Falling in love forever

Chapter 12

Cheran's POV

Tomorrow is our engagement. In the evening Anna and Anni had also come to our home. After dinner Amma was listing about all the things we have to do for tomorrow. I was also excited. My mobile rang with the tone I had set for Ennisai. I moved to our room while telling my Amma, "I will be back in a minute ma." I wanted to ask Ennisai to sleep because from what it seems the discussion for tomorrow's function might go on forever.

As soon as I attended the call, she said, "Sorry nga. I didn't want to disturb you now. But when I opened the letter which you had written for me, it said, "Call me immediately. No excuses are permitted."

In the letter which I had titled 'Read it when you feel like crying', I had written that she should call me immediately even if I was in another continent or even if it was in the middle of the night. I had asked her to speak to me even if it was something which may seem trivial to her. I had warned her that I wouldn't accept any excuses for not reaching out to me when she was hurting alone.

"Kannu, ennachu? (Kannu, what happened?)"

"Not one, not two, but many things are coming up to my mind now and I feel like bursting with tears. I can't share this with Amma or Saaru. I don't want them to see me like this now. That's why I am calling you."

Being in love is also being vulnerable to your loved ones. To show them your weakness. To tell them your fears, to make them see where you break. Now that she wants to open up to me, I sent a silent prayer to God to give me the strength to comfort her. "Sollu Kannu (Tell me Kannu). What happened?"

"I am missing Appa. I really wish he was alive today. In all these years I have never missed him so much."

While listening to her talk about her Appa, I wrote in a paper, "I will return shortly, I have an important work now." I then went to my Amma, gave it to her and left our home. Ennisai said, "I don't know how people in western countries manage to conduct their own weddings. It's painful. Saaru is having her exams. So I can't trouble her a lot. There is only so much which Amma can do. Mullai Akka will be coming tomorrow because she has to attend another function of her husband's side tonight. Aaya (Granny) has fallen sick. As with my friends, one is busy with her kids, I can't trouble her and another one is out of the country. I couldn't ask my colleagues to do these jobs because now we are overloaded with work. I can't ask them to do my personal work as well. I have to arrange for catering, I have to co ordinate with the decorators. You know in our families, they have this custom to tie a banana tree at the entrance during functions. Today when the banana tree was delivered, I was feeling bad that I had to do that job as well. If this is the case with our engagement, I am scared about how I am going to conduct our wedding."

On my way to her home, I bought two Kulfi ice - creams. She continued, "Who are we making all these preparations for??? It's not going to be attended by any family members, but just people who have to attend the function because they are obliged to accept our invitation. All these days I never felt bad for being a social recluse, but today I am feeling bad that I didn't bother to make much friends."

This is one of the reason why I suggested that we should marry in Maruthamalai temple and not bother about all these formalities. But it seems Athai didn't accept to it. I didn't want to remind her that and hurt her more. I also offered to help her with the engagement preparations. Again, Athai resisted because she felt that it's bad manners to share the workload with me. By now, I had reached her home by foot. I said, "Come outside your home now. I am waiting near the compound wall, where there is a Guava tree."

Immediately she rushed near me. I gave her the ice creams and jumped the compound wall, using my newly flexed muscles. She was panicked. "What are you doing????"