Disclaimer

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the popular show cook with comali 2. The description of incidents in this story is fictional and entirely unrelated to the persons after whom the characters are named. The story is only an imaginary plot with my take on ashaangi. This is not to hurt anyone or affect their personal space. This is purely a fictional plot that is not recommended to connect with real-life incidents.

*****

https://youtu.be/AB2ACJ22fhY

16

Ashwin pulls a chair and sits opposite Sivaangi. He hadn't shifted his gaze away from her from the time he entered the muster. She finally lifted her head from her mobile only to look to the left and pretended to gaze at the décor as if she was meticulously observing every detail of it. She did everything possible to overlook Ashwin when she was well aware that his eyes were only on her. Only she assumed that no one knew her eye to the details of the décor was nothing but vacant, while Ashwin was secretly observing every inch of her actions as he was making conversations with the people seated around the table. He was merrily admiring her and wondered how he lived without her all these years.

Wanting to get her attention, Ashwin tried to clear his throat and ended up coughing unceasingly. He did manage to get her attention but it didn't go as planned. She was almost about to get up from her seat and give him some water but chose to sit back. His words lurked dauntingly in her mind once again "You don't have to be my second mother!" which refrained her reflex.

Rakshan passed a glass of water to him as he observed the struggle in her eyes. Ashwin sipped the water from the glass while he was watching her squirm uneasily in her seat. He knew her head was filled with thoughts and he wanted it to be the last night they slept with a heavy heart and carrying baggage from the past. If only he gets a chance to talk to her that night, without any sort of interruptions, he knew all the problems would be solved. He still believes that the woman he insanely fell in love with was still the same at heart and it is now his duty to bring her back to life. He badly needed an opportunity to speak his heart out.

Her gaze shifted every minute and their eyes locked in between every shift. Every time their eyes met there was an unverbalized celestial enchantment that both of them felt and still couldn't reconcile with, even after these many years, it was a feeling that they had never forgotten and it resonated with their very existence. 

Their eyes always saw through their body and directly into their souls that had become one, even before the inception of human existence on the planet. Call it ill fate or their irrational decisions, that kept the magic suppressed.

She flipped a few strands of her hair back in place constantly that kept falling on her face as she kept fidgeting in her chair. Ashwin felt an urge to tuck the strands of hair behind her ears that were disturbing her and also obstructed his sight.

Both were startled when Pavitra called out her name.

"Inga oruthi un pakathula ukandhutu unna pathu vati kuptutu irukeyn! Konjamadhu kadhula vanguriya nii? Na kannuku terireyna iliya?" Pavithra said, faking annoyance in her voice with an amused expression.

(I have been calling you for the Nth time now? Am I even visible to you?)

"Achacho sorry ka gavanikala" She said, looking at her with a pout.

(Oh I'm sorry! I wasn't paying attention!)

"Madam ipo lam yara gavanikuranga!" Pavithra teased her.

(That I agree! Your attention is elsewhere these days.)

"Apdilam illllla kaa" Sivaangi replied in a squeaky voice.

(Oh please! Nothing like that sis.)

"Apdilam iliya? Eyy poi solladha! Na dhan unna nalu nal munadi patheyneyyyy....Kupda kupda kandukama poita" Pavithra voice trailed throwing a suspicious look at her.

(Is it? Don't lie! I saw you a few days back...You walked away paying no heed when I was calling you from behind)

"Apdiya? Enga ka?" Sivaangi asked her shocked and thrilled at the same time.

(Really? Where?)

"Anniki midnight.....Beach pakathula....Ice cream shop laa....niyumm apromm" Pavithra paused after each and every phrase, making Ashwin restless.

(The other day at midnight.....near the beach.....At the ice cream shop.....you and ....)

"Aiyo akka anniki chumma drive ka!" She cut her short disrupting her dramatic utterance.

(Oh that was just a drive!)

"Drive dhan. Ana thaniyava pona?!?.... kuda oruthar irundhareyyy" She would never give up, will she?

(Just a drive, but you were not alone, right? There was this person...)

"Arjun ka! Chumma drive poi ice cream saptu vandhom avalodhan" She said with a clear voice not wanting to be kindled with more questions.

(It was Arjun! We just went for a drive and had ice cream)

Broaching Arjun's topic before Ashwin was like flashing a red rag to a bull. The incited anger was clearly visible in his eyes which had turned blistering red now. Rakshan and Ashwin were aware of the night Pavithra was talking about. Ashwin huffed inwardly as he was displeased with what he heard.

Right when he thought of getting up and walking away, not wanting to stay there a minute more, Rakshan held his wrist firmly under the table and beckoned him to be seated. Kani noted the tension but chose to not implore.

"Pavam kozhandha videyn Pavi" Kani tried to dissolve the topic.

(Let her alone Pavi!)

"Pavama!? Akka indha poonayum pal kudikuma nu nencha ice cream sapdudhu ka!" Pavi continued her banters without taking even the smallest note of the heat.

(Tamil proverb {hard to translate!} )

Thankfully Pugaz entered the gang with full enthusiasm of seeing all of them after months, and all the attention shifted to him. There was a sigh of relief on Rakshan's face and he hoped the topic doesn't continue after Pugaz settles in.

The appetizer was served at the table and everyone else other than Ashwin and Sivaangi were indulged in catching up with each other's life happenings. Sivaangi pretended to listen but not a single word entered her ears. Ashwin crushed the table cloth in his palm and he was shaking his legs furiously. Ashwin's admiring eyes turned infuriated and given a chance he would take Arjun down with just his bare hands! 

Thanks to Pavi who has managed to stir up the possessiveness and insecurities in him by just pulling up a card named Arjun! His rage did not go unnoticed by Sivaangi. She was confused and wondered why he was so bothered about anyone in her life?

Everyone had an amazing time at the party. After all, it was the most loveable person's birthday, that day! After the cake cutting, the hotel management team hosted a session, where people in the hall were given a stage to convey their love and wishes to the sweetest human as they pleased. Dhamu's daughter requested Sivaangi to sing a song for him, as he has always been her first admirer in the set. He adored that little angel and always blessed her to achieve the best things in life. She was revving up to sing for him after so long.

"Appa enna patu padatum? Ningaley solunga" She asked as her eyes shone with excitement.

"Unnoda all-time favorite patu.....Kanna veesi paduriya kutty?" He asked that only to check her reactions.

"Why is it still considered my favorite song? When the person stringed to that song and emotion has created catastrophic damage in her life already?" She thought to herself. But there was no way she could go around and erase what people thought about them. She was not sure how to escape from that! But she came up with an excuse swiftly.

"En favorite lam edhuku pa?" She could have stopped right there but she pushed it a little further when she saw Ashwin stand there, a few steps away from her secretly reminiscing the days when he got to hear her sing, standing right next to her. 

It has been so long since he heard her sing live. To him, It didn't matter even if she doesn't sing any of their songs, as she used to call it. All he wanted was to hear her sing. He wondered if she still holds the power to captivate him with her magical spell, her voice. 

Knowing very well that he could hear her from where he stood, she added "Adhulam en favorite song ila pa ipo and enaku lyrics ey marandhu pochu." She knew she was making a nasty statement but she was deliberately trying to stay away from him to save herself from heartbreak! 

She was also secretly testing if she could stay away from him because from the moment after he pulled her over him, saving her from the fall, on the day of the interview, her mind could not think of anything other than him. She didn't know till then that she longed for those bewitchingly caring eyes and feather-like chivalrous touches that makes her go breathless. 

This is not going to last and she knew that. There was someone else in his life and it cannot be changed. It was up to her to accept and move away from him. The only thing that confused her was the yearning in his eyes, which concocted a small hope in her heart. Something always pulled her back to him.

Iniki unga birthday la adhunala unga favourite patu padava? Nii partha parvai?" Her eyes glowed as she said. She always loved singing for him.

Ashwin stood there pinned to the ground completely zoned out and hardly heard her words. But from her expression and the way Dhamu threw a glance at him, he could make out that she has said something that she thought should affect or probably hurt him. Now Dhamu was quite sure there was some sort of cold war between the duo.

"Enna venalum padu da kutty" He said, fondly patting her head.

(Sing anything as you please)

She took over the mic and hummed, adjusting her pitch to perform. The hall fell silent and everyone was ready to dwell in her singing. Ashwin sharpened his ears to immerse himself into her sedating voice that he has yearned to listen to, for years to calm his racing heart every time he thought about her. It is strange how she can be his calm and also cause havoc in his head.

Naadagam mudintha pinnalum
Nadippinnum thodarvathu enaa

(Why are we continuing this act,
even after the play is over?)

She looked at Ashwin languorously, not very confident of what she felt for him. She then closed her eye not wanting to let her emotions flow down as tears and paid attention to the song's lyrics.

Oranga vedam ini podhum pennae
Uyir pogum mattum unn ninaivae kannae
Uyirae vaaa...

(I can go on forever, with memories of this one-act play.
Your thoughts would be alive till the last breath of my death,
I pray, let me have you always near me...)

She held every single person in the room spellbound. How could her magic spare him? He was as affected as he used to be 3 years back. "Nothing has changed, go get her man!" A voice from within urged him as stood whipped by her mellifluous voice.

Nee partha parvaikkoru nandri
Namai sertha iravukkoru nandri

(Thanks to those fervent gazes that fazed us.
Thanks to the night that brought togetherness in us.)

She opened her glistening eyes and looked to her right in the direction opposite to where Ashwin stood. Her lip curved into a sweet smile and her eyes widened slightly as if surprised as she kept singing. He followed her line of sight and stood aghast, sighting Arjun near the exit doorway. 

He least expected him there and only then It dawned on him that she is going to leave with him in some time and what if that was forever? Ashwin's smile dropped instantly! The serenity in his heart vanished within seconds.

Ayaraatha ilamai sollum nandri nandri
Akalaatha ninaivu sollum nandri nandri

(Thanks to the enduring wildness within us.
And, thanks to each of the immortal memories between us.)

Arjun stood there leaning on the wall beside him near the pathway leading to the exit. There was a massive piece of fabric hung from the ceiling right in front of the exit door that kept him covered from being spotted. His hands were crossed across his chest and as he swayed his head to the bgm and he was equally enthralled in her singing, but dint step in as he was not a guest but only a diehard fan of her mesmerizing voice there. He stood in a place from where they could easily spot each other.

Sivaangi immersed herself back into the song and gave a heartwarming rendition. Arjun's heart did skip a beat hearing her sing soulfully. Amidst the soothing atmosphere, he did not fail to notice the desolation in Ashwin's eyes. Arjun spotted him looking at Sivaangi wistfully and he was pretty much sure that Ashwin might have seen him standing there.

Naan endra sol ini vendamm
Nee enbathae ini naanthaan

(What is the need for the word, 'I'?
I am nothing but you, and nothing without you.)

Sivaangi swayed as she looked around the people engrossed in her singing and she stopped at Arjun. It was unbearable for Ashwin to witness that. The lyrics and their wordless communication, after which Arjun threw a hidden blush behind the lopsided smile and gave a look like a love-struck teenager when she turned her gaze from him, he did all that just to trigger Ashwin, and now it showed signals of mission accomplished when Ashwin's eyes teared in anger. Ashwin knew he had to talk to her real quick.

Inimelum varam ketka thevaillai
Ithupol verengum sorgamillai
Uyirae vaa...

(I bother not to beseech for boons anymore, because
I can't feel any blissful than this seventh heaven.
I pray, let me have you always near me...)

Once she was done singing the crowd went gaga over her singing. Her eyes searched for Arjun again for reassurance, previously it was only Ashwin. He gestured a silent applause behind the screen and signaled that he will be waiting outside. She nodded and turned her head to spot a visibly shattered Ashwin. Arjun knew Ashwin would be eyeing them and he intentionally made it look lovable which he thought might provoke him, if not her, to avow his feelings for her. Looks like his plan has created some impact.

She had given all her attention to Arjun which already killed Ashwin from the inside. It was as if she took away all the rights from Ashwin and passed them on to Arjun. It was too much for Ashwin to take. For a good few minutes, he could not hear her singing all that he heard was a mind voice that was screaming and cursing him for not being vigilant. Rakshan, Dhamu, and Kani were all watching the trio, but only Rakshan had a clear picture of what was happening. He knew he had to warn him before he makes any irrational moves.

Ashwin dint get any chance to talk to her in solitude that frustrated him furthermore. She had either Kani or Pavi around her every time he tried to approach her. He felt frustrated not being able to strike a conversation with her. The only chance was when he spotted her sitting alone at the table after she filled her plate with the food from the buffet, but Sakthi came in as the spoiler wanting to give her company. His eyes kept following her as she moved from one person to another indulged in small talks. 

The only conversations between them were frequent glares or silent stares based on what was running in their heads. Sivaangi was strangely silent the entire evening although her mind was scowling with predicament. She was picking at her food and so was Ashwin although the buffet served the dishes they both would relish otherwise.

"Ashwin na solradhu kelu! Nii ava kita iniki pesalana kuda paravala aana dayavasenju edachum prechana pannadha! Already romba mosamana stage la nikkuringa. I saw Arjun too but don't jump to conclusions. Un kovam enaku puriyudhu ana please summa iru machan. Nii inniki pesama irukuradhey unaku nalladhu machan. Thayavasenju idhuku mela sodhapidadha!" Rakshan secretly whispered from behind him when he was refilling his plate at the stall as he knew his friend's temperament.

(Ashwin just listen to me! It is fine even if you don't talk to her today, but please don't pull a fight. Already you guys are standing in a fragile point. I saw Arjun too but don't jump to conclusions. Your anger is justified but please stay quiet! It's better you don't talk to her today. Please don't create any further problems.)

After the dinner, Ashwin excused himself and walked towards the foyer leading to the common restroom as she noticed his face express annoyance when Pugaz said something jokingly.

"Now that is it! Enough of this pitch and toss game!" Sivaangi excused herself following Ashwin, not able to endure the pathetic plight anymore. Rakshan's face demonstrated confusion, not sure if he had to feel happy or worried that the two were finally going to talk to each other. He was not sure if there was a jeopardy to follow.

*****

I had a hard time writing this and I felt like I lost the flow all of a sudden, I don't know why! Hope it was not disappointing 💜

Both "Nee partha parvai" and those particular lyrics from "Snegidhaney" were apt for the emotions this chapter holds. So couldn't stop from including both.

How did you like it?

Do follow "dk_storiess" for updates.

Also, check out my Ashaangi OS in my profile if you haven't already💜

Happy reading!