Hi sweethearts,

Thanks for this amazing response for the last part....And I feel really happy that many of you have started accepting K M story....

This part is a continuation of the last part and could be an emotional ride....So, all the best.....

                           வாழ்வென்பது ஒரு முறை ஒரு முறை
                            சாவென்பதும் ஒரு முறை ஒரு முறை
                         காதல் வரும் ஒரு முறை ஒரு முறைதான்
ஏதோ நான் இருந்தேன் என் உள்ளே காற்றாய் நீ கிடைத்தாய்

Mullai came out of her memory lane with rabbits bark.......She moved out of her room only to see Kavin with rabbit...

Mul with a frown: dei....ennada nee um rabbit um matum vandirukinga....

Kavin: avunga apdiye edo vanganum nu super market poitanga....naan sonen naa poren nu keta dane....

Mul: seri vidu and she settles on sofa...and rabbit came and cuddled on her lap....

Kavin: mullai....nithya va kooptiya....

Mul: shhhhh.....maranten da....nala vela nyabaga paduthuna......

Modhala oru message panren.....ava free aa nu.....

Kavin: hmmmm....he noded....

Mul: dei nee aduthu epo da mysore pora?

Kavin: next week poganum.....amma chithi vera koopdaranga....

Mul: poi pathitu vaa da....avungalum unna miss panuvanga .....inga vaanga nu sonalum keka matingranga....

Kavin: nee um vaa mullai....inda varathoda nama busy schedula laan mudiyudu la...

Mul: illa da....venam......naan next time varen......

Kavin: seri.....

And a ping was heard...

Mul: dei nithya ready aam da...

And mullai called her buddy......And the screen opened to a happily married women face....she was sitting in the thinai of her house, leaning on the pillar....

Mullai for a moment did feel nostalgic about her village, but then over the years she had learn to mask her reaction under the veil....

Mullai: ey...nithya epdi iruka.....

Nith: ennakena di naan nala iruken....nee epdi iruka ...anna illaya...

Mullai turned the phone to kavin..

Kavin: enna ku enna nithya nala iruken....bro epdi irukar....kutty payan epdi irukan....

Nith: anna, avana pathi lan kekada....paal kudika ivalo neram poratam.....ipo dan apdi ipdi nu thoonginan....ini oru 2 hours thoonguvan...

Periyavan thatha pati oda veladran...

Aama mulai......enna neenga matum dan irukingala......

Mul: aaman....edo kadaiku poirukanga.....

And few minutes went off wiith their casual talks...casual nonsense....

Nithya: apram....

Mul: apram....

Kavin: neenga rendu perum enna mathi mathi apram kekava kooptinga....

Nithya and mullai giggle....

Nithya: naan onnu sona nee thappa eduthuka matiye...

Mul: en di nee en best friend nee ennna sona naan yen di thappa eduthuka poren....

Nithya: mullai....naan kekuradu thappa seriya......apdi nu lan therla......solalama koodadha nu kooda therla di.....aana....unna ipdi paka mudila....

Mul: epdi...di she asked with a no nonsense attitude...

Nithya: ipdi dan...ipdi un ulla irukura unarchi aa katupaduthi...unarvu illatha aal aatam....

Mul: nee ena di solar....naan epovum pola dane irukan....ipdi dane irukan ...

Nithya: venam mulla....nee ipdi dan 8 varushama iruka naan illa nu solala,.....aana innum ethane naal....ethana naal nee ipdi iruka pora........

Mul: ey...enna di solra...idan en vazhka...ipdi dan en vazhkai nu mudivayi pala varusham aachu...maaradu di...

Nithya: unaku enna di vayasu.....verum 30....... Idelam vayasunu ...idan vazhka nu solra.....please di....

Engalukaga...unna nambi irukara kudumbathukaga vachu....ellam marakalame...please di....

Mul: loosatam pesadha nithya.......

Nithya: loosatam pesuradhu nee aa naana........anna....neengalachum solungalen....yen amaidiya irukinga....

Kav: naan ennatha sola...ethana mura sola........nama elarkum iva sandosham dan mukiyam...............naan illa atha mama edachum ida pathi pesunale ....iva apram konjam naal yaar kitayum pesa mata....

Veetuku nerathuku vara mata...saapda mata......late aa varuva.....morning poiduva....

Thevaya idelam....ava ipdi dan sandoshama iruka naa irukatum nu naangalum vitutom........nama yen solrom....eduku solrom nu lan purinjuka matingra.....illa purinjum puriyada madiri iruka.....Vidu ma.....

And he walked off....

Nithya: aana mulla....onnu matum solren....nee ipdi irukarudu....Rio ku pudikadu....nee epovum sandoshama irukanum nu matum dan avaru aasapataru.....

Aaana nee ipdi irukarudu nala illa......

Mullai stayed mum.....

Nithya took a deep breath and cut the phone......knowing mullai....and her stubbornness.....

Once the call was cut, mullai walked into her room and shut the door......

Once inside her solace, her room, she took their photo frame kept near her bed and hugged it close to her heart and broke down......

No matter how many years pass, she can not forget him, move past him....

Why don't her people just understand that?

Why can't they understand she is fine the way she is?

Why cant they just let her live in peace?

She cannot bear another crack....another ache.....

Her heart mercilessly torn once was put back in place in Chennai by him, her RIO....but now, she knows she cannot....she just cannot......

For the outerworld,

She might have lived with him only for a mere months.........yet only she knew how till date even after years, when she goes to bed with only her heartbeat as lullaby,

His face and his smile were her driving force....

There was never a day she slept without a reminiscence of him....

And yet everyone failed to understand her love for him.....

She could hear the main door opening and the sound outside her room, but she was again held back in her misery....she heard the concerned voice of them enquiring about her absence....And her true friend, Kavin answered that she had retired to bed taking an antipyretic as her head was splitting in migraine....

They abided his words and didn't disturb her for the rest of the night....giving her the much needed space for her to drown in his memories in their memories......

The bus she boarded after biding bye to her native place stopped at its final destination, CMBT, the place shown in many a movies...Just like movies, it was enormously spread over a large area....

Mullai stepped her foot into the grounds of Chennai, where she believed her future would be moulded....

She had no big relative in Chennai and hence stayed in a hotel room near Mylapore, the place where her new campus is set...When she came out of the Principal room completing the formalities, she had a pure bliss in her face which did get passed on to her parents....

She was already late by a month for her class, but her good score in UG did help her in her Certification program admission....Her parents had this question "where next"? "What next?"

A room had to be zeroed down for her to stay and they started their hunt and found a PG about a km away from her college...Paying the advance token with the initial months pay, they went back to the hotel room....

Next day, she got ready for her college, in the dress she had given her adieu almost some 10 months back, after her UG graduation...Today, back in a similar dress, she felt a bit better....

With initial hesitation and her parents blessing, she stepped foot into her classroom...She was a exhibition material the whole day as she was the late entry....N her not being completely out of self-agony, didn't make any usual efforts to find companionship......By the time she came out of her college, she saw her father waiting with her mother with her bags, all ready to shift her to her new room, her hostel.....

On the way to her room , her parents enquired about her college, how the people were...What could she tell, that she was not her usual self...didn't pay attention to what was taught..?

She merely nodded her head as everything was normal and they didn't dwell much into it....and they left the same day to her nativeland....

Was she afraid to stay alone?

Did the question arise in her mind about her survival in unknown place?

Was she confused about her capability of overcoming her first love – failure?

All of them were answered in affirmative along with the unasked question was she prepared for it......

New dawn brought a new day to her...she didn't know then,

what the day had stored for her...She didn't know she is going to meet the healer of her wounds....

Not knowing about what the future held for her, she got ready to her college, she was many feets away from the entrance to her college, when she bumped into a hard chest...making her steps flutter...

She looked up to see what she hit against and came across a smiley face....with an apologetic look..."Sorry" he said , she nod her head and went to class....

The day went in same manner, with none trying to connect with her nor she trying her part...She knew only her education and study materials including laptop had been taken care of....her daily expense is still there for her to handle ....

With those thoughts, she was walking to her hostel when a small poster stuck outside a confectionery caught her eyes...."Female staffs required". She walked to the shop with a mild smile, enquiring about the need for the female staff along with her job and its responsibilities.....and left the shop with a small glint in her eyes....she had bagged this job, no matter how meagre the salary is, she knew, her monthly expense will be taken care of...with this part time job offering her 5k.....she could join from tomorrow and this was a positive thing for her for sure...

Almost 24 hours later, she stepped into the same shop all ready to work as a staff, her work clothes were handed over after she submitted few Photostats of her identity. Stepping into this new attire of pant and collared tshirt felt a bit odd to her, she had no memory when she wore a pant and shirt last time........Keeping her discomfort caused by a foreign attire at a bay, she followed her fellow colleagues, a mix of male and female. She gave a small smile, when she saw a kind of known face in the crowd, the face she had bumped into yesterday. He came forward and gave his hand for a normal introduction, addressing himself as " RIO" with his goofy smile and lively eyes...

Mullai gave a fake smile to his intro, and shaked her head and went ahead with her work...learning the practical nature of work from her colleagues....Almost a week or 10 days would have passed, and she had almost adapted to the city life of Chennai....her days started with a quick assurance call to her parents and getting ready for college....she wasn't her usual self even during lectures or practical class...she sat with a dull face merely observing and understanding what is being taught, and then dragging herself to her part time job, later pecked on her food like a bird, and went to bed after a quick call with her parents giving a recap of her day or daily routine....

One day she was sitting in the canteen of ICAT, with a plate of food before her.... staring at the food as if it was a piece of art, she wasn't even aware of another person who joined with her in the same table...

That was when she heard a may be voice, familiar to her in the fogged memory of hers...saying these words or quote

"Enna neenga, ethana per food illama kashta padranga, neenga enna na, sapadu oda veladitu irukinga, sapdu mulla, sapdu kavin"

When she heard her name, she was really surprised and looked up to see the guy she meets daily in her workplace.....she racked her brain to remember his name....but alas to vain....She looked forward to see another guy, if her memory is good, her classmate also sitting staring at this guy.....

Only one question played in her mind, "Who is he? What is he doing here? Is he following her or something?

Her confusion was may be clearly visible on her face...when another male voice which was addressed by this guy as ...Kavin enquired him..

Kavin: dei machan Rio...unaku epdi da iva peru theriyum...ore class la irukura enake nyabagm illa....

So, her memory was right, he was her classmate, Kavin...his name and this guy name is Rio.....But what is this Rio doing here and how are these both connected now, her logical brain questioned herself....but she didn't voice it out..had she been the old mullai, she would have enquired that by now.....

Rio: Kavin, naanum Mullai um same place dan da work panrom....adan....Mulla, idu ennoda best friend apram cousin, Kavin...

The word cousin made few faces come infront of her eyes, faces of members of Pandian Stores family....Gosh, all she wanted was to forget them and here these buffoons had to remind her of the same..word...cousin...she tried walking away, but a hold on her hand stopped her.....

An anger surged through her veins, how dare he? Her palm met with his cheeks, but he held her hand before it..

Rio: ippo enna sonen nu neenga enna adika varinga...

Mul: kai aa edu modhala ....she almost yelled....

Rio left her hand.....neenga edum sapdalaye nu oru akarai la sonen...

Mul; hello....yaar neenga.....yaar neenga en mela akara kata.....edum venam and she left the place....

She heard her classmates words " dei vidra...avaluku enamo periya iva nu nenapu...yaar kitayun pesa mata...thimuru pudichava da" ......but what shocked her was the reply.... "Ila kavin....enaku ena vo inda ponnu....edo kavalai la irukura madiri iruku...10 naal aa nanga ore workplace dan...edo oru yosanai...edo oru ekkam.....oru sangadam anda kannu la theriyudu da...nala illa da...paavam aa iruku paka adan......."

Mullai turned back hearing his words, gave a stare at him and left.....

Next few days, she felt a pair of eyes following her every action in her workplace, to and fro from her college.....She knew whose eyes it was, it was the same pair of eyes of the guy she was about to slap, he did make many attempts to start a convo with her...but she didn't budge.....though inside she did feel a bit of happiness, that someone was trying to speak with her, giving her importance.....

One fine day, her morning started with her mom telling how they are missing her and would like to meet her, as it had been almost a month that she was in Chennai...Only now had she actually started making a move to come out of her depression, when she got this call...She didn't know what to tell and informed her mother that she would try to make it this weekend or another......

That day she was more gloomy than her usual self in her class, and when it was their free time, she felt the space beside her occupied by someone, Kavin...

Kavin: enaku theriyum unaku yaar kitayum pesa pudikadu nu.....aaana innaiku enamo madiri iruka....enna prechanai....

She was surprised, was her face really a mirror to her heart and emotion, that a guy who has merely talked with her could make out...

Mullai noded her head in a negative and left the place and went to her workplace quite before her usual time....

She was drowning herself in work when she felt someone behind her...She turned around to come face in face with Rio

Rio: mullai....enna achu...yen innaiku order ellam thappa kudukuringa......edachum prechanai....

Mul: onnum illa....she said with stern voice....

Rio: enaku theriyum ungaluku en kita edum sola pudikadu pesa pudikadu nu.....aana enna problem nalum share pana better agum...may be oru solution kedaikum or ungaluku light a aa kooda feel agum....with these words he left....

These words by him did give her mind the right push...may be someone lending ear to her trouble wouldn't be a bad solution after all....may be she could think with straight mind...Off late she is not her usual stuff......

She followed him and asked if he could spare sometime with her may be after work today? He was more than happy and obliged immediately...asking where would she prefer to talk....

Mullai: ennaku ingatha edam ellam theriyadu.....neengale solunga....

Rio: nama café oda mela irukura terrace...okey va?

Mullai nodded and rio went around with their work....At around 8pm, their work was done and after changing to their usual attire, Rio saw mullai standing, may be waiting for her....Rio led the way to terrace and she followed his pathway....to an open place with breezy air.....

Rio and Mullai settled on two different bench and sat in silence looking at the beauty of Gemini bridge, glowing in the dark, owing to the headlights of the vehicle....

Slowly she started, and he looked at her face, She looked like she was lost in something, and she opened up....with tears coming out of her orbs....on how she was a fool on dreaming a life with cousin, how she was involved in her wedding preparation, how she stepped into a particular wedding hall on Dec 12, How happily she had decked herself as a bride....How the yellow nuptial thread was just mere seconds away from her....how it was dropped....how she left the mandab with humiliation as a crushed flower.......how she was held responsible for the mishap by her nosy villagers....

Somewhere along her teary flashback, the distance between the two benches had reduced, a warm hand had engulfed her in a hug, his shoulder had given her the much needed bench to lean and cry.... And there two sat two souls....one expressing her grief and the other taking away her griefs and the crescent moon and twinkling stars witnessed the bond formed for lifetime...

***************

Awaiting your response and comments.....

Thanks all...

Love u all.....wonderful readers.......