New Beginnings....

Cliffs of Moher..

6 months later......

Doolin Village, Ireland...

A silver Toyota Corolla zigs and zags over the hilly roads...

And stops at the entrance to the cliffs of Moher...

K: Nee car liyae wait pannu Mullai... Naan poie entrance tickets vangittu vanthidren..

Mullai nods and pulls her jacket closer to her body...

He pulls out his wallet from his pocket...

"Appa"

A few weeks after their marriage, Mahi had started calling him Appa...

Sometimes she would call him Kathir Uncle out of habit, but then she'd smile and correct herself.

And till now it never failed to overwhelm him..

He thinks about the first time she called him that precious word..

She fell down from her bicycle and had scraped her knee real bad, and even though Mullai was standing right there, she came limping over to him...

And had shouted...

"Apppppaaaa valikuthu"

And burst into tears...

He cried along with her... Out of happiness of course...

Now, she calls him again...

"Appa.... Wait pannungae naanum varen" she says and gets down from the car and runs to hold his hand...

They return with the tickets, donuts and coffee...

Mullai bites into her sugary donut with a sigh...

They start walking up the cliff...

Mahi as usual is running ahead of them...

"Appa....sikiramae vangae... Angae oru gift shop irruku" she yells and starts running forward...

K: Ireland ku vanthum, andhae gift shop eh vidae mattingralae...

Mullai laughs and a strong gust of wind makes her shiver...

M: Inimae... Naan Chennai yehn ivloh soodae irruku nu complain pannae...indhae edathae pathi nyabagae paduthu...

K: Idhu actually summer season...

He says smiling and pulls her close and throws his arm around her shoulder...

M: Mahi... Edge pakkathulae pohathae... Ingae va...

The cliffs rise majestically out of the harsh and unforgiving sea...

There are at least twenty different shades of green on the cliffs...

Each leaf on the tree, each blade of grass is a different hue.

And it is so soothing to the eyes...

They go to the gift shop and Mahi buys some souvenirs, and a chewable toy for Simba who is back home in India...

After a bit of exploring, during which he can see that Mahi has become tired, he lifts her up and places her on his shoulders...

"Daddy... Killae vidungae...naan ippo big girl ayietten" she says wriggling to get down...

He absolutely loves it that she calls him daddy, when she is a little exasperated with him...

And when she is really happy and delighted, she'll call him Pappa...

K: Nee ennaku eppovumae kutty girl dhan Mahi ma... He says reaching up to hold her hand...