New Beginnings....

Mullai's birthday....

     There is a change in the air in Chennai as the end of November approaches.... The days are pleasant and cool and the nights a bit chilly.. Children are bundled in monkey caps and sweaters and ladies start wearing woolen scarves around their heads..

There is a change in Kathir and Mullai's relationship too... Both realize how much they value each other's opinion even on the little things that happens in their lives.

The care that they have for each other isn't superficial...

It is genuine and authentic...

She knows that she can share her true feelings with him without being judged.

He has no reservations in showing her his emotional side...

The other day, he was teary eyed that his favorite Football Club lost an important match and she didn't make fun of him, she made him kesari to cheer him up.

She wonders why he broke up with that woman back in Ireland but is scared to approach this topic for fear of hurting him.

Some days when he asks her how her day went... Instead of giving the usual mundane answers, if the day was a bad one, she is honest with him.

*******

On the eve of her birthday, as the clock ticks towards 12 am...

Mullai lies there on her bed, staring at the glowing stickers on the ceiling. She feels absolutely no emotion for the next day...

She thinks back on how exciting birthdays used to be when she was younger... Now it has somehow lost it's sheen.

In a few minutes, she will be 29.

She feels that she has accomplished so less in life...

Next year... Oh God... She'll be 30... A milestone birthday..

Then she feels guilty for thinking that way...

The best thing in her life is right next to her... She glances fondly at Mahi...

Something about seeing a sleeping child always warms her heart...

It is 12 am of November 26th and her phone rings loudly...

It is her father...

Smiling...she picks up the phone and goes to the hall to talk to him...

She speaks to him for 20 minutes and gets a second call from Jasmine Miss.

She then attends Jasmine Miss' call and spends some time talking to her.

There's a soft rap on the door and she lifts the curtain to see Kathir standing outside with a huge grin on his face.

She can't help but grin back at him...

K: Hi birthday girl...

M: He he he....

He has a bouquet in his hands...

At first, she thinks that it is a flower bouquet...

But the way he handles it so carefully makes her lean in for a closer look and she gasps when she realizes that it is a cupcake bouquet...

M: Wow.... Kathir... Super ah irrukku...

K: Piranthae naal vazhthukkal Mullai...

He shakes her hand and gives her an affectionate squeeze around her shoulders.

M: Thank you Kathir...

K: Nee venae paaru...inthae varusham dhan ohn life leyae best varushamae irrukae pohuthu...