Southern Avenue

Chapter #7

Chapter #7

Ranvijay couldn't open his letter. He wasn't that prepared to suddenly face whatever was written there. There was hesitation clear in his eyes, and suddenly it almost felt like that the envelope felt heavy in his hands.

His thoughts ran wild, and he was left thinking, what if he had to marry Sharanya to inherit the business he already owned? That would be the perfect cliché! He had heard stories about such things happening. Some of his friends, back in Manchester had even told him things like that when they had been younger.

'Our grandfather left a will that if only uncle William married Phoebe, only then he'd be given part of his property! That old bugger. Who would have thought he would become a matchmaker before he died?' He clearly remembered one of his friends, Luke, saying this story to him one day they were hanging around at his home after some drinks. It had been in college.

"I'm thinking way too much," Ranjivay whispered to himself and looked down at the letter. He trusted his grandparents, didn't he? Then why was he so worried?

Shaking his head, he looked at Jimmy who was still sleeping comfortably on the couch and suddenly his little Golden Retriever Nikki had to return, barking happily.

"Now what to do Nikki?" He sighed and pulled her up into his arms to cuddle her. Asking her wouldn't do any good, nor would she understand his dilemma and reply, yet it had grown to become his habit of doing so.

He didn't have a girlfriend or fiancée currently. His parents didn't yet seem interested even, but they had told him a few times. He could put that in another way, they had asked him if he had been considering it. Ranvijay didn't seem to be interested and that was left at that.

He fiddled with the letter and looked at the portrait of his grandparents in the hallway corridor.

They did joke about having a wish once, that Ranvijay would marry and take care of their Guriya but when they'd passed away four years ago, they had never repeated the same. It had been a joke they had cracked over his years in high school and college, but never had they been imposing about it. At that time, he didn't even know who their 'Guriya' was.

He loved them. He knew.

"Time to see what they wanted to tell me." He sunk himself with his two pets on the couch and laid down to read the inscriptions written by both his grandparents.

** ** ** **

Dear Ranvijay,

If you are reading this now, which you are otherwise you wouldn't, you must be a very big man now. The owner of the MahaShikshya chain of industries even. Did I say very big? Well, an older man, isn't it son? *laugh*

For us, you'll always be our little grandson though. The one with his tremendous mischievousness, and the one who made a mess of the house whenever he was around. Who would have that attitude perked on his nose, and the grin pasted on his face.

You must be thinking why we suddenly wrote a letter and left it with Sharanya, or as we always called her, Guriya all of a sudden. The reason is, we trusted her the most.

It isn't like we didn't trust you, son. But everything has a right time, and we thought that giving it time would be the right thing to do.

Should we narrate a little story to you? I hope you'll find it interesting. When you were younger, we never had the time to tell this to you, and we realized it a little late. But here it goes.