The Tea Trail

Mansukkul oru puyal mayyam kondathe

The entire household was in a frenzy getting ready for receiving L Amma back home..

Meena who had not been to the hospital was busy prepping things in the kitchen for breakfast

Mullai and Kathir who had not slept or rested much the previous day got up a little late and came to wait in the hall

Parvathy - well Parvathy was getting a little antsy...she had done her responsibilities to an extent..but she had really not thought it through..She was not able to lift L amma or give her a change of dress..but feeding her she had done whole heartedly..heck she had even...her thought trailed off..there was no point going there..so she turned to her usual armour..aggression..faulting others before she can be faulted..she had been faulted enough already..she had grown tired of it long ago..and her aggression..this habit of making snide remarks and putting everybody around her on the defensive was a skill she had honed to perfection..her facade..even now her intuitions told her to be on ready mode..oh they were so strong that she had told her husband to not go out..but it was an urgent work that he couldn't avoid

Parvathy : aarathi ellam pulla pethu vantha antha mathiri eduppaanga..ippo attachikku ethukku..

Mullai wished she hadn't asked..she did not get her mom's excessive need to be this venomous whenever she was around the PS family members..she was not this bad ordinarily

The tension had set in

L amma arrived..she was brought in..everyone stood in the hall..

Meena had taken the arathi

Everyone were busy praising her...

Parvathy had been shunned from this family..all this adulation for Meena over Arathi and breakfast triggered her..hadn't her daughter stayed in the hospital as soon as she came back..with no rest..sitting on backless stool..she would not allow history to repeat itself..her daughter would not be taken for granted

Parvathy : ennavo ellarum oru naal pannathukku ippudi pugazhareenga..yen ponnu thenamum pandraale athu unga kannukku theriyatho

And it had gone downhill from there..

Words were spoken..no hurled..L amma accused Parvathy of neglect vis-a-vis her medications..

L amma : iva enakku podavai kooda maathi vidalai..Moorthy vanthu thaan senjaan

Moorthy had seconded that

Parvathy was offended..these last 3-4 days had led her to believe..again she trailed off..dont turn mushy now she told herself..she had straightened her sagging shoulders..she prepared herself for war

Parvathy : poi sollatheenga attachi..athunaala thaan antha andavan ungala wheelchairla vechu irukkaaru

Kathir saw red at that..

There had been a volley of dialogues..Mullai trying to stop her..Meena asking if this was needed now..Moorthy trying to stop her..

For a moment..just for a moment it looked like this ugliness was going to stop...there was a lull..a welcome one..Mullai was trying to use this lull to make her mom leave..maybe she would have in another 2 minutes

But Dhanam had said something

Dhanam : ellame en thappu thaan..naan ungala vittuttu poi irukkave koodathu..naan thaan thappu pannitten..inime naan engayum poga maatten ungala vittuttu

Instead of diffusing the ticking time bomb that the situation was she accelerated the explosion unintentionally

Parvathy : pogaama irukka vendiyathu thaane..amaam naan kekkuren puthusa kalyanam aanavanga pogura edathula unakku enna velai..irunthurukka vendiyathu thaane..kozhunthanga kalyanam aana appuram pora tourla vekkame illaama kooda poittu..chi