Happy Sankranti to all the readers.

Samosa - An Indian spicy snack, triangular in shape.

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"We are leaving for Bangalore tomorrow. We will come and visit you once in two weeks." Prakash told Vennela and Amar.

"Uncle, how often do you meet Lasya akka? You stay in the same city. Once in a week?" asked Vennela.

Prakash shook his head. "Twice in a week?" asked Vennela. He shook his head again.

"Oh my God! You meet everyday?"

"We never met since I moved to Bangalore" said Lasya. "Nanna doesn't like meeting us."

"Why uncle?" Vennela demanded an explanation. Amar tried to stop her. But she didn't listen. "Do you still hate them?"

Prakash turned away.

"Running away from the truth is not the solution. Admit it. Bava garu is perfect for Lasya. Her dream of a blissful life came true because of him. The girl who was only focused on business is now enjoying every moment of life with him. Her mechanical life has turned into an adventure. Why can't you see it?" Vennela ignored Surya, who tried to stop her. "Forgive them. Bless them. They need you."

"How can I forgive them when they have hurt us so much?" Prakash asked her. "I can't."

"Yeah? How did I forgive you when you have forced me to marry Amar?" Vennela asked him. Her voice was calm but Prakash was clearly frightened by the intensity in her eyes. He looked uncomfortable.

"Answer me. You want your niece to forgive you for everything you have done. But, you won't forgive your daughter for marrying the man she loves?"

"Uncle, Surya is a good man. We all like him very much. He helped us a lot. He arranged blood for Vennela. He convinced her to present her painting in art exhibition. How can you disregard this?" Amar placed his hand on Prakash's shoulder.

"Forget everything. Our child's happiness is the only thing that matters" said Nanditha.

Prakash thought for a while. "Fine. If you all say so, I will visit them this weekend." It was evident that he was still angry. But he had to do it.

"Excellent!" Vennela exclaimed. "This is the first step in peace-making. A journey of thousand miles begins with a single step."

"Copy cat. I would have been more impressed if you had used an original dialogue" said Amar, grinning. Vennela smiled sweetly. A smile that promised retribution.

"Thank you" Lasya gave her a flying kiss.

"Akka. Go and take rest. I'll call you when the lunch is ready" said Shruthi.

Amar took Vennela inside and helped her sit down on the bed. "I'll sleep for a while." He said.

"Get me some water" Vennela requested sweetly. He got her a water bottle. He tried to sleep.

"Oh! No. My phone's battery is dead. Amar please get me the charger." Vennela requested in such a sweet voice that he couldn't refuse. He got up again and brought her a charger.

"Give me your phone. Sleep after taking pictures." She started taking selfies. "I don't look good."

"You look excellent." He muttered, half asleep.

"Something is missing. What could it be? Yes. I don't have vermilion in my hair partition. Go and bring it" said Vennela.

"Why do you need vermilion now? You don't wear it everyday" remarked Amar. "Just finish the selfie session."

"No. Vermilion is to a married woman what ketchup is to a samosa." Vennela quipped.

"I get it. You are trying to disturb my sleep." Amar finally understood.

"My husband is so intelligent."

"Have mercy on this poor soul. Let me sleep." He slept with his head on her lap. She looked at his innocent face. She cradled his face in her arms and sang a lullaby. He held her hand tightly. "Vennu. Don't ever leave me. I can't live without you."

He felt a teardrop on his forehead. He opened his eyes to see her in tears. He wiped them off. "See. You have ruined your beautiful face. That is why I hate tears."

"These are tears of happiness. You won't understand. Sleep." She caressed his head and continued singing.

They had lunch and left for their home. Amar noticed how Anirudh kept looking back at Shruthi.

Amar and Vennela talked till midnight.

"Now tell me why is marriage a workshop?" asked Amar.

"Why?"

"Because husband works and wife shops." Amar laughed at his own stupid joke.

"Very old and childish joke. Now tell me. Why are all numbers afraid of seven?" asked Vennela.

"I don't know" said Amar. "Tell me why."

"Because seven eight nine. Got it? Seven ate nine." Vennela had to explain her joke. "Oh! I'm so bad at cracking jokes."

"No, I think we are funny. We make people laugh" said Amar.

"Not just you and me. Anirudh, Shruthi and Rishi-Raj are funny too. Aren't they? I wish none of us moves to other cities. I love our little gatherings twice in a week" said Vennela.

"Don't know about Rishi-Raj, but Rudy and Shruthi will stay in Hyderabad." Amar was unsure if it was the right time to have this discussion. "I observed they have grown very fond of each other. Do you think they are..."

"In love?" asked Vennela.

"Sorry. Forget it."

"You are right. They like each other. Anirudh is in love. He told me indirectly a few days ago."

"What about Shruthi? Do you know how she feels about him? I think she likes him too. But we need to find out if she likes him as a life partner, without embarrassing her" said Amar.

"This time I don't want to assume anything. I want a confirmation from her. There's a way. She won't be embarrassed and we will get our answers too. Let's implement it this weekend." Vennela whispered her plan.

"The ever honest Vennela is going to lie to her own little sister."

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"What? Has amma gone mad? I didn't even complete my engineering. Who gets married at 21?" Shruthi panicked.

"You don't have to get married without completing graduation. Just meet the boy. Talk to him. Get engaged if you like him. Let's plan the wedding six months later." Vennela squeezed her hand.

Anirudh, who was sitting a few feet away, pretended to be reading newspaper. Amar noticed that his eyes weren't moving. He looked tensed.

Amar turned to Shruthi. "Look Shruthi. You have to get married someday. What's wrong with meeting the prospective groom? We are not forcing you to say yes. Just meet him tomorrow." He prayed she wouldn't agree to meet him because there wasn't a 'prospective groom' like they claimed.

"But bava garu, I am not ready for the marriage yet." Shruthi felt nervous to meet the boy the following day.

"Then let's ask him to wait till you are ready" said Vennela.

'Please let her say no' Anirudh prayed.

"No. I dream of love. I want a love marriage." Shruthi announced.

"Oh! Okay." Vennela pretended to be disappointed. "What qualities are you looking for in a life partner?"

Shruthi glanced at Anirudh. "I want someone who is funny yet responsible, childish yet caring. Someone who loves his loved ones like me and can do anything and sacrifice everything for them. Someone who makes me forget all my worries and brings a smile to my face."

Anirudh's cheeks went pink on hearing this. Amar and Vennela gave each other a victorious smile. "Okay. You don't have to meet the boy tomorrow."

Shruthi thanked them and went to water the plants in the garden. Anirudh excused himself and went away.

"Moonlight! You are awesome. Honestly, I didn't think this plan would work. But, you made it work." Amar praised her.

"The idea of meeting a prospective bride or groom will scare everyone."

"How do you know? You never faced this situation. Did you?" Amar asked her.

Vennela looked at him. He looked so cute. She felt a mad urge to tease him. "Actually, I did. Nanditha aunty asked me to meet a man few months ago."

Rishi-Raj, who were fighting to paint on an empty canvas, looked up. They couldn't remember when this happened.

"Who is he?" asked Amar, pretending to be disinterested.

"Well. He was a good looking, tall and soft-spoken man. I liked him." Vennela stopped and looked at Amar to see the effect of her words.

Amar narrowed his eyes. "You liked him? Why?"

"I don't know. I just like the way he spoke with me. He was very polite and down to earth. He had that aura of pleasantness around him. It gave me confidence that I can spend my entire life with him." Vennela continued.

"What is akka doing?" Rishi whisper-yelled.

"She's just teasing bava" Raj pitied Amar.

Amar's face was so red, it resembled a red chilli. "So, you would have married him if everything went the way it was planned?"

"Don't know about marriage but there are many things that remained unsaid between us" Vennela whispered in his ear for additional effect.

"What might those be?" Amar said with excessive jealousy in every word.

"I wanted to hold his hands," Vennela held Amar's hands, "look into his eyes," she looked into Amar's eyes, " and tell him that he is one of the nicest persons I have ever met. I wanted tell him that he is the perfect definition of a gentleman. I wanted to tell him that his smile made my heart skip a beat."

Amar pulled his hands away. He looked as if he might explode. "Why didn't you tell him? Had you told this to him, he would have been your husband by now." He clenched his fists to stay calm.

Vennela tried hard not to laugh. "Oh! I forgot few more details. He is six feet two and half inches tall, he is brown eyed and calls me moonlight."

It took Amar several seconds to realize that she was talking about him. He smiled while Rishi-Raj whistled.

"Bava, I wish I had recorded this" said Rishi.

"You looked like you would burst into tears any moment" said Raj.

"Don't you two ever study? Go and read" said Amar. They made fun of Amar for a few minutes and went to start reading for exams.

"Did I scare my Amar darling?" Vennela teased him further.

"I almost had a heart attack. I thought if I hadn't got in the way, you would have married him" said Amar.

"You felt so jealous of yourself." Vennela wrapped her arms around him. "My jealous husband."

"I never knew you wanted to say all these things to me." Amar looked into her eyes.

"It's very strange that I felt all these things, when I didn't even want to meet you in the first place. I might have been forced to marry you. But, I decided to say yes only after understanding that you are a true gentleman" said Vennela, making Amar go pink in the cheeks.

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