The Tea Trail

Oram Po Oram Po; Mullaioda vandi varuthu

As life moved on in its own lazy fashion

A few things happened in the PS household

One afternoon Mullai, Dhanam and Kanna were sitting in the living room when they heard a loud crash

It came from the room Jeeva and Meena shared..the room that erstwhile was occupied by Dhanam and Moorthy

They all ran in to see a large portrait of Dhanam and Moorthy lying on the floor..the glass in the frame shattered to bits

Dhanam had been upset and also hurt herself while trying to hold the picture to gauge extent of damage

Seeing all this Kanna was upset and in an emotional moment he blurted

Kanna : ippollaam enakku kutty anni ya pudikkarthe ille..pesaama Jeeva annanukku vera yaaraiyaavathu kalyanam panni irukkalaam..yen namma nenaicha padi Mullai anni koodaiye kalyanam nadanthu irukkalaam

Dhanam had proceeded to rebuke Kanna for speaking anything that comes to mind without thinking

Mullai sat there lost in thought...yes initially she was upset at the memories it had brought up..but more than that she was amazed at how alarmed she now felt at the prospect of anyone else being her husband..just the thought of anyone else wearing that thali on her other than Kathir felt like a nightmare...her heart shuddered at the thought..

That night in their room

Kathir felt a shift..he couldn't really understand what it was..but her smile..that look in her eyes..there was something different..softer maybe..but he was mesmerised with what he saw..

Before he could ponder more..she told him about the need for a room for Dhanam and Moorthy..

Kathir : ithu naan yosikkave ille..

Mullai : amaanga avangalukkunnu oru room illaama hallla padukkaraanga

They spoke some more about it..and went to sleep

Kathir looked at her sleeping form with a sense of affection..he really loved this side to her character...her ability to empathise..think of everyone's happiness..he realised that he was actually growing very fond of her..

The next day morning, she brought his tea to the room..oh she did this almost every day..usually she would smile place the tea on the shelf and then start doing her work either inside the room or leave the room..but this morning she stood near the wall behind him..lost in thoughts..which from the look on her face, the smile on her face and the sparkle in her eyes were really happy ones

Is she thinking about them..he asked himself and was surprised to realise that he wanted to be in her thoughts..be the reason for that happiness..he smiled at her in the mirror..

Mullai on her part was ecstatic..she thought of the last 7-8 months of her life post marriage..she had been devastated, angry, hateful, condescending, resigned, awed and happy..all these myriad of emotions just for the one man..but yesterday she had had a revelation that she was happy he was her man..she wanted no one else..no one else could make her feel this way..she suspected that she knew this for sometime now..but yesterday Kanna's words had hit that nail on its head..she saw him in a completely new light..the source of her happiness..her inner peace..she smiled at his reflection in the mirror

Mullai : tea aara poguthu kudinga

Her voice softer than usual..

Kathir drank the tea and started to leave

Mullai : kudunga naan alambi vechukkaren

Kathir normally would have said no..he would in the future also refuse but today..he simply gave it to her..it was like a spell had been cast..