புத்தகம் மூடிய மயில் இறகாய்!

~ Chapter - 5 ~

Mullai felt like her past and her future were crushing her from either side and what was her present all about without him beside her, she couldn't find the harmony among the three tenses of her life, "avalo thoorama aayitoma rendu perum... avan naala avan kadhala enkitta solla mudiyala... ennala evalo thedunaalum avana yaarkittayum paaka mudiyaathu nu othuka mudiyala...

pakkathulaiye irundhum romba thoorama irundhurukom rendu perum... avan therinju adha panran naan theriyaama pannitu iruken... Kathir vandhu pesuda enkitta... un manasula irukurathu sollu... indha kannamoochi velaiyata idhoda mudichukalaam...".

Her right hand picked up her mother's phone which she had borrowed from her till she got her new one, dialing Kanna's number for the nth time since evening. On the other side, a knock on the door made Kanna jerk from his slumber, he had slept leaning on the pillar waiting for Kathir to arrive back home. He opened the door to find Kathir moving past him into the house like he was invisible to his eyes,

"anne nillu... saaptiya nee... enga poyirundha naal poora... phone ah vera switch off pannita... ellarum enna kelvi kette konnutaanga... kadaiku kooda pogala nee... ethavathu pesu ne...", his eyes showed extreme weariness as he faced Kanna, asking him the only thing his mind was swirling around the whole day, "Mullaiya batharama veetla vittutiya...".

Giving him a sharp look whilst replying, "athellam vittuten oru mannerathulaiye...", Kanna pulled him into the kitchen and placed the food on the floor, not listening to anything Kathir tried saying, "dei... enaku pasi ellam illa... nee eppada ithellam panna aarambicha...".

Kanna was about to retort when his phone thundered, he attended it immediately, "haan... ippa thaan ka vandhuchu annan... saapadu eduthu vechutu iruken... hmm seri... naan paathukuren ka neenga thoongunga... annan ta solliren...".

He cut the call and pushed Kathir slightly to make him sit on the floor, "Mullai akka innoru mora call panni century adikura kulla neeye saapturu... avunga evening lerndhu kooptute irukaanga nee vantiya veetukunu kettu...".

A hollowness made its way into his heart again, why was she giving him innumerable reasons, every single day, to hold her high above everything and everyone else in his life. Kanna saw Kathir picking up the plate of food and gulping it like it was programmed into him for life.

The next set of words from Kanna pulled out an unrestrained smile on Kathir's face, as if the nightmare of the gone by day didn't even exist at all, "apram Mullai akka unkitta marakaama pudhu phone vaangi naalaiku kondu vara sonnanga... avunga poyi vaangalaam neram illayaam...

unnala thaan avunga phone odanju pochu aame... hehe... phone model specifications laam enaku anupirukaanga na paathuko... aadhi kaalathu dappa phone vechuruka unnaiyellam namba mudiyaathaam...".

Kathir's lightened face gave Kanna a huge relief and keeping his fingers crossed, he dared to ask the thing he was forbidden to talk about for more than a decade, "yen ne Mullai akka ta un kadhala sollitiya enna... sorry nee idha pathi neeya pesura varaikum pesa koodathunu soliruka aanalum ennamo thonuthu idha ippa kekanum nu...".

Kathir's head shake indicating a negative answer made him sad and happy at the same time- happy that their friendship would stay intact at least, whereas sad that their bond would revolve around the friendship dynamics alone forever.

The following words from Kathir neither made him gleeful nor worried, it just filled him with a sense of hope regarding the two of them, "aana avaluku therinjuruchu da... avala ponnu paaka vandha annaiku kaalaila Kumaresan mama phone panni sollitaru avataiye...

ava Pradeep ah venaam nu sonnathu velaiya vittu inga vandhathu ellathukum athu thaan kaaranam ah iruka mudiyum...", a streak of sweat dropped down from Kanna's head on the floor and Kathir looked up to meet his eyes. One look at his mischievous orbs was enough to tell him that Kanna had a part in it too.