Mullai for a second thought she heard it wrong. She felt Mary freeze in her seat. She glanced sideways at her and Mary shot her a confused look. They both turned back to face Tips mam.
"College is closed today. If you want to pay respect to him, you can go to his house after 12 pm today. You can collect the address from HOD Alphonse sirs office room"
She got down the podium and was about to exit the class, but stopped short. She turned to the class and continued
"Class, if you feel down or need help, please reach out to someone. Don't keep it within yourself", she added. Tears threatened to fall from her eyes. It was a rare sight to see the ever strict mam tearing up.
Mary looked at mam and then turned up to Mullai.
"Kathirnu thana sonanga mam?", she asked
Mullai shook her head uncertainly. She felt numb. She didn't want to believe something so heartbreaking. She looked around to see if this was some kind of joke. Classroom was completely silent and slightly eerie for some reason.
"Nethu nee avana apadi sonadhu nalayo?", Mary asked sounding slightly nervous.
Mullai felt the ground below her shake. Her worst fear from the minute she heard Tips mam inform about Kathir was getting stronger now. Her hands were sweating and she wiped it in her white kurta, not bothering about the stain it was leaving. She held on to the dupatta as if her life was depended on it.
She buried her head into her hands and stooped into the desk in front of her.
"I sincerely hope, its not that...", she mumbled when her thoughts went back to events of yesterday.
**
"Mulla ma. Ezhudiringa. College ku late achu", a voice woke Mullai up. She pulled her phone from side table to check the time and it was 7.30.
"Selvi ma, Inum oru 10 mins", she muttered before closing her eyes again.
"Ayya unga kuda inaiku serdhu sapidarenu sonar. Sikiram ready ayitu vanga", she replied before leaving the room. Selvi was a live in-house helper in the house as long as Mullai remembers.
"Ahh seri..", she dragged while burying her head into the satin pillow and pulling the comforter over her head and went straight back to her sleep. While she was dancing in her dreams, it was disturbed by an electric machine sound. She tried to shut it off with her hands, when she felt her comforter being yanked away harshly.
"Ma, nee thana? Edhuku ma kalangathala ipadi machine pota mathiri dorrrrrr nu sound pottu ezhupara?", Mullai whined.
"Adiyey. Naan pesaradhu unaku machine mathiri iruka? College pora idea iruka ilaya?", her mother asked. Immedietely Mullai heard the AC remotes click of being turned off.
"10 nimishamnu solli solli, latea ezhudhu sapidama kuda poga vendiyadhu pathi naal. Naan AC off pannitean. Idhuku mela yepadi thungarenu naanum pakarean", Mullai mothers voice bombarded across the room.
"Naan poi breakfast readyanu pakarean. Thirumba thungama ezhundhu sikiram keela va"
After grumbling to herself, Mullai got out of the bed and walked towards the cupboard to pull dress for the day when her eyes landed on the mirror, and she assessed her face.
"Parlor pogara time ayiduchu pola", she muttered before she pulled her long black hair into a bun and walked into the bathroom.
After half an hour, "Mulla", she hears her father's call from below. "College ku late achu. Sikiram sapida va da"
YOU ARE READING
Thoorigai
General FictionIf life offers a chance to help someone and change their life, would we take it? Even if it's a person who we hardly know about? A simple college story of Kathir and Mullai, whose worlds are far apart from each other.
