to face. With wavy hair, stone bindi, black blouse and red saree, she looked beautiful.

From nowhere, Susmita Sen's entry BGM from the Main Hoon Na movie started playing in my head. Tina snapped her fingers in front of eyes, pressing the pause button in my head. I mentally shook my head to come out of the trance.

"Thooriga gave you some cocktail dress, didn't she?" I scratched my temple and moved aside for her to walk out.

"Yes, but I'm wearing this. Is there anything wrong?" She adjusted the saree near her left elbow, to balance the single shoulder pleat look perfect on her.

"No, you look beaut..iful." Her eyes enlarged in surprise but she controlled it and I stretched my hand in front for her to lead the way. She twisted her lips in annoyance and turned around to take her bag before walking towards the door. As if my eyes had a mind of their own, they travelled from the top of head to feet but got stuck at the natural sway of her hips.

Again, the BGM started to play in my head. What is happening to you, Rudhra?

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Hey Lovelies,
Hope you have enjoyed this update. Please do vote and share your feedback through comments.

See you soon with the next update.

09/02 - LR Bonus Chapter 3
10/02 - AA
10/02 - TS
16/02 - BH

Thank you & Love
R.K. Tejaswi
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