Abirami 🐇

'You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.'

This quote summarises my whole life. Love is a distant and foreign word that never lasted in my life, and I find no use in desiring something that I would never get.

"Abirami, I will be back in a while." Dev announced, picking up his blazer. He was fixing up his hair, whistling in front of the mirror that was right next to the book shelf.

"Abirami, say something." He saw me through the mirror, and I made faces at him, muttering, "Obhodro."

"Now what did I do for you to call me by that name?" He wore the blazer, turning to face me.

I didn't answer, and he pinched my nose a little hard.

"Tumi..." I was cut off by his rough voice: "Abirami, what is this tumi tumi? Talk in a language I know."

"I won't, naa Bengali la thaan pesuven." I teased him and bit my tongue, as I had exactly done what he had asked for.

"You can never say no to me, could you?" His large palms held my face, with his eyes roaming on my face.

I didn't want to answer the question, but rather make him understand that I would always listen to him. He is all that I have, and I am praying to the Almighty that I should neither be a burden to him nor cause any trouble to him.

Thank you, Neelakandan, sir. Oops! Let me rephrase it. Or else, he would be angry on me.

Thank you, Neelakandan maama, for letting me have a frenemy alias a fighting best friend for life.

Dev Neelakandan has many loving people in his life who shower him only care and affection. I, too, wish to do the same, and even if I am not able to match their levels, I am cautious enough not to hurt or burden him.

Dev was calmly waiting for my answer, and on seeing my zipped lips, he let out a sigh and tapped my lips with his finger. "Say something, Abirami."

"I am angry at you." I declared, diverting him from the question, and his baffled look cracked me up.

"What did I do? Didn't you like the food? Aren't you comfortable? ...." I sighed as he went on, asking questions without a break.

"Naa enna sonnalum nambiduvingala?" He let out a look of relief and pinched my cheeks with a glare. "Bayandhuten naanu."

"Acho, sorry." I quickly apologised, which he dismissed with a smile, and he made me sit on the bed. He sat next to me, and before I could ask him, he handed over a gift.

It was a medium-sized box, wrapped in a silver wrapper, with an orange ribbon tied around. After my beloved father, no one-I repeat, no one-gifted me anything. Ever since I and Dev became friends, or 'frenemies' as he says, Dev has been gifting me for a while.

He didn't do anything out of pity or force, but still, I felt it could be a burden to him. I don't want gifts; I don't want anything from people. All I wish for is peace.

He was excited like a little kid, waiting to watch my reaction. I smiled at him softly and opened the ribbon first, followed by the wrapper.

"Quick Abirami." Dev urged me to open the gift, and as soon as I pulled out the content, I dropped it on the bed, crushing myself in his embrace.

It's a pocket album that had my top favourite photographs of my family that were collected by my appa during my preteen years.

One look at the album set my mind on fire and made me reminisce about my past life, which I don't want to look at.

But the very same past life had my appa in it, who was the only ray of light back then. I had lost the album in the hostel and never got it back.

How did Dev get this?

"Abi, stop crying, pa." Dev was patting my head, consoling me with his warm and sweet words. The more I tried to control it, the more I bawled out loud.

My brain was flashing that dreadful day in front of me, and I yelled to keep a hold on myself.

Dev held me the tightest as possible, coaxing and comforting me to calm down, but I lost track.

I could see the bodies of my appa, mother, and sibling being set on fire, and the loud wailings of the relatives were ringing in my ears, and it was unbearable.

"I am sorry. I am extremely sorry. I thought this would make you happy. But no. Please, Abirami, enakkaga amaidhiya aagu da." Dev sobbed, hiding his face in the crook of my neck. His tears wetted my skin, and I hugged him the tightest, trying to erase the flashing memories.

---

Seconds became minutes, and it was almost an hour still, we were locked in each other's arms, trying to keep our emotions in check.

I had calmed down, thanks to my Obhodro, who patiently held me to himself, never leaving me till I was back to normal.

I released my arms from his neck and felt too bad, seeing his pink face. His eyes were red, and he was completely messed up.

I didn't want to hurt him, and here I go, making him cry the very next instant.

My mother and her family were right to hate me, for I cause only pain and havoc in people's lives.

Dev was wiping my face with his handkerchief and pecked my head with a sob.

"Abirami, I am sorry." I placed my palm on his lips, shutting him off, and hugged him, pressing my face against his chest. He gifted me something that I never dreamed of getting back.

What can he do when my past is a messed-up web?

"Please don't be sorry. You have given me something that I will cherish for life. It's just unwanted memories that came flooding along the memory lane. You are not at fault, Dev." He hummed, patting my head, and held my face, lifting it away from his chest.

I blinked at him with a smile as he whispered, "Evlo azhudhuruchu indha chinna kangal." He pressed two kisses into my eyes as I relished the moment.

A stranger to my boss's son to enemy to frenemy, and now my best friend and trusted human. We have come a long way, Mr. Obhodro!

Dev got up, picked up the dropped album, and placed it back in the box. He locked it inside the cabinet, shoving the keys inside his shirt's pocket.

"Forget that I gifted you the album. You are not taking it until and unless you get relieved of the burden you are carrying in your heart." I bobbed my head, and he let out a small smile, still guilty of the fact that he made me cry.

Oh, my sweet Obhodro!

"Dev, album kemana pelena?" (Dev, how did you find the album?)

He looked at me, perplexed, trying to understand the context of my words. It's fun to watch him go mad whenever I converse in Bangla.

Irrespective of his warnings, I talk with him a lot in Bangla, triggering and calling him for a fight.

It's hilarious to pick up a fight with him, and although initially I was really fighting, after getting to know the real Dev, the fight from my side would just be verbal, and I could never stop myself from adoring this roshagulla (rasagulla).

"With that word 'album', I am guessing that you are asking as to how I found it, right? Never mind; I will tell you later." Woah! He's sharp.

From now on, I should use only Bangla, without English, to trouble him more. Hehe!

"Nee okay la, pattu?" His caring tone was back, laced with guilt, and as much as I am happy receiving his care, I want him to be happy too.

Let me get my Obhodro back!

"Aanalum neenga en mela maava kottunadha naa marakka maaten, Mr. Dev." I called out, shocking him.

I had to bite my cheeks and lips to stop the laugh that was threatening to annoy him more. On the second day of our meeting, I didn't listen to his continuous warnings, boasting of my height, and pulled the maida container from the topmost cabinet in sheer confidence.

I was tiptoeing for a while and lost the balance, causing the container to fall, and the best part was that Mr. Dev Neelakandan was drenched in maida flour, and astonishingly, no flour spilled on me.

"Adippavi! Maavu kottinadhu en mela. You didn't listen to me and caused the ruckus. Upon that, unmela maave kottala. Poiyya soldra, unna." He declared playfully and rose up on his feet, and I quickly followed, escaping from him.

We ran across the cabin for a while, and Dev deliberately made me run, pretending to miss a catch. Even if he had caught me, I would escape by using my puppy eyes, and hence, the evil-minded Obhodro had planned this.

Paavi! Kaalu valikkudhe....

I stopped running, holding the table, and he panted on the other side of the table. He quirked his eyebrows and grinned with a smug look.

"Samadhanam... samadhanam..." I waved my right arm as if I were holding a white flag while Dev had a great time, laughing his guts out.

I felt at peace hearing and watching him laugh like a little kid.

Whether I am happy or not, I will try my level best to keep you happy, Dev.

It's Abirami's promise.

~~~

Tharangini 🏞️

"Thara, you are not supposed to open the chest. As much as you are curious, I am on the same boat as you, but don't open it now." Amma repeated it the third time, warning me not to open the treasure box.

Hein! I want to see what is inside it.

"Maa maa, please ma." I whined, displaying the most innocent face possible.

"Nothing will work. I actually didn't have the intention to disclose it to you." Amma sighed and closed the wardrobe.

"Aprom yen ma chonna? Thatha kudukka chonnar allavo. Nee ippadi pannara. Enakku thalaiye vedichidum polarukku." I grumbled at her and walked away.

If there's something that I don't have, it's patience, and if there's something that I can never control, it's curiosity. And Amma has landed me in such a situation that I have to battle with both.

I am going really mad, for sure.

"Thara, inga vaa." Amma called me from her room.

"Vara maaten po, Niru." I am angry at her. I had almost forgotten about the chest and was actually not interested in knowing about it either.

It might just have some age-old collections of handicrafts. What will happen if I look into it? If she didn't want me to know about the chest now, then why did she do this? And what about thatha's words?

Argh! I am annoyed.

I heard a sob from amma's room and quickly rushed to see her wiping away her tears.

"Maa, maa yen ma azhara?" God! I can bear anything, but not the tears in her eyes.

If she says so, I am ready to do anything as per her wish. If she wants me not to look at the treasure chest now, I would not even bother to know about its existence.

"Maa, naa inime atha pathi ketundu irukka maaten. Nee azharadha paakka mudiyala." Amma quickly wiped her tears and smiled at me. I sat next to her and wiped her face with her saree pallu.

"Thatha kudukka thaan chonnaar. Aana enakku ennavo atha unakku tharadhu la viruppame illa. Athaan amma vendaam nu soldren da." Amma said, caressing my hair.

"Cheri ma, naa atha marandhudren. Nee kavala padatha." I tried to hide my disappointment and put out a happy face.

The curiosity will be eating up my brain for a few days, but it's fine; once college starts, my focus will shift there.

If not looking into that chest keeps her happy, I will do it.

Period.

"Aana thoppanar innonum chonnar." Amma started again.

Marubadiyuma??

Now she'll reveal that, and when I probe further, she'll ask me to forget about it.

What is this behaviour, mummy?

"Niru, not again." I turned my face grumpily and giggled when Amma kissed my cheek.

"Apdi illa Thara. Thoppanar chonnadhu enna na, appadi Thara va thaniya paaka vida nokku viruppam illaina, avaloda aambadaiyaan oda paakka chollu nu chonnaar."

Aambadaiyaan?? Where will I go for him now? I have just reached eighteen; I should complete my studies and get a job, and even after that, I don't know when that aambadaiyaan will come.

Thatha! Nee enna velai panni irukka nu theriyuradha??

The flesh laughed at my pathetic state, and amma grabbed my chin, waiting for an answer.

"Avanukku naa enga ma poven?" I grumbled and yelled when she slapped my lips.

"Avan nu cholladha." Seriously? I don't even know if he exists or if he's born or not, and this mummy is asking me to respect her future son-in-law.

"Unakke idhu over ah illa?" I retorted back to amma and whined when she hit me again.

"Seri seri, avarrrukku naa enga poven?" I stressed 'avaru' and she let out a satisfied smile.

'Haha, I feel so happy looking at your state now.' The flesh commented happily, and I felt like ripping it apart into pieces.

Sadly, if I do this, I'll be harming myself, which can cause my death.

Oh no! Mr. Soulmate will be heartbroken to hear my death news. At least for him, I'll spare this mass of meat.

Ozhinji po!

"Onnum poga vendaam. Avare vandhu kootindu povaar. Nee poi setha neram thoongardhu na thoongu." Amma dismissed me just like that.

Am I a piece of entertainment for her? How will I stop this bloody flesh from thinking about the treasure chest?

Haww! This is hard.

I smiled sarcastically at my mom, pressed a hard kiss on her forehead, and ran back to my room.

Phew! I laid down on the bed, stretching my limbs like a starfish.

'Mallakka paduthu vittaththa paakuradhu la enna sogam, enna oru kaathottam?' The flesh declared, and I could really hear Vaigai Puyal's voice now.

'Enakku oru doubt uh?' Great! The flesh has started its questionnaire now.

Is it only my brain that asks questions like an irritating member of the Homo sapiens?

If this goes on at this rate, I'll end up spending the rest of my life squabbling with this flesh.

Why will I have the need to waste my time with this skull meat if he has arrived in my life by now?

I know, I know, I am being stupid, but what can I do? I have reached eighteen, but mentally, I can easily add up three to four years to eighteen.

'Hey, kelu di.' The flesh brought on its assertion, and I had no other option but to listen to it.

'How do you want your aambadaiyaan to be?'

It might sound cliche, but my cheeks heated up at this question, and I closed my face out of shyness.

Cringe! I agree. But that's what I did, so never mind.

Thinking of the guy feels exactly like the wave of childish delight that hits upon covering ourselves with a comforter on a cold night.

That euphoria of happiness when we giggle and kick our feet while being wrapped in warmth is exactly what I felt as soon as the question was raised.

The morning incident flashed once again, where I saw a tall guy being lovey-dovey, and his simple actions set my heart on fire.

The goosebumps made a grand entry on my skin, making it hard for me to control my imagination.

I closed my eyes tight, trying to stop, but a series of hypnagogic images popped out from nowhere, shocking me.

I sat up, breathing hard, trying to control the flesh and the hormones, but nothing worked.

In one of those images, I could see the very same guy, without a shirt and a veshti at the bottom. A drop of sweat was trickling from his neck that reached his chest.

The Adam apple on his neck moved as he gulped. He had attractive collarbones, and the veiny arms, smeared by strikes of sacred ash, took away my breath.

A row of holy threads held up his right wrist with pride. A golden amulet was also present, which screamed masculinity.

Wow! What a beaut he is!

Should I call him hot?

A sense of dejection arose as his eyes were hidden, but his thin and pink lips were a point of meltdown.

It's strange that only his eyes are hidden now. In the morning, I couldn't see his whole face. It was shaded with a white light, but now his eyes alone were invisible.

His smooth forehead carried three strikes of sacred ash, with a dot of turmeric on the third line. A dot of vermillion was placed above the turmeric dot.

His cheeks were covered with a little stubble, and two cute dimples appeared on both of them, accentuating his appearance to an exquisite level.

His hair was silky and delicate, with little ruffles falling sweetly on his forehead, and the hair fluffed up until his nape.

A single rudhraksha was worn by him, which beautified his neck.

He was muscular, not with the six packs or eight packs or extreme burly muscles that women fantasise about now, but he had an amazing physique that could liquefy women in an instant.

He had a number of enchanting moles spread on the upper half of his body, some of them on the neck, chest, right shoulder, left arm, one next to the belly button, and so on.

Not to forget, his body was also smeared with sacred ash.

The white veshti was another amazing pick, and him being half clothed was a cherry on top.

On the whole, he looked alluringly divine!

One full look at him evoked a sense of cingulomania-a desire to hold him in my arms.

Although it's practically impossible, I still wished to wrap my arms around his huge frame.

'Chi, Thara! Enna di yosichindu irukka???' The flesh and I asked in unison. Woah! What a wavelength we share.

But I couldn't stop myself from thinking about that guy. It's hard luck for him to exist, and here I go, weak on my knees for that non-existing aanazhagan.

He looked like a sweet candy, ready to be gobbled up.

Tharaaaa!!! You are crossing the limit. I warned myself and facepalmed when the flesh took its ample time, mocking me for its fibre's content.

Amazing! I am roasting myself for a hypnagogic image.

Nevertheless, the rate of my heartbeat is increasing exponentially, thanks to the image. I had to gulp a whole bottle of water to relax myself and get rid of that effigy.

I closed my eyes now to check if he's again appearing or not. I let out a sight of relief, clapping my hands, on realising that it was just pitch dark and almost celebrated, but...

The darkness slowly disappeared, as if it were the time for dawn to break, and the majestic Helios spread his light all over the vast sky. The birds chirped, announcing the arrival of a new and fresh day. There he comes, after having a dip, probably from the nearby water body.

Eye-catchy water beads were stuck on his skin, waiting to be wiped away. But who knows, the droplets might find it pleasurable, experiencing the touch of his skin.

A drool-worthy, tempting sight!

I strained my eyes to get a glimpse of his complete face and successfully failed, unable to have a look at his eyes. The usual white light has occupied the eye sockets.

His thin, pinkish lips curled to a wide grin, on catching a glimpse of a pretty little fawn with a reddish brown body with white spots scattered over her body.

The little cutie gestured him to bend down, to which the guy obliged and arched to the ground, only to receive a sniff from the fawn on his right cheek.

It must be a kiss from the little baby to the big man.

Who won't feel like kissing this aesthetic art straight from the heavens?

"Aadalarasi enge, Azhagi?" The guy asked the fawn in a warm, deep, and breathy voice.

A shiver ran down my spine, and in no time, I was right under the shower, trying to wash away all those I had imagined now.

What in the world is happening around me?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hey peeps! Here's the fifth chapter. Kindly drop your much needed comments and feedback.

Is the plot getting spiced up? For all the questions arising after reading this chapter, the respective leads themselves will clarify it out in the future.

Peace bro! 🕊️

The story will have a leap of ten months in the upcoming chapter.

Take care. Tata!

Anbudan,
Mrinalini 💗