tryst - an ashaangi ff

xv

"Shit.", Sivaangi cursed when she saw that her Uber had canceled for the 5th time today. Not that she would blame them, they weren't hesitant in taking people to the hospital in times like these. She sighed, lost as to what to do.

Earlier that day, when she was cooped up in her room, home alone on a day off she got a frantic call from her parents' assistant, saying her father had met with a small accident. They were on their way for an interview somewhere, accompanied by her brother, when she found that a stray scooty had grazed past her father and that caused him to fall with considerable force, resulting in some injury.

All alone in her house, she didn't know what to do. She had been reassured by the assistant that her father was fine and that it was a small injury but she still wanted to see for herself. A string of curses flew from her mouth that she didn't know was capable of when she saw no cabs available.

Drawing blank as to what to do next, she remembered Ashwin's words from a few days ago.

"What does that mean?", Sivaangi asked with an incredulous look. She was looking at the fragments of the glass she broke, blinking at her boyfriend who had said, 'You're like an injured sparrow stuck in a windowsill at times of crisis. Which was, by the way, the most ridiculous comparison she's ever heard.

"That means, you just panic when something happens, you need to calm yourself and think about the first step and then think about other steps. Nee overthink panni neeyum tension aagi mathavangalyum tension aakiduva". She rolled her eyes and pouted a little bit. She knew he was right but she wouldn't accept that.

Ashwin chuckled and grasped her hands, brushing his thumb against her knuckles. "I'm just saying, the next time something happens, think of the first step, everything else will fall in place".

Sivaangi had a ghost of a smile on her face when she remembered that. Shaking her head, she decided to follow his advice. The first obvious step would be to get a ride to the hospital. So she called the first person, she thought of.

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Ashwin jerked back when the hot sauce splattered on his hand. Hissing in pain he tried to shake off the pain. When his phone rang, he was running his hand under cold water and Sivaangi's new song, "Asku Maaro" blasted around the kitchen.

"Hello?", he said into the phone, turning off the gas. Silence filled the line, which was unlike Sivaangi.

"Sivaangi?", he said concern filling his deep voice. "Ashwin, ennaku oru help panna mudiyuma?", he found her voice to be shaky and meek. He furrowed his eyebrows, this was so out of character for her.

"Enna achu? Enga iruka? Are you okay?".

"I'm okay, appa ku than accident, ennaku cab kidaka matinguthu, enna konjam hospital la drop panringala?".

Ashwin took a moment to process everything, but realized she needed his help now and said, "Of course ma, nee enga iruka?".

"Veetla than.", she felt so relieved that he was coming over. She felt so lost for a moment, not knowing what to do and she felt like the weight of the world had been relieved from her shoulders when she knew he was coming to her.

Half an hour passed, and she heard the honk of a car outside. Rushing outside, she saw Ashwin's faint figure through the tinted windows and jumped inside the car. She looked over and saw him and she felt instant relief. He gave her a small smile and rested his hand on hers, a small gesture that made her feel at peace.

"Entha hospital?"

She muttered the hospital name and cranked up the air conditioning suddenly feeling very hot. She then repeated the details of the accident and saw the worry cloud his warm eyes.