An Aesthete - A triangle love story

Chapter 29

Darshana

Veda oda pera ketale Hridhay ku kovam varum, ipo enna da natural colour dyes ellam senju tharan. Onnum puriyalaiye!

I fed in the passcode to enter his penthouse and found the living area to be empty. I found a paper bag sitting on the dining table and went to check on it. It contained a circular container and opening it I found eight small bottles among which four were the natural colour dyes and four were dyes mixed with paints.

I don't know whether the consistency is correct but Veda will be happy knowing that his friend Hridhay has made this for him. Last Sunday when Veda stopped saying another person's name who could make dyes for him with his mom, I was wondering who would be that. But when Hridhay said that he had seen Veda's mother making dyes, for a second I had a thought whether it was him who Veda stopped himself from mentioning. But now my doubt has been confirmed, but I'll get full confirmation when I talk with both of them.

Where is Hridhay?

I looked around the house and except for a faint thumping sound I didn't hear anything. If Hridhay was having company and he is working out, he wouldn't have called me to come here. Also, this week too, I didn't see or hear anything I shouldn't and I was free from the 'sending bouquet' duty.

I knocked on the closed doors of the guestrooms and his bedroom before opening and checking inside. He was nowhere, including his home office. The thumping sound continued and I followed it, walking out of the balcony. Stepping into the balcony, I remembered his words from two weeks back.

"I would be swimming naked."

I jumped back into the house and then realised that he was not there in the swimming pool but the sound was coming from the extension of the balcony. In other floors there are four balconies for four apartments each on one side of the unit, two apartment balconies from eleventh floor and the top most floor had the two balconies connected together.

Only this past year, after his father's demise I have been visiting his house to recite his schedule and I have only seen the balcony area visible from the floor-to-ceiling wall of the living area but I have never been or seen the extended balcony. The balcony is covered with green net and I crossed the short one and half feet height wall to reach the other side. There was a single seven feet gate which I opened towards me and entered into the green netted area only to be surrounded by greenery.

Hridhay has turned the second balcony into a terrace gardening area which looks like the mini version of the lawn garden at Veda's beach house. I could see the same varieties of plants, flowers, vegetation and shrubs here. The only difference is that as Nemi uncle said the garden at Veda's House doesn't have life but here the missing life is alive.

In the middle of the garden area the swimming pool has been converted into a basketball court from where the thumping sound was arriving as Hridhay bounced the ball and threw it into the ring. Suddenly, my mind went to my first dinner with Veda.

"When I was young I used to play basketball and cricket with my friends."

"Hey! Ithu ellam eppo set eppo la irunthu iruku?" I opened another gate to enter the court nets.

Hridhay stiffened, missing the ball. I caught the ball and bounced it as I went around to look at him. "Neenga inga enna panrenga, Madam? Innum kelambala?"

"Aala kaanom ye nu theiditu vanthen." I turned and tried to throw the ball into the ring but he pushed it upwards and took hold of the ball. "Oru vaaram ah enna ignore panitu, ipo un vela nadanthathum enna thedi variya?"

"Naan ignore ellam onnum pannalaiye. Mood swings la irunthen." I tried to snatch the ball from him but he moved liquidly and made a goal.

"Unaku ippo Periods illaiye?" He turned towards me, bouncing the ball between us.