ELLAM KADAVUL SETTING- ASHANGI ONE SHOTS

The Slide

She finally settled down to rest after a week of frantic work for her husband's birthday surprise.

When she saw the photo frame of her husband and her brother bromance at their wedding, she remembered their first meeting and how they both fought with each other.

20 Years ago

She was always small, which became apparent to her when she was four years old. It was her first day of school. She looked up at all the schoolchildren in awe as her brother Sanjay, who was in the second grade, dragged her by hand to school.

She was dressed in her favourite blue checked button-up dress. Her hair was tied in pony tails with blue bands because she couldn't do it herself. She was dressed in white frilly socks and black shoes with lace, which Sanjay was constantly tying up.

"Now remember what I told you, Mithra," Sanjay said sternly, "Don't let anyone push you around, blah blah blah." Mithra laughed.

"Wait for me outside your class," Sanjay said, his face concerned.

"All right," she said as she kissed his cheeks and dashed into her class.

Mithra was shy; her only friends were her father, brother, and Varun, who was technically Sanjey's friend who had taken a liking to her.

Following her mother's death, her father became extremely wary of his only daughter, who was a carbon copy of his wife. It took months of pleading for her to be admitted to the same public school as her brother. Despite the fact that she could have been homeschooled

She found herself sitting alone in class due to her lack of social skills, thinking that perhaps school wasn't as good as she thought.

The lunch bell rang, jolting her out of her reverie, and she waited for Sanjay outside her classroom. He and Varun came to her. They made their way to the canteen while the boys chatted amongst themselves even after they had finished their lunch. They went to the playground.

"Be careful," Sanjay warned as Mithra approached the slide's ladder. Her little legs began to shake as she gulped, and she felt her fleeting bravery leave her. Before she could turn around, she felt a bump on her back, sending her backwards down the slide.

Mithra landed on the grass in an instant, looking down at her knees and seeing blood oozing down her legs staining her favourite socks, she began to cry.

It wasn't long before Sanjay and Varun were by his side, witnessing the entire thing. Sanjay wrapped his arms around her, trying to comfort her,then she looked up as she felt his arms leave her.

Mithra looked up to see her brother yelling at another boy, and to her dismay, he then shoved the other boy. That, of course, did not sit well with the other boy, and soon a fight erupted.

Mithra sat outside the principal's office, waiting for her brother, beside the boy she had discovered was the boy who had pushed her off the slide.

The boy turned to look at her; she reminded him of a doll, a sad doll with tear stained cheeks and a red nose. He felt guilty about looking at her. He didn't mean to push her; he just hadn't noticed her. He considered her again because she was so small, like a kitten.

"I'm sorry," he finally said, and she turned to look at the boy for the first time. He was taller than her brother but still appeared to be his age; he had messy dark hair, brown eyes, and a cut across his now pale cheek, which had been done by her brother.

She couldn't help but forgive him as she looked into his sorry eyes; she was never one to hold a grudge and had a forgiving nature. "That's fine," she sniffed back. "I know it was an accident," he felt relieved to hear her forgiveness; he couldn't bear the thought of this little doll believing he had purposefully hurt her.

" My name is Dev," he introduced himself. Mithra's mood brightened slightly at the sudden thought of meeting a friend, "My name is Mithra," she chirped. "That's a lovely name," Dev said before he could finish. Sanjay emerged from the principal's office.

He was angry and perplexed that the boy dared to look at his little sister, let alone talk to her, after what he had done.

"Get away from him, Mithra," Sanjay said, taking her hand in his and pulling her away. "No, Sanjay," she grumbled. "He didn't mean to push me; it was an unintended consequence. I guarantee it ". Mithra's heart was broken because she didn't want Sanjay to hurt anyone, especially Dev, her new friend.

Sanjay glanced over at the boy in the chair, then back at Mithra's sad puppy eyes, and couldn't help but succumb; no one could resist her cute doe eyes.

As Sanjay marched over to Dev, the two 7-year-old boys silently assessed each other. He broke the silence by introducing himself as "Sanjay Krish." "Dev Pradap Kumar," Dev responded, and despite the odds, they became best friends.

5 Years Ago

Where are you taking me Dev?" Mithra inquired of Dev, who had blindfolded her and was mysteriously guiding her somewhere.

It has been now 15 years from the day Mithra, Sanjay met Dev.

After college the trio decided to live together in Dev's house.

But now Sanjay has been out of station for a couple of weeks due to some office.

"Just wait. You'll love it"she shivered as he whispered in her ears

After a couple of minutes,she noticed they were heading towards the backyard of their house

He finally took down her blinds

She noticed that the same slide where they first met was now purple with red and white blues.

"How...how...how did you get it here?" Mithra asked,with glistening eyes.

"Happy 15th friendship anniversary, Mithra!" Dev yelled in her ears, widening Mithra's smile.

"I'd like to make this special occasion even more memorable for us."

"However, how can we do so?"

"Can we recreate our first meet?"

"We can" She held his hands and dragged him towards the slide.

Both climbed the ladder slowly.

Dev helped Mithra to sit down as he bend down.

"Innaikum kella thali vita matala Dev"She whispered to him with a smile.

"Innaiku mattum ellai life full ah kella vilama pathukuren. Polama" He said in his base voice.

"Polam" She said and both slid down safely.

THE END

Note

An update on occasion on my b'day

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