What A Beautiful Face She Has

Her secret Book

Mathew's POV:

Joe left me and went out. I was processing his words.

Oru vela namma thappa nenaikiromo illa enna unmaiye puriyala? God, please help me.
(Maybe I’m wrong? Or am I just not understanding the truth? God, please help me.)

I stopped processing my thoughts when my stomach growled.

I was feeling hungry. It was 11 AM and I hadn’t even had my breakfast yet.

I headed to the living room. No one was there. All three of them were in her room, laughing and giggling.

Just then, I heard Joe saying, "Stella Anni, iniku enna samayal? Unga kaiyala saptu rombo naal Achu."
(Stella sis-in-law, what’s cooking today? It’s been so long since I ate food made by your hands.)

"En Kai pakkuvom ungaluku epdi theriyum, Joe? Neenga en amma sapadu dhana saptu irukeenga."
(How would you know how I cook, Joe? You’ve only eaten my mom’s food.)

"Ada, ponga. Like mother like daughter dhan. Mathew va parthale theriyudhe, neenga evlo super huh samaipeenganu?"
(Come on. Like mother, like daughter. Just by looking at Mathew, I can tell how great your cooking must be.)

"Why?", she asked.

"Pinna, neenga samachu pota sapada saptu saptu nalla gundagi irukan, Avan. Apo, sapadu nalla irundha dhana rasichu rusichu orutharala sapda mudiyum. Iniku, I want to taste the food made by you."
(Obviously! He’s gained weight from eating so much of your cooking. Only if the food is really good can someone get that fat. Today, I want to taste your food.)

What? Did I gain weight?
Haiyo, naan gundu agitena? Ipo enna pannuven?
(Oh no, did I become fat? What do I do now?)

I examined my body. I went to my room and stood in front of the mirror.

"Kandipa, iniku spl huh I'll make biryani for you both."
(Definitely, I’ll make biryani today for you both.)

"Hey, alanjaan. Edhuku da avala kasta paduthura? We'll order something.", Catherine said.
(Hey wanderer, why are you troubling her? Let’s just order something.)

"No, naan Stella Anni sapadu matum dha sapduven and kastam la illa. Naan avangaluku help panren, cooking la, ok va?"
(No, I’ll only eat Stella Anni’s food. It’s not trouble, I'll help her with cooking, okay?)

Joe then got a call and left her room.

I headed to the kitchen searching for food. As usual, her room was visible from the kitchen’s window.

"Hey, innuma indha book huh vechi iruka?", Catherine asked her.
(Hey, you still have this book?)

"Yeah."

"Pazhaya book la, school time lendhu unkita iruku. Edhuku d idhellam vechitu iruka? Unnaku nadandha kodumaiya, sandhosamana vishayangal ellam idhula dha ezhudhi vechi iruka, thooki potru. Parka parka innum traumatize aava, nee."
(This is your old school-time book. Why are you still holding on to it? You’ve written all your painful and happy memories in it, just throw it away. The more you look at it, the more you’ll get traumatized.)

I wondered which book they were talking about. Then, I realized, it’s the same book where she had written about her feelings. The one I read that day.

"Paravala, ipo kuda whenever I'm sad and depressed, I write down my thoughts in this book. Ipolam sogama irukum bodhu matum dhan I'm writing in this book because happiness is far away from my life."
(It’s okay. Even now, whenever I feel sad or depressed, I write in this book. Lately, since I’ve only been sad, I’m writing in it often because happiness feels far away.)