Falling In Love With You

Chapter -8

Pallavan woke up to the loud blaring of his bedside alarm . He jerked his eyes open only to be welcomed by the bright sunlight that streamed into his room through his larger than usual balcony.           Pallavan always liked the brightness , even in his darkest moments he craved the brightness of the light . It gave him hope , a desire to anticipate a new beginning. The light gave a lightness to his heart and mind .The balcony was a private sanctuary to him , it bestowed upon him a strange calmness that allowed him  to think clearly during his times of inner turmoil and conflicts. He always started his day with a steaming cup of coffee by the balcony while enjoying the youngness of the Sunrays in the early morning .
       After sitting up in his bed Pallavan grabbed his phone from the bedside table after disconnecting it from the charging wire. The events of the previous day were so unexpected that he didn't even had the time to check upon his work updates. Pallavan was a very busy man. Well, if you're a team lead for a renowned software company with a bunch of people working under you then it's a given that you should be busy. That being a Monday morning he woke up early so he would have time to grab some coffee and breakfast  on the way to his office.
        Upon checking his mobile, Pallavan saw a series of emails lining his inbox with the updates on their new project . Among them he saw a message from his cousin Saravana . But before he could open the message he was distracted by the sounds coming from outside his room. That piqued his interest, so after putting on a sweatshirt he  made it outside his room only to be struck by a view that would be etched in his mind forever ...
        Vasudha was standing in the middle of his island kitchen with her hair in messy bun atop her head wearing a nightdress paired with a long oversized robe over it, stirring something in a casserole murmuring the lyrics of an old MGR song that was coming from her phone on the island counter . Her movements had a peppiness to them. She  was so relaxed and carefree that she looked like a young girl dancing and singing to her heart's content with the abandonment of the world.
       Pallavan felt his heart swell with an unknown feeling , he couldn't fathom where it came from but it kind of made him happy . Somewhere in the recesses of  his mind he wanted to see her everyday like this . So he just stood there leaning against the kitchen wall with his hands folded against his chest relishing the view in front of him. May it was the intensity of his gaze that made  Vasudha look up and their eyes locked.
        Pallavan's legs took him to her on their own accord and before he could stop himself from going further he was already there, standing in front of her on the other side of the counter.  She didn't shy away from his intense gaze like most of the girls her age would do , she just looked straight into his eyes as if his presence didn't disturb her very  being. It reminded him of the black obsidian crystals , so dark that  he mused what was hiding behind those dark depths of her eyes.
      Vasudha interrupted his musings "I'm sorry I stormed your kitchen , but we skipped dinner yesterday , I was really  hungry  when I woke up so I thought I would make something to eat . I found some dosa batter in your fridge and made some curry to go with it. I was just going to make some dosas, I'm sure you must be hungry too! Would you like to eat something? Is dosa fine ?"
       Pallavan cleared his throat to answer her , " Well , thank you actually ! I thought I would grab something to eat on my way to work but you saved me the trouble. I would very much like to eat your preparation. Just give me a few minutes, I need to freshen up and change into my work clothes." With this being said Pallavan made his way back to his room leaving Vasudha behind.
       Vasudha let out a  breath that she didn't realise she was holding in. "  Oh boy ! Why does he have to look so damn cute even with his  hair dishevelled  and  pajamas crumpled . Here I am, with my hair a mess, wearing an oversized robe that makes me look even more fatter, even more so , bare footed in His kitchen. It was one hell of a task to  keep my face devoid of all those feelings and emotion bubbling with the dream still fresh in mind aur upar se with him standing right in front of me. It would have been disastrous if both of us stayed home.
        Thank God! I'll be joining in in my new job today ,it would give me some space to breathe peacefully and think clearly over my next step. If what Sathish said is true , then within three months I will get what I desperately want in my life ." After mentally shaking herself out of her own musings Vasudha went on to prepare some dosas and on an impulse made some coffee too.
       On the other hand , with the water cascading on him, a memory of Vasudha rained in. " She looked so young , so naive , so very childlike , just like the girl I saw all those years ago at her mother's funeral . Even then , as a sixteen year old girl she reigned in her emotions , made sure the people gathered for the funeral had something to drink and eat. When the people returned home after the last rites she sat among them , making them laugh with her lame jokes, diverting their minds from the depressing situation , all the while holding her brother's hands , making sure he was alright. But what I  couldn't understand is that how did a girl like that become so cold and distant towards everyone in her life.
        Pallava ! Maybe you're seeing just the tip of the iceberg , maybe there is more to her than meets the eye. You should keep a close eye on her . But how am I gonna do that ? , its nearly impossible with my work taking up all my time . I barely even have time for a decent sleep with the new project. Epdiyachum indha vishayathoda adi aazham varaikkum poyaganum Pallava!  You should get to the bottom of this thing... For that I should find a way to spy her. But right now you're running out of time Pallava! Now go get ready for work , We'll figure something out."
     With this resolve Pallavan got out of the shower to change into a pair of grey color slacks and a sky blue dress shirt . With his hair set in place he fished out for his watch and wallet in his bedside table drawer. After making sure he got everything he wanted, he got out of the room to the dining area. He saw that his break fast had already been laid out  so he sat down to eat it. When he was halfway completing his food Vasudha placed a steaming cup of coffee by his side. " I thought you would like some coffee in the morning ." Vasudha said .
    " Thank you Vasudha ! I really needed this... Hmm... So what are your plans today ? " Pallavan asked Vasudha. "Well , I do have to be somewhere today , it's nothing much , could you give me another set of keys so that I could go out , if it's..if it's okay with you?" She asked Pallavan with some hesitancy. " Yeah. yeah  sure ! It's not a problem , you would find another set of keys in the bowl by the door, that's where I keep mine too."  Pallavan said to Vasudha , he finished his food and took a sip from his coffee that Vasudha prepared for him. For a minute all he could think was  "How did she manage to prepare this coffee exactly the same way I like?"  And before he could ask her the same ,his phone buzzed in his pocket.
     After excusing himself from the dining area Pallavan went into the living room balcony to attend his call. When he checked the caller ID he saw it was his cousin Saravana. When he answered the call "Thank God you  answered the call! What took you so long man? I thought of raiding your home to see what happened to you. Anyway you need to be here by 9:30 , they have called for an urgent meeting regarding the new Australian project . I don't know what exactly it is about but it kinda looks important....." Saravana rambled on from the other side of the phone. " Enna pesa vidriya da? " to this Saravana stopped talking " Thank you , now about the meeting , it's still 7:30 so I do have time to be there by 9:15 . Now make sure our team members have completed their tasks, in case they ask for the progress ok?" Pallavan asked Saravana . " Yeah ! I'll take care of that . So tell me , how did Rakesh's sister wedding go ? Although he invited me I couldn't attend it , you do know right , that I spend the weekends with Amma. So did you get lucky  with some girl ?" Saravana asked Pallavan , Saravana was the happy-go-lucky guy , he was the flirtatious one among the two of them.
    " Nothing of that sort happened ! But I do have something important to tell you , but it will have to wait until I reach office .  Now if we can end this conversation, I can be on my way to  office." " Alright, alright ! And so you should know ' I'm waiting ' for this important matter of yours ...! Bye " Saravana ended their call.
    Pallavan went inside into the dining area and saw that the plates were cleared away from table except for his coffee. So after finishing his coffee Pallavan went in search of Vasudha. He saw movements in the kitchen so he went inside , she was doing the dishes and upon seeing him she asked " Are you done , do you want anything else?".     "No no.. I'm good . I'm full actually. But I'm getting late, thought of saying  goodbye before leaving" Pallavan said. "Oh , that's okay , have a good day." Vasudha replied with a small smile.
        As he was leaving Pallavan turned around and called out to her " And Vasudha..." To this she turned towards him with a questioning look . " The food was delicious . Thank you!"  To this all Vasudha did was dip her head in acknowledgement.
     Pallavan made his way to the parking garage to get to his car so he could reach his office within the destined time.