A Tamil Lesbian Wedding

Miss Goody two shoes

The living room now felt a little too empty with the bed still here but the old man gone. Sheethal got up, walked to the kitchen and washed her plate.

Once done, she was dragging her feet back and her phone chimed. It was a text from Sharini.

The gloom on her face flew out the window when she saw the message. The teacher's presence somehow cheered her up even without her knowing.

"Amma! I'm going to the terrace with Sharini.", she yelled out and ran without waiting for a reply.

"Heyyy teacher!", Sheethal panted, having climbed the stairs skipping two at a time. Sharini stood with her back facing her friend, her posture relaxed, resting her hands on the parapet.

She didn't turn, neither did she respond. Sheethal walked closer to Sharini and covered her eyes from behind, smiling wide. But Sharini just pushed the former's hand with a tch.

"Would it hurt your hands to leave me a message before you run away like that? ", Sharini asked. Anger was evident in her voice and rightly so. Last wednesday, when Sheethal got to know that she didn't have a schedule until the next week, she simply boarded a bus to Cuddalore right after work.

And this wasn't the first time. She kept frequenting back since her grandpa passed away. Sharini initially thought that she was hurting and just wanted to be with her family. But it became difficult when she started to disappear each time without any notice.

Sheethal's expression changed and her face hardened. "So it is like this now? Do I need to get your permission to go home or to grieve my grandfather?"

"Where did the word permission come from? All I asked was you to simply let me know. Is that too much?"

"Whatever, I thought you called me so that we can talk about something lighter. I didn't expect it would be an interrogation session!", Sheethal scoffed.

Sharini just stood there baffled. She was already angry and here, her friend was blaming her for getting angry, with zero interest in addressing the actual issue. "Interrogation session? You think I shouldn't ask even when you keep vanishing?"

"Fine! I'll let you know next time. Happy? Can you please stop questioning me now?!", the shorter yelled and moved a few feet away.

"Oh yeah, thank you so much for considering. I'm so honored!", Sharini said sarcastically and turned her back to Sheethal.

The wind whooshed as a few prolonged minutes of silence passed.

Sharini decided to speak again before it could turn awkward.

"Had dinner?" This time her voice was calm, so casual, as if the two weren't going at each other's throats just moments ago.

"Yeah, fish curry, want to know how it was? ", Sheethal asked, pushing her hand up her friend's nose. The other female scrunched her face, swatting the hand away and gagging, her vegetarian self unable to bear the smell. "Idiot! I missed you", Sharini cooed, staring into the other's eyes.

Sheethal just smiled and nodded. She'd be lying if she said she didn't miss the latter. "Let's sit somewhere " she said, pulling her friend to the stone overhead tank in the corner of the terrace.

The both sat with their legs stretched, while leaning their backs onto the water tank, their shoulders touching. The crescent lit the night dimly, they sat surrounded by cloth lines, with the slight smell of detergents mixed in the chilly but still wind.

"I'm often thinking about him lately. You know, he's the first reason I wanted to be independent, and to love and appreciate the people that are family despite what some situations make us feel about them." Sheethal spoke, as she drifted into a core memory of her late grandfather.