Ithuvum oru Kathal Kathai

Perathirchi

The next morning

Kathir stood in front of his dressing mirror

Nalla thaane irukkom..avvalavu kodooramaa illiye he mused

Appuram yen enna paarthu appudi veliri ponaa

Mess la kaala vechaale odi oliyaraa

Enna thaan prachanai avalukku he stood wondering

He had an early delivery at the temple that day and he left shaking his head

He had handed over the goods and offered his prayers and was about to leave when he saw a familiar form

It was her ..Mullai

Something about her was off

He had only properly seen her once

But even in a kitchen standing over a hot stove she looked presentable..

Saree all pleated and pinned to perfection..

The end of the pallu tucked in

Hair in a neat braid..

No unwanted makeup but enough kohl in her eyes and a dull shimmer in her lips gave her a clean look

But after the first times he only saw her hurriedly retreating figure

But the first time was etched in his memory

But today she looked different somehow

And frankly not in a good way

He saw her walk towards where the koil kolam was

He was waiting to talk to the koil admin representative about the previous month payment and also about the special pooja on his father's star..

This was something they did every month

It was almost 15 mts later that he finished his work and without realising walked the same way Mullai had a few minutes back

The moment he spotted her he knew this was a special kinda prayer..

Prayer for a deceased soul

He saw the outline of a photo frame

He wasn't sure it was a good idea anymore

He stopped..realising this was her personal space

He decided not to intrude

But something about the way she sat

Wearing a very ordinary looking georgette saree..tied carelessly..pleats just bunched with not even a pin securing it..hair in a loose messy knot..no bangles in her hand..face was scrubbed clean..

It looked like the weight of the world was on her

He stood staring at her for sometime

Some unknown weight placed itself on his heart and he was unable to stand there any longer

The whole day he moped around

Around lunch time he realised a few things..he didn't know for sure of course but he could guess

But she was so young

He could concentrate on nothing much that day

The next evening he offered to fetch the kids from Mullai's place

Dhanam only said

Seri Kathiru aanaa unakku antha ponna suthi neraiya kelvi irukku theriyum..aanaa ava innikku romba sorvaa iruntha..konjam paarthu pesu

Naan Mullai kitta kelvi ellam kettu entha thontharavum panna maatten anni..athuvum ava thangara veettula..oru periya delivery..athu vandi la konduttu poga mudiyathu athaan auto la ponen..Kayal ku auto romba pudikkum la athaan..vara vazhila koottittu varalaam nu

Ahn seri da..naane yosichen ..2 kozhanthaingalayum neeye eppudi koottittu varuva nnu..

With that Kathir went to her house based on directions given by Kanna

He reached the house

The door was open but there was no sign of her

He called her name from outside..but there was no response..

He wondered what to do

He knew she stayed alone and didn't want to make a noise and garner unnecessary attention

He called kanna but there was no response

He left a message for him saying he was outside Mullai's home and to give him Mullai's number..

He waited some more and then slowly went near the door

He knocked on the open door

But there really was no sound from the inside to indicate there was anybody at all

He knocked a little louder the next time

He called her name out

But there was no response

Mullai for her part was in the backyard

She always gave the kids a nice hot water bath, powdered them and made them wear fresh clothes

Dhanam always said nalla kulichathula nalla pasi vanthu..nalla sappittu udane thoongavum seyyaraanga

Mullai would smile and say thenamum park porom..veettulayum nalla tharaila urundu velaiyaaduvaanga..athaan ka

She bathed them together so neither would have to wait wet

And like every day she did the same today and just as she finished Kanna called her to inform her that Kathir was waiting to pick up the kids

She hurried inside with the kids

And saw him standing in the hall looking as though he had seen a ghost

He stood his hand groping the wall behind him for something to hold on to for support

Mullai followed the direction of his vision and panicked herself

She went dashing to the corner of the room his eyes were riveted on and hurriedly removed the garland from around the photo that stood on a shelf

And for good measure placed it face down

With the same urgency she turned around to face

Athu Maaran..ennoda purushan ..oru accident la eranthuttaaru she whispered