Disclaimer

This story is a piece of fiction and I've casted Ashwinkumar and Sivaangi Krishnakumar as leads of the story.

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Ashaangi SS Bewitched

Chapter One

It is a truth universally acknowledged – wait, isn't that Austen's? Right. Well, let me rephrase it. It is a known fact that malls are heavily crowded on Sundays and this Sunday wasn't an exception. Swathi and Tanya hurried through the Phoenix mall, rushing to get to the CROSSWORD.

Harish K, one of the best-selling author and Tanya's favourite is doing a meet and greet in CROSSWORD and they have to get there. They are already late and didn't want to miss the chance of meeting him.

"Seekiram nada di! Avaru vandhruparu" Tanya hurried Swathi.

(Walk faster! He must have reached)

The girls huffed and rushed inside the mall. The store is in the first floor and the escalator was crowded. The lift was within sights and the best part was the lift was at the ground floor. The girls rushed to the lift. By the time they were near the lift, it was almost full and a short girl wearing a guitar bag stepped in.

"Wait! Wait! Wait!" Tanya yelped as the girls neared the lift only to watch the lift door close.

"Aarghh! Aiyo andha lusu matum eerama irundhrundha namma poerukalam!!" Tanya grumbled while Swathi looked annoyed.

(We would have got inside if that idiot didn't step in!)

"Ama! Cha!" Swathi sighed, "Seri vaa, escalator la ye povom, time agudhu"

(Come, let's take the escalator. We are running out of time)

"Aiyoo, ama vaaa"

(Yeah, let's go)

The girls rushed to the escalator. Tanya was scolding the short girl throughout while Swathi agreed.

"Finally!" The girls sighed in relief as they stepped in the CROSSWORD, a huge smile plastered on their face for they saw Harish seated. There were seven rows of chairs in front of him. A mixed crowd of boys and girls occupied it, with the girls dominating in numbers. There were two spots at the front and three more free at the fifth row.

Tanya and Swathi looked at each other with a wide smile as they approached the chairs. They will take the seats at the front row! They can sit right in front of Harish! Their excitement reflected on their face but it was short lived for their smile faded when they saw the same woman from the lift occupying one seat, the seat that's right in front of Harish and one more girl occupying the other one.

Tanya could feel herself breathing fire! Swathi heaved a heavy sigh. The frustration of running up and the disappointment is taking its toll on them.

"Enaku ne varuvala ava! Chaa! Ava aalum ava moonji um! Ivala ipo yevan paaka poran nu ipdi kelambi vandhruka!" Tanya seethed, "Modha lift aprm inga seat, arrghh, ivalam!"

(Why is she crossing my paths again and again! She and her looks! She is dressed as if any guy's going to look at her! - First the lift and now the seat! She's just!)

"Tanyaa, calm down. Nee va, namma anga okaralam. We are here for Harish, let's not ruin our mood for that stranger. Vaa" Swathi managed to drag Tanya with her.

(Come, let's sit there - come)

Tanya was scolding the girl in her mind. She was supposed to sit in front of Harish, not that girl! According to her she saw the empty chairs first and she was supposed to sit there but the girl beat her to it. If only Tanya knew that the entire first row was already reserved.

Harish K is famous among the young crowd. His stories had a sense of emotional depth which is hard to find these days. His characters are relatable and the storylines are too tempting to push from one's mind.

It wasn't easy for Harish to establish himself as an accomplished writer. He had to work from the basic, build his readership over a period of time, work on his art to reach where he is now. His new book is set to release soon and his publishing house wanted him to do Meet the Author event for the publicity. He enjoys interacting with his fans. So, it's a win-win.

The fans were sure excited to meet Harish; he could feel it. His eyes landed on the short girl seated before him. She smiled widely at him and his lips mirrored the same. Blinking his eyes at her, he shifted his gaze back to the crowd.

Harish started the session with thanking the readers for coming to meet him. Then he informed about the release of his new book. The readers were excited and it boosted his morale.

Then the interaction session started. There were questions about Harish's books, his relationship, an analysis of his second novel's anti-hero character and lot more. Tanya was on cloud nine when she got to interact with Harish as she gave a detailed interpretation of ending of his fifth novel. He even appreciated her interpretation.

"First row la okandha matum podhadhu! Paaru epdi summa okandhruka!" Tanya grumbled under her breath as she eyed at the short girl at the front.

(What's the use of sitting in the first row? She isn't even opening her mouth!)

But the next second the girl pointed out to Harish that she isn't fond of the morally righteous female protagonist in his fifth novel who always looks out for others but doesn't do what's right for her. Tanya actually sided with the girl's point but the frustration and the hatred she felt for the girl blinded her.

"Yenna voice ipdi kiyya miyya nu iruku" Tanya blurted out aloud making everyone pause.

(Why does her voice sound funny?)

Harish looked at the crowd while the girl turned to look back. Masking her panic Tanya tugged Swathi and they both cranked their neck trying to figure out who said those words.

"What was that?!" Harish's voice was stern, "Yaaru apdi sonnadhu?"

(Who said that?)

Nothing fell into Tanya's ears for she was trying to mask her nervousness. She doesn't want to leave a bad impression in front of Harish. Her eyes darted to the girl. Sure, the girl's smile was faded but she was calm and collected. Its as if she has heard it thousand times and she doesn't care anymore.

"Whoever it is, let me j-"

"I don't want to cause any disturbance in the event" The girl said facing Harish before looking back at the crowd. Sporting a small smile, she added, "Whoever that was, you are entitled to have your own opinion. You are just pointing out what you felt when you heard my voice and it is fine. I'm used to it; not my first time. Let's just drop it and procced with the event. We are here for Harish K. Let's focus on him"

Tanya gulped as she shifted nervously on her seat. It was the way the girl spoke that made her uneasy. She was calm and collected for sure but there was a sense of coldness in her tone. The serene smile and cold eyes made Tanya kept staring at the girl.

"Thapicha di!" Swathi sighed as both Harish and the girl sat down.

(You are safe!)

The session resumed. The first few minutes were tensed but soon Harish eased the situation by reading his favourite passages from his fifth novel.

"Well, there's something I want to do for you people" Harish stood up, went near the counter and came back to the crowd with his guitar, "I would like to play something for you all"

The small crowd cheered. Few girls were already shouting which song he should sing. He shook his head with a smile before facing the crowd again.

"I'll play the guitar on one small condition though" Harish said and then darted his eyes to the short girl on the front, "Ivanga paadu na dhan na vaasipen"

(I'll play only if she sings)

Tanya was observing Harish while Swathi frowned.

"Indha voice ah vachu kitu iva yepdi paaduva?"

(How will she sing with this voice?)

The girl politely refused but Harish insisted her to sing. He asked the crowd to ask her to sing as well which they did. The girl agreed but she cutely glared at Harish making him chuckle and the crowd laugh. He eyed her with a nod and she nodded back.

As Harish's fingers pulled the guitar chords softly, the girl cleared her throat and closed her eyes before singing,

"Nilavidam vaadagai vaangi Vizhi veetinil kudi vaikkalaama

Naam vaazhum veetukul Veraarum vanthalae thaguma

Then malai thekkukku neethaan Unthan thozhgalil idam tharalaama

Naan saayum thozhmel Veraarum sainthalaethaguma

Neerum senbula cherum Kalanthathu polae kalanthavar naam

Munbae vaa en anbae vaa Oonae vaa uyirae vaa

Munbae vaa en anbae vaa Poo poovaai poopom vaa"

(Munbe vaa song from Chillunu Oru Kadhal)

The girl's eyes were still closed and the crowd was mesmerized to hear her voice. They didn't know that she could sing this sweetly. The small crowd, including Tanya and Swathi break into applause and the girl opened her eyes, sported a small smile before thanking them.

Harish placed the guitar down before he clapped.

"That was amazing. Don't you think so?" Harish asked and the crowd cheered.

"Well, this brings our session to the end. Thank you for keeping this fun and interactive. I'll do this again once my new novel releases. I'm confident that you'll love it. Thank you for taking time out to meet me. Gratitude"

Harish placed his one hand on his chest as he expressed his gratitude. He then looked at the girl standing next to him with a smile before wrapping his arm around her shoulder. Swathi's smile dropped while Tanya grew even more calm.

"Also, this talented young lady right here" Harish paused and smiled at the crowd, his eyes twinkling with pride before he looked at the girl and said, "is my sister, Sivaangi Krishnakumar"

The crowd was surprised with the piece of information. Swathi gasped loudly while Tanya's chewed her lips, her hands turning cold. But her heart nearly jumped out when Harish stared right at her eyes as he said, "She sure has the sweetest of voice. Doesn't she?"

People may not notice but Tanya did, the slight mocking tone as his eyes met hers. Harish knew! But Tanya's concerns laid somewhere else for her mind recalled her attitude towards Sivaangi. Harish scrunched his eyebrows before looking at the crowd with a smile.

"Anneyyy!" Sivaangi whined but the crowd cheered.

(Brotherrrr)

Sivaangi bowed slightly saying her thanks before side-hugging her brother and moved from there. One guy from the crowd yelled 'I love you Sivaangi' and Harish chuckled hearing that while Sivaangi whined and smacked her brother's arm. The girls saw it all.

That day Tanya learned one valuable lesson in life. Never judge a book by its cover.

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Hello makkaley, hope you all are doing good. Here's the first chapter. My plan for this story is to build it properly on the base level. Let's see where we end up in the next five chapters.

Do you have any guesses about who Sivaangi is in the story?

Please do stream Adipoli whenever you can. We are about to reach 93M soon. Let's push it to 100M at least by the end of half of this year. Keep them both in your prayers.

Thank you for reading,

Nan ~