K : happy birthday de...

Her eyes opened in a wink...

Even in the dim light, there could be no mistaking...

Yes it was him...
Undeniably...
Not a chimera...

She shifted her vision slightly to the window, the only source of physical light other than her kathir just to understand the moment...

As expected , it should be midnight...

It was like a rich blanket of black covered everywhere...

She turned to him...

His eyes were penetrating hers...

His smiling lips were just few inches apart from hers...

His nose was nuzzling hers...

His arms were caressing her...

His warm breath fanning her...

His heart beat giving a new rhythm to her night...

She was walking on air and slowly gathered her senses to come down...

As she opened her mouth to speak, he stoppled with his...

K : pesathe...

M : ye.....

SMOOCH...

M : .....

SMOOCH...

K : hmmmhhmmmmm...

Intha Thanks... yepadi vanthenga... ithu kanava... nijama... nan than ah... ipadi yellam yethum kekathe...

Kanavu yellam illaa... nijam than... na vanthuten...

M : .....

SMOOCH...

K : unakaga...

M : .....

K : iru iru... pesathe... na solratha mattum kelu... Kathir nu kupidu...

Her eyes widened in disbelief with a reaction "not again"....

M : .....

SMOOCH...

K : Kathir nu kupidu nu sonen...

M : .....

SMOOCH...

Kathir had always liked her "yenga" way of addressing not because it shows respect but it had some charm in it may be it was how she started calling him from start of their relation...

Only after she said in the farm as "ennoda kathir", his love changed to his name and asked her to call by it.. But she couldn't...
Though she tried, it was not easy for her as she got accustomed to "yenga" and he had just let her go with this for past few days...
But today the start of her birthday, he again started with it...

His name...

Once...

Just once...

Thats what he asked for...

K : Intha birthday la irunthu oru oru varushamum ne first kupidarathu, solrathu en per ah than irukanum...

Mullai's eyes popped up in amazement....

K : kupidu de... pls... ithukaga kunnakudi la irunthu trichy varai vanthuruken... paavama illaa enna paatha...

Mullai dazed at him for a second...
The night time...
His love...
His proximity...
His surprise...
Everything won over her hesitation...

M : Kathirrrrr...

She said it in a honeyed, breathy voice only to topple him on her and lock her lips after saying her name...

K : mulla...

After few seconds, they broke the moment unwillingly...

K( with a peck in forehead) : en azhagi madhiriye ava life um yepavume azhaga irukanum... athuku en vazhthukal...

SMOOCH...

Mullai gestured as "can i speak now" with a naughty smile...

K(grinning) : pesu pesu... kekka than eh na iruken...

M : en azhagan kuda irukum bothu en life, namma life romba azhagathan irukum...

K : intha nambikkai ku thanks madam...

M : intha wish ku thanks sir...

Their embrace grew stronger than before but....

K : Oi...

M : hmmm...

K : elunthiri...

M : yethuku...

K : anne, anni wait panranga... vaa polam... wish panitu kupitu varen nu solitu apadiye irunthuten... ipadiye iruntha enaku ulagame maranthudum....

M : oh yenga akka mama ku yeppo theriyum... 8.30 maniku than eh en amma appa ah drop panineya... 10.30 ku veetuku vanthuten nu sonneyale...apuram yepadi...

K : ithelam appuram kelu... mudhala vaaa.. wait panranga ilaa..

M : hmmmm... polam...

kathir sat up on the bed followed by mullai... He ran his hand through her hair tousling it in the name of adjusting and led her to the living room just to experience a blurred sight of the room for few seconds as her eyes took time to adapt from the dark bedroom to the brightly lit living room....

Suj, san : happy birthday mulla...

There was a shout and suji threw a warm hug along with their wishes...

M : thanks mama... thanks ka...

Only then, she noticed the room completely...

She knew when kathir is there by midnight and taking her to living room , its supposed to be a cake cutting...
Thats a customary thing on every birthdays...
Switched off lights, lighted Candles, Sudden screams and flooding with light immediately, balloon decorations, cake with candles on it, etc...

But no..
It was quite different from the regular scene...
No balloons...
No candles...
No party decors...
It looked serene as per her taste....

Mullai had always hated the smell of candles..Be it one or many...
It used to nauseate her when blown and she always felt sentimental to put off the light on a start just like her mother...
Though she believed that there is a practice of making a wish before blowing the candle and its all good, it never impressed her...
She was never a huge fan of balloons not party blasters either...
Sameway like other customary things, It didnt tickle her fancy...
Her preferences are different and he had made fun of it when shared...
But it looked like he remembers it and respects it...

So what was it...

One side of the wall portion of the living room had a neat arch of yellow spangle..
The space inside the arch was beautifully festooned with fresh yellow color rose bouquets and yellow color roses...
The bouquets were adorning the couch, its arms and even the teapoy too...
It was like one side of the room was completely furbished as per her taste...
Not even a small space to show up the color of the wall...

It was like more than hundred flowers, wishing her a very happy birthday...

Added to it,the mild fragrance of the roses filled the room mesmerizingly...

A yellow color cake designed with creamy yellow flowers was placed in the centre of the table...

Everything was in yellow...
The color of him...
The color of happiness...
The color of sunshine...
The color of enlightenment...

Having thought of something, she moved her eyes to him...

Yes...
As expected he was dressed in blue and she understood why did he ask her to wear the skirt and top which he gifted with a reason he would make a video call by 12...
It was blue too...

The color of ocean and sky...
The color of serenity...
The color of reliability...
The splash of their favorite colors caught her in a pool of mixed emotions...

Nothing was overdone...
But nothing was underdone too...
This is not how a typical birthday celebration will look like...
It might look funny to others...
But who cares...
It was her kind...

After all, its her birthday...
Her likes and wishes did matter to her and luckily the same really mattered to him....

That gave her contentment to the core...
Tranquility and ecstasy filled her at the same time...

Suj : ei mullaa.. yepadi iruku.. unaku pidicha madhiri iruka...

M(clears her throat) : romba...
Nalla iruku ka... romba pidichuruku...

Her eyes rolled to him thankfully and back to her sister...

M : aama ithelam yepo paneya... na pathu maniku thanni yeduka vanthapo illaye...

San : paneya nu engala kekkathe.. panathu avan than... nanga kuda ukanthu idea solitu, cello tape pichu kuduthutu irunthom...

K : tea pottu kuduthengale ne... athan main... illana nan vantha condition ku na yepavo thoongirupen...

San : ada aama da... romba periya help than...

Suj : paavam mullaa... kathir vantha condition paathu paavama irunthuchu... tea potutu varathukula oru kutti thookame potutaru... avalo tired...

San : back to back travel illaa....

K : atha vidunga ne... cake vetalam... apuram pesalam...

Suj : aama mulla po de... kathir neengalum...

Mullai glided near the cake so did kathir...

K : anne.. anni... neengalum vaanga.. yen angaye nikarenga...

San : dei neenga cut panunga... nanga super ah videovum, photovum eduthu tharom...

M : ada vaanga mama.. selfie eduthupom...

Suj : selfie la decoration yellam theriyuma yena... nalaiki unga kolanthaigaluku kammika venama... avanga appa amma ku kalyanathuku munnadiye yepadi birthday celebrate panaaru nu....

Kathir and mullai grinned at her words casting their minds to their usual way of talking...

San : ithu nalla iruku.. intha siripoda cut panu... kathir paakathula nillu da...

ne video edukariya.. photo ah...

Suj : na photo edukaren mama... neenga creativity eh illama mokkai ah eduthu vepenga... ungaluku yelam video than sari... angle olunga vechu yedunga...

San : neram de... yedu po...

They giggled on their banter and proceeded with cake cutting....

K : Oi...

M : hmmm...

K : cut panu...

M : neengalum...

K : athelam kalyana naal ku senthu cut panalam.. ipo ne panu...

He handed over the knife decorated with sequin to her...

Suj : mulla... antha kathi ah matum tha de na alankaram panen... athavathu atha pana mattum than kathir vitaaru...

San : aama athunala antha mokkai decoration eh apadiye konjam paaratidu...

M : ponga mama.... ithu yellathaiyum vida kathi than super ah iruku... en chella akka panathache....

Suj : apadi sollu de chellam... sari sari start...

As an attempt to inject more and more cheer,they sang the brithday song in high pitch volume like kids...
With their smiles growing wider, mullai cut the cake and took a little piece of it for kathir...

Seeing the size of the cake piece she cut, they both were reminded of their engagement cake cutting and fun that followed...

K(with a smile) : yena periya piece cut panalaya.. engagement la pana madhiri...

M : illaa... inime ipadi than...

K : parra...

M : inthanga...

As she took the cake near his mouth, he took a little piece and feed her first...

K : happy birthday....

M : thanks nga... yellathukum...

Having said that, she took her turn to offer him now and they didnt know what made them do...

They went for a long one handed hug without paying heed to the other two in the room or the video that was capturing their moment...
The other couple shared a understanding look and cleared their throat to seek attention...

K : haan... anne.. pothum yeduthathu... vanga... anni... nengalum vaanga...

Suj : ipovavathu kupitengale....

They too joined them, had their lovely time in sharing cake eachother and epic cake smudging ritual followed by a mouthful of pieces flowing in.
They took lots of pictures, really a lots and ended up in the falling in the couch with loads of snacks, another round of cake and a hot tea and coffee...

As they started seeing the photos and videos,

Suj : color combo super kathir... blue and yellow...

Kathir just let out a smile acknowledging her...

San : yen mulla.. unaku pidicha color la decoration panala nu sandai pidikalaiya... un akka ah iruntha athan panirupa...

M : blue color la poo kammi illa mama... athunala irukum... yenga apadi than eh...

K : athe than....

San : paathiya.. yevalo understanding nu... nee than enkita yepapaarrum sandai potutu iruke... mullai madhiri sandai podama irunthu palagu...

Suj : hmmmkkmmm....

K(with a wink at mullai): athu sari... athu sari... anne akkaraiku ikkarai yepavum pachai than...

San : yethuku da atha solre ipo...

M : ada atha vidunga.. thevai illama pesitu... aama intha plan yellam yeppo paneya...

Suj : kanchipurathula plan panathu illaa mama...

San : hmmm....

M(shocked) : appove ah...

San : aama appo unna inga vara vekka vera plan irunthuchu... swarna engagement news vanthathum inum easy ah aagiduchu...

M : oh... aana enaku yethume theriyalaye... yellarum oru varthai kuda veliya vidama irunthurukeya...

Suj : yepadi theriyum... intha flowers elame order pani atha vaangi community hall la vechu, cake ah pakathula veetula kuduthu, 12 maniku wish pananum nu unna door ah lock panaama thoonga soli, ne veliya vanthudu kudathunu un room ah veliya lock pani, unaku ketuda kudathu nu ragasiyama pesi.. ammadiyo... ipadi yethana panirukom...

M : november maasa kulirula ac ah potutu thoongu thoongu nu torture paniye... atha vituta..

Suj : aama athum than... ac poitu iruntha yetha theriyama naanga kathitom nalum satham kekathu... apuram oru velai intha poo smell varumo nu light ah oru doubt...

M : yethana yosichurukenga... romba thanks ka... thanks mama...

San : aama intha thanks kaga than ithelam panrom.. poviya...

Sari athena engaluku mattum... main aaluku illaya... panathu yelame avan than... sola pona nanga just spectator than...

Suj : athu special ah thaniya soluva.. ipadi vaathu madhiri kelvi kekarenga...

M : apadi elam illa.. chumma iru ka...

Suj : sari sari nambittom... mama.. namma poi padupoma.. thookam varuthu...

San : athu... konja neram pesit...

He read something from his wife's eyes and nodded...

San : aama enakum tired ah iruku... dei kathiru... vaa intha divan ah konjam mulla room ku nagathu...

K : yethuku ne...

San : nee paduka than... inga hall la yepadi padupe...

He glanced at mullai for a second and with a sigh turned back to sankar..

K : anne.. athelam venam.. na ingaye paduthukaren...

Suj : kathir chumma irunga... hall la screen elam illaa... morning 6 ke velicham full ah varum... athum illama kaalaila nanga sikiram eluntha disturbance ah irukum... inga padukka uncomfortable ah irukum... neenga vera iniki nearly 7 hours mela drive panirukennga.. nalaikum pananum... pesama ullaiye padunga...

Mullai without uttering any word was looking at all the three..

K : illa anni.. enaku onum...

San : ivan velaiku aga mattan... ammu ne thallu...

When suji came for help, kathir came forward...

K : illa illa anni.. vidunga... nan eh varren...

Kathir and sankar moved the divan to mullai's room...

San : dei unga limits ungaluku theriyum... so romba yosikaathe.... appuram thevai illama nanga yena nenaipom num yosikaathe... vera madhiri yosikara aalunga nanga illa...

K (taken aback) : puriyuthu ne.. thanks...

San : thanks ah.. emotion oh... poda...

Sari nanga poi padukarom da kathiru...

K( beaming) : sari ne.... good night...

Suji and sankar left to their room with another round of wishes to mullai leaving them alone...

Seeing mullai looking at the flowers fondly,

K : yena madam paakarenga...

M : sir ipadi birthday celebrate pana nalla irukum nu oru thadavai sonapo kindal paneyele niyabagam iruka.. athena first night ah poo la alankaram pana nu... ipo neengale panirukeya...

K : haa.. appo athu chumma kindal ku sonnen... nammaku yena pidikitho atha than eh pananum.. yethuku thevai illatha yosanaigal ellam...
yen ipadi kondadarenga yaaru vanthu nammala kekka pora... athan paniten.... nalla iruka...

M : romba nalla irukunga... yethir paakave illaa... avalo amaithi... avalo azhagu...
intha poo yelam...

K(naughtily) : hmmm... aama... poo nale azhagu than eh...

Seeing him looking at her appreciatively,

M : sir... yentha poo ah solrenga...

K : en mulla poo ah than...

M : nenachen... nenachen... yena da arambikkalaiye nu...

K : ipo than eh anne anni ponanga... ini than eh arambippen...

M : theriyume... aana ayiram sollunga intha poo la iruka freshness vera yethulaiyum illaa.. manase lesa agiduthu... mukkiyama manjal color...

K(smiling) : aama...

Freshness nu sonathum than niyabagam varuthu...

Panathu paniten... aana intha poo elam ore naal la vaadidum illaa... waste agidume... athan yosikaren...

M : athuku nanum akkavum oru idea yosichutom... nalaiki solrom...

K : hmm waste agalaina ok...

M : athellam aagathunga... sari room ku polama...

K : hmmm...

They entered the room, settled in the bed cuddling eachother...

K : aanalum sankar annanum anniyum romba nalla type... na itha ethir pakala... (pointing the divan)

M : akka sona.. namma yepadi nu nammaku theriyum... chumma formalities nu romba kashtapaduthika venam nu...

K : hmmm annanum athe than sonaru.. namma limits namaku theriyum nu...

M : hmmmm...

She was carried away by the physical effort he had put on right from the morning till the night to be with her, to make her day special, to make her feel special... It instantly made her heart brim with pride and love...

She moved a little from his arms ruffling his hair and beard affectionately...

M : sari.. yethuku ipadi potu ungala kashtapaduthukaregha... iniki vetina cake ah nalaiki vetina aagatha... nalaiki kalaila varatha than eh mudhala soneya...

K : chhhh... atha vidu... ne happy than eh... atha sollu...

M : romba romba... aana athukaga ivalo kashtapadanuma...

Ipo than rendu naal theni potu vantheya.. iniki mattum trichy ku rendu thadavai... kaalaila drive, appuram function, thirumba drive, appuram kovil, thirumba drive... thevai ah ithu...

K : thevai ngarathala than eh panren...

M : sari varum bothu ipo bus la vanthurukalam ilanga... nalaiki yepadiyum akka mama oorku varagha avugha kuda poirukalam illana bus la kuda poirukalam...

K : athunala than vandila vanthen... kalaila than eh sonen... thaniya iruka kedaikara chance ah miss pana matten nu...

Ini intha chance vita next kalyanam than... sari veetuku vanthu time spend panalam na atha mama enna paasama gavanikaren nu ennaiye kuru kuru nu paathutu irukaanga.. yena panrathu...

It was time for a smack....

M : thimir thanga ungaluku... ungala poi vilunthu vilunthu gavanikaragha illa.. avughala solanum...

K : sari vidu vidu... konja neram namala pathi mattum pesuvoma... yellarapathiyum yellam phone la kuda pesalam... ipo pesanuma...

M : hmmm venam than... namala pathi matum pesalam...

K : appuram... pesama intha room la decorate panirunthurukalam ilaaa... birthday celebration madhiriyum irukum.. first night setup madhiriyum irukum...

M : ithu veraya...

K : yen venama...

M : enaku venum venamgrathu aduthathu.. mudhala ungaluku yepadi nu solunga... inga padu nu sonathum athu yenna apadi oru look uh...

K(naughtily) : athu paaluku poonai ah kaaval vekkarangale nu thonichu... en melaiye enaku nambikkai illa... ivangaluku avalo nambikkai ah nu than....

M : yen aniki kanchipurathula ore bed than eh thoonginom.. apuram yena...

K : Oi.. anniki unaku udambu mudiyala.. athum illama patta pagal.. yetho oru moonavathu manushanga veedu... yepavena namma vettula irunthu varuvanga...

ipo apadiya... rathiri neram... kitathata 6 hours... namma anne anni veedu.. nammakunu oru room... ipadi oru climate... ithellam vida mukkiyama nee... ithu pothatha oru manushana sothikka... athan venam nu sonnen....

M : oh ho...

K : yena oh ho... enaku en kavalai... ipove yena yellam nenachutu vantheno athu paathi marantha madhiri iruku....

M : irukum irukum... ennaiyavathu niyabagam iruka...

K : ithuku bathil vera solanuma...

M : venam venam... yenga... balcony ku polama....

K : madam ku room la thaniya iruka bayam polaiye...

M : chhh... athelam illaa.. vidunga ingaye irupom...

K : chumma sonen... vaa polam...

He pulled her to the balcony and they sat comfortably in the balcony floor entwining their hands...

There was a thick curtain of silence and words were lost in air for few minutes as they seem to cherish the moment without a single distraction....

A heavy horn of some vehicle brought them back to the world grinning at the other...

A little of moon light fell on her making him feel the serenity from her eyes while she was lost in the flaring intensity of love in his eyes....

It was like The Sun and The Moon together...

A rare combo that dont really get along true-to-life...

But here it felt like the masculine power of sun and feminine beauty of moon blended in love so well...

K : Oi....

M : hmmm...

TBC....