Our Little Home

21

After few minutes of collective silence, the couple decided it was time to leave the house and get some sleep as they had a big day ahead of them.  There were hardly few hours left for dawn so they walked to the orphanage to get some sleep. Sivu had previously spoken with the person in charge to leave one of the rooms open for them, so they slowly walked to the room without disturbing anyone.

Upon entering, Sivu shut the door close and opened their bag to grab a pair of night dress for them. She looked at Aravind and gave a small smile- her heart pained to see his swollen, red eyes and heavy eye bags; but somewhere she hoped it brought him at least a little solace. As if he could read her emotions and thoughts, he placed a kiss on her forehead and while she received it with her eyes closer, feeling a little better than earlier. 

Aravind cupped her face and said, "thank you for today! somewhere na feel paniruken enaku nu oru home ila to revisit and talk to you endlessly about my childhood memories. more specifically, veedu irunthum athu na oru emotional baggage-a view panna. After today, maybe I have come more in terms with what happened. Athu unfair than, enaku mattum yen appidi nu ippovum avalo thoughts oduthu yen mind-la. Ana maybe inniku aprom antha oru incident-a mattum neenchi irukama, athuku munadi na avangloda spend panna 7 years-a happy unoda, aprom nammaloda kutty oda enaku share pannanum."

"I feel relieved. Seri-va namma kulikalam. Time achu. We are covered in dust, allergy varathu kulla kulikanum, va."

"Namma? Nee first kulima." he said, eyes almost popping out of its socket. 

"hmm..ila! Enaku thookam varathu, va namba kulichitu varalam. Lazy-a irukatha!" she replied with a nonchalant attitude. 

"Eva enna pesarum-nu purichu pesrala, ila puriyama pesrala. Nammala ipdi loosu akita!"

"Naanum neeyum ipo kulikanum. Like namma rendu perum antha bathroom-la" he asked in doubt. 

She rolled her eyes and dragged him inside, while he stood shocked at the little arrangement she had done for them - the tub was filled with warm water with few fresh towels neatly folded on the side. 

"I thought you might need it!" she said, looking at him with the corner of her eyes. Before he could reply, she quickly added "first, na tub ula poren. ipo turn around!" Her cheeks were a deep shade of red, although she tried really hard to stay unaffected. Appreciating her gesture and not wanting to make her feel uncomfortable, he turned around. 

In some time, the sound of tiny water ripples echoed in the room. Looking back, he found her settled in the tub- her face reflecting a sense of serenity. She had her palms covering her eyes, which was his cue to join her in the tub. She asked him to sit in front of her after he asked her to scoot forward. 

His muscles visibly relaxed, as he felt the warm water embrace his soft skin. The pace of his heart increased when he felt her front caress his back. He slowly shifted his position to rest his head on her shoulder. Goosebumps rose in attention when he felt her tiny palms massage his biceps. Uff! the little pressure that she applied was such a relief to his strained muscles. 

A zoo of butterflies erupted in her tummy when he began reciprocating her gesture by massaging her calf muscles. She began acknowledging how her husband was quite close to her favorite Hulk as she felt the pressure he applied with ease and how well built his biceps were. 

She gathered little water in her hands, using it to wet his brown locks. Squeezing some of the shampoo in her hands, her finger began their magical work of rubbing his scalp gently; moving her fingers in circular motion. 

"Ma, semaiya iruku. Thank you again!"

"Unga thanks enaku vendam. Aravind happy, Sivu happy!" he smiled at her words and turned to give her a little peck on her lip. In response, she took a little foam and put it on his nose.