Our Little Home

7

Two weeks had passed by in a jiffy, yet things were almost the same and if anything, got worse in their household. Dust began settling itself on the play station and workout materials, the tomato chutney in the fridge was left untouched, items on the plate kept decreasing, while wake up hours were now at twelve noon. 

Their daily conversations was a rare occurrence, and if they did happen, it was filled with pretentiousness.  Dark circles under his eyes and the lost pounds told a story of their own. The worst of all was the diminishing smile on his face. Sivaanya wasn't clueless to what was happening, but she definitely was helpless.

Every time she initiated a conversation about his wellbeing, it always ended with a staple "Enaku onnum illa", "Just kongam tired-a irruku". She was at the verge of giving up, because not only were they losing themselves, their relationship was also getting affected. 

Sivaanya did her share of research to find out ways to help him reduce his depression levels naturally, as she was aware of his trauma associated with doctors and hospitals. She was trying to wake him up early, get him to start exercising again, bring him out in the nature; but, her efforts went to vain as Aravind simply shut her off. 

It was the weekend before her semester break began. She called Aravind down for lunch, who still didn't come to the living room after waking up an hour ago. In the meantime, work began towards setting up the table. A variety of dishes from Palak Panner, Broccoli and Cabbage Salad to an Avocado Milkshake was present. Each dish at least consisted of one natural anti-depressant. 

Sitting down on the chair, a huge sigh was let out, while she rested her face on her palm. She was confident the next few minutes she would be on the verge of breaking every object in the house. Closing her eyes, she prayed and pleaded to possibly each and every holy figure; asking to ensure Aravind eats the minimal food kept on his plate. There was no chance she could handle another session where he continuously insists he is feeling full after 2 bites and the rest of the food is either eaten by her or goes to the bin.  

In Sivaanya's terms, her brain was on the verge of exploding. Her sleep hours were limited, due to Aravind tossing and turning the whole night. She has been managing both her college schedule, exams and the internal affairs like cleaning, cooking and organizing all on her own without his help because he would rarely step out of his room and if he did, it was just for few minutes. This was a change she never expected, she was used to Aravind and her equally splitting their responsibilities. And now, handling everything is throwing her of the cliff. 

Aravind came down after a few minutes, gave a huge smile to Sivu and stared at his plate for a while. After insisting Sivaanya to also eat with him, he took few bites for the salad and few pieces of palak with chappathi; before getting up and stating he is done with his meal.

"Papa, I served you very little. Just please complete this and then, I won't bother you till tea time."

"Ila enaku podhum, ma! Na approm sapadren!"

"Approm na eppo?! Na elathayum throw panathuku aproma?" Sivaanya replied, raising her voice a bit. 

"Podhum na purinjiko! Romba compel panadha." Aravind responded, as he lost a bit of his calm.

"Aravind ma, please! At least salad adhu finish pannu. Na venna oti viduran." Sivaanya spoke, collecting herself, while kneading her palms to prevent her from lashing out. 

"Aye, na than podhum podhum nu solren la! Imsai panama po. Chumma noi noi-nu" Aravind yelled, completely losing his temperament. 

The little raise in voice was all Sivaanya needed to complete lose her cool; as she hasty stood up,  making the chair fall back to the ground. 

"Ama, na imsai than! I'm an idiot for actually being concerned for your wellbeing. Ne sapta sapudu, illa na daily panra marri poi dustbin la podu; ana yen monjila mozhikadha. Evla nal enaku theriyam ella juice, snacks la throw panna, innuku enaku therinjey throw pannu. Unaku poi evlo panney parru, enna sollanum. Don't even come to see me, I hate you!" she screamed on top of her lungs, and broke down on the floor. Her whimpers began getting louder, as she knelled down on the floor, letting loose of all her pent-up emotions. 

Aravind stood there frozen, unable to process the words she mentioned. Looking at her struggling to breathe, he reached out to hug her; just to have his hands get ignored, as she ran upstairs to their room. She banged the door shut loudly, making him flinch at the noise. 

Hours passed and there was no glimpse of Sivaanya leaving the room. In this time, Aravind quickly forced himself to eat what was on the plate. He stood in the bottom of the staircase, hands holding the empty plate; while looking at the door with his puppy eyes, and lips in a pout. He didn't know it would be so painful to have your loved ones scream they hate you, and being the sole reason behind that was definitely a strong reason to provoke his feelings of guilt.

10 minutes before their tea time, Sivaanya stepped outside the room and walked downstairs with her head low. She looked at him, who was staring at her in complete silence, while holding the empty plate. His eyes shimmered with a tinge of satisfaction of holding a finished plate, and with a beam of expectancy for her to shower him with some praises and kisses. He looked like a little kid, waiting for his mother's reaction towards their good behavior. She gave him a huge smile and placed a couple of kisses on his face. 

"Strawberry Juice or Apple Juice?"
"Strawberry" he mumbled, under his breath. 

Preparing the milkshake, she held his hand and dragged him to the balcony. The duo sat in silence for a while, before Sivaanya turned to him and asked:

"Ma, enna achu unaku? Ne sonna thanna enalla etha help panna mudiyum"

"Nothing, I'm absolutely alright!"

"Appo, how are you feeling these days? Atha pathi yedhavadhu sollu"

"Great, oru problem um illa enaku!"

"Aravind, just stop lying for godsake! Just stop!"

xxx
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How's the plot going? Just a chapter left in this plot line.
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