Oodal
Chapter 11
Pic Courtesy:
@kathirmullai_captures
Kathir arrived at the godown to receive the
carpenter and to give instructions for the impending works. Its gonna be a long
night. His thoughts are in chaos. He needs a plan. Time is ticking.
All he knows is that he needs to see her and
hear her voice on Nov 26. Its an “and”, not “or”. It’s a “Need”, not a “want”. Also,
he wants that voice addressing him, speaking to him, even if its to argue with
him and he needs to see her and have her look at him. Really look at him.
He had plans for Nov 26. At first, when he
first learnt her birth date, he thought of simply wishing her and may be get
her a candy or sweet, for that time it was all that they were. Two strangers
trapped in a relationship, that neither can get out. So, he would make it
pleasant.
Then, after seeing the effort she went through
to make his birthday special, that time he was on friendly terms with her, and
that instance pushed him to see her as more than a friend. She became someone
special. He made plans to reciprocate the
affection and efforts, if not to that extent, atleast by any small means
that he can.
He slowly touched the ring, the fruit borne out
of her relentless work to get him something for his birthday, all by herself.
He doesn’t know what the future holds, but the ring can never be parted from
him, till his last breath.
Now, thinking of tomorrow, he doesn’t know what
to do. He cant execute the small surprise plan he had, for she is not with him.
But he is gonna make sure he makes her day happy. That he is sure of.
Just then the carpenter arrived.
C: Sorry thambi. Konjam time aagiduchu!
K: Onnum prechanai ila nae. Vaanga… Sekiram
velaiya aarambikalam.
C: Seringa thambi…
Kathir took him inside and showed him the works
that need to be done.
He checked if there is need for any tools or products
to get the job done, when the carpenter informed of no such needs, he sat
nearby to supervise the work.
He kept looking at his phone. He did not
receive any call or message till now. Did she not once thought of getting in
touch with him? But why is he so upset with it? Hardly she had ever called him
in the past.
This time, deep down he knows he is yearning for
a small signal from her that she too is missing him, and couldn’t bring himself
to accept that its ok if its not so.
He sat thinking of the day, all things went to
hell. One minute he was happy and rushing to see her, next he saw his whole
world come crashing down with few words. The words kept repeating in his ears…
“Suthama pudikala….
Ivuga sirikave maataga….
Sethu poiralamanu kooda thoonum...
Pala naal engayavudhu oodiralama nu irukum..
Ippadiyelam nadikka aarambichen….”
Thinking of these just drained him in a
unrevocable way..
His eyes become wet once again.. Does he even
have tears left out to shed? But …. Somethings are not adding up. Somehow he is
missing a big puzzle here. He doesn’t want to think about it, but unless he
revisits the memories, he will not be able to find the missing puzzle.
Reluctantly, he sat and thought about that day
again… yes! There he is entering the house, all happy, hiding the treat he
brought for her. She was sitting in the hall, her voice, clear as the day,
speaking those cursed words, to…..
Wait…
There it is…
Wasn’t she speaking/ saying all this to Dhanam
anni, Meena anni and Kanna? Would they have kept quite had she actually spoken
the way he thinks she has spoken? No. That would never have happened.
Didn’t Meena anni and particularly Jeeva annan
repeatedly insist him to speak to her. Had she said that she is unhappy with
him, wouldn’t Jeeva have known through his wife? But he kept assuring him that
he is having a misunderstanding.
He remembered Moorthy anna questioning him
repeatedly. Dhanam anni, his anni, second mother.. she would have never let him
live a false life had she come to know that Mullai is actually acting.
Kanna.. for all his playfulness, he knows will
never take a side of a person who is unhappy with his family. No.
By now, they would have made them sit and
discussed the issue. Yes. So, there is more to this conversation than what he
heard! But.. why had she said such things in front of the family and they are
all going around as nothing has ever happened?
Yes. He found the key to his problem. The
solution lies in the answer to the above question. But whom can he go and ask
all this?
The only person with answers to all this and
more is his wife.
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