1997

It was the framed picture on his bedside that he gazed at first before sparing a glance at his own reflection in the prudent square mirror on his dresser.

Harish combed his hair back and faced the mirror even as he heard his father switch on the radio. Despite being in his cubicle upstairs, he could visualise his father reclining on the rocking chair, closing his eyes for a smoke as he mentally clears his mind from the travails of being a government doctor before his next shift starts. He still had a few hours to go, and he would tend to the rose gardens next.

A very predictable, organised routine, unlike his son.

The only trait Harish inherited from his father would probably be his dry sense of humour and the need to keep his place tidy.

But unlike him, his father had a truckload of ambition and dedication, no surprise he was one of the most renowned doctors in the city. Harish meanwhile had completed B.Sc and kept postponing his fathers offer to get himself enrolled as an MBBS graduate.

Studying wasn't his problem, he was fascinated by all that he could learn in psychology but then it would engulf all his time. But he would miss his friends...

...And seeing off his Sandhya gracefully perched in the window seat of 16A.

He whistled lowly as he put on his shoes, his father could hear him leaving and he sensed that Harish was in a hurry by the way he was hopping on one leg, trying to put on his new shoes.

Chandrasekar cracked his eyes open just to acknowledge his son leaving and Harish smiled, waving at him happily. His father didn't ask him about his whereabouts so early in the morning because he knew that he was attending Computer classes for a course.

Heck, he probably had more than a hunch about Sandhya because of that unsent letters that he'd stored in the pocket of his shirt which he had carelessly tossed for the laundry.

About the computer classes, he wasn't lying. He was doing a course on C++ and COBALT.

But it was one hour later. He would get on 16A and ride to Women's Christian College with Sandhya--of course, he would be sitting in the gents' side and she would be perched obliviously by the window but it was still worth it.

Then he would catch another bus from her college to Mount Road to Balamurugan's Modern Computer Centre. None of his friends cared for his pursuit of knowledge and wouldn't accompany him to the classes. But they would catch up with him later for a masala tea from the local vendor and ramble on about the mundane things in each other's life.

Then they would roam on the beach for a while and shoot balloons down or take a dip in the sea.

Those activities were usually very conveniently unperturbed since everyone would be occupied with their daily travails of education and employment in the daytime.

Not them.

They were jobless. Literally.

His father's bungalow was located behind Beach Road and the terminal was only a stride away. He warily crossed the road to the terminal and checked either side of the road for signs of her potbellied father who would stand by the police jeep with a ferocious sneer.

In his four years of pursuing Sandhya, he had noticed that her father was a complete nutcase. He had seen Sandhya lashed with an echoing slap by her father once right there on the middle of the road for reasons unknown making her go beet red and meekly climb into his jeep.

Her father was of a very suspicious nature and often dropped before her college unexpectedly as if to see what she was up to.

No wonder Sandhya wore shapeless shalwars and adorned her face to a minimum. It could be her father's insecurity. Because all the girls in her college would only sport a pair of hipster jeans or fancy dresses. Some girls would adorn a pair of jet black sunglasses even in the evening. Her college was infamous for the most notorious batch of girls who didn't give a flying fig about anything around them.

Sandhya stood out like a sore thumb among them. Even while she sat with her friend Preethi yesterday, who was all dolled-up with a pair of shorts and a jean waistcoat, attracting the entire male population onboard with her shiny pair of model legs- he still couldn't take his eyes off Sandhya.

She was still the most fascinating creature he's ever laid eyes on. Her brown skin was naturally luminescent and she kept chewing her lower lip while Preethi kept prattling on. And when Preethi had turned away she had immediately whipped out her textbook for a quick revision.

Only then Harish noticed that she was a major in Psychology-just like him. And the realisation made his lips pull into a simper.

She was reading the Biological Basis of Behaviour by Anthony Curis.

He was still feeling self-pleased with this bit of information as he awaited her public bus which arrived at a quarter to seven. Only then he heard a shrill whistle behind him and turned irritably to the source of the sound.

He cursed internally noticing Jaganathan and Peter stalking towards him with a huge smirk. Of course, they knew about Sandhya but now that they had caught him in the act they would be determined to join him in the escapade. Anything to stave away boredom.

They would sing loudly, make gestures and irritate Sandhya which he didn't want. Sandhya liked to read classic Tamil poetry or if it was the day of her exam, she would be muttering answers to herself. Now, these jokers would come and disrupt her peace of mind.

He mentally wondered how he could avoid them but he still knew it was impracticable. Peter was already armed with a paper cone full of roasted peanuts, ready for the entertainment.

"Others?" Harish asked in an attempt to stall.

"Adhu rendum engayo poruka poiduchu..."

"Yedhu?" Harish asked amused.

"It seems Ravi got an appointment order from Aran's father's factory. They must've gone there.Adhunaala iniki namma mattum dhaa," he said, slinging his arm over Harish.

"Paravaalaye, namma aalunga theritaanga!"

He ignored their comeback as he already noticed the bus beeping its horn and he coyly escaped his friends' hold, rushing towards the bus excitedly, his computer guide in one hand.

"Dei!"

He already boarded the bus and noticed Jagan running towards him in desperate vigour. He was already half-gasping. Peter followed closely behind.

Harish rolled his eyes and laughingly extended his hand from the footboard for the duo. He was usually used to riding with his father in his Montego but thanks to Sandhya, he seemed to manage acrobatics even in crowded public transport now.

Speaking of Sandhya-where was she?

His eyes roved over the seats. You could usually spot in the first two rows and she wasn't there now.

"What? She's missing?" Jagan asked immediately scanning through the ladies thoughtfully, "Not you...Hmm, nope--not you--Too fat to be her--Definitely not you--Unnavida azhagu thaa--"

Peter lowered his friend's pointed finger and shook his head as the ladies looked indignant now.

Harish finally noticed her at the back of the bus, at the far end seat near the window. No book in hand and her eyes were glassy.

He quickly decided to sit in the seat opposite to hers with a wide distance so as not to make her uncomfortable.

His friends sat next to him with a loud plop, not noticing her tense posture. Her eyes immediately snapped up and zeroed in on Harish's.

It was a pleasant surprise to notice that there was no resentment in her eyes like during the first year when he was following her. She'd called him once and even advised him not to come behind her but he was so lost in the fact that he was in such close proximity that he paid no heed. She even confronted him another time and finally gave up realising that there was no getting rid of him.

He wasn't a fool. Her psychotic father was an inspector and she could snit him away any day but she didn't. She claimed that she was humane and wouldn't do that to anyone because her father was a savage animal but he liked to think otherwise.

She gazed at them half-bored and then sighed softly retreating to the window.

"Macha, she saw you! She just looked at you!" Jagan jumped and Harish rolled his eyes, asking him to shut up.

Peter was humming 'Kaadhal Rojave' and Harish took a moment to realise that he was gazing at the girl opposite him who was also smiling coyly at him.

The bus picked up pace as the streets of Madras flashed by. Peter offered him some roasted peanuts and he declined, the former then turned his attention to Sandhya critically. Jagan and his other friends had seen Sandhya at the terminal and had even cheekily called her Anni just to elicit a reaction but one could seldom expect one from his Sandhya.

Peter was seeing her for the first time and he was that kind of friend who believed that everything Harish fancies should be brought to his approval table.

Harish let him have his way since high school for picking his sports bikes, perfumes and clothes but sadly, he didn't have a choice but to accept his fascination with Sandhya.

But when he looked back at his companion, his gaze was actually confounded.

"Is that woman planning to be a nun or something, Mother Teresa madri?" he stage-whispered.

"Yen da?" Harish chuckled even though he knew the answer. She did not have a trace of makeup on her face and her only piece of jewellery were the microscopically minute studs adorning her ears and a finger ring on her wrist. Her long hair was disciplined into a single plait as she gazed out of the window, her jaw taut.

Sandhya was usually withdrawn in her shell but he could tell the difference in what sort of silence she was exuding.

At that moment, it seemed as if the gears were spinning in her head. It made him inquisitive yet there was nothing he could do to quench it.

He simply watched her as she turned away, her raven black braid tumbling down to her waist.

As soon as the bus moved into Harrow's road, his quota for the day was over. She was picking up her satchel to get down. It was never his intention to intrude on her personal space so when she was exiting from the back he made it a point to move to the other entrance and get down from there. She released the bus ticket that was carefully harrowed into her finger ring. He picked it up and smiled to himself. A new one in the collection.

Only then he noticed that she'd seen him do that and he stiffened. He sensed that she might come to give him a piece of her mind and he didn't want anything more than that.

It had been weeks since he heard her melodious voice. She deliberately limited conversations in his presence.

She hesitated for a moment and then pointed to Peter, motioning with a finger to go to her.

"Naana?" He asked excited and Harish threw him a look, dampening his enthusiasm almost immediately.

She nodded. It was reminiscent of the first time she'd called Harish that way a few years ago to tell him she wasn't interested.

Peter wondered if she'd called him to confess her feelings for his friend because she was feeling shy. Maybe he would select a nice mandap--

"Kumbakonam ku epdi ponum?" She asked and Peter frowned.

"Yen?"

She gave him a cold look and then glanced back at Harish who was pretending not to eavesdrop, "None of your business. Therinja sollunga."

"Seri, Kumbakonathula yenga?"

She chewed on her lip thoughtfully and that was when he realised that there was a lost child under the hard exterior of the callously cold girl. After all how old would she be? Twenty?

His friends and himself were also not more than twenty-three but they weren't as guarded as she was keeping in mind what Harish said of her family.

" I just want to know where I can find an interstate bus..."

"But the interstate buses are in the Nandanam terminal, not in Kumbakonam"

She frowned and then hastily opened her hit from the satchel, "Aana yen friend--"

"Inga irundhu vaera State thaa pogum ma..."

Her frown became ample now and only then Harish's laser eyes noticed that instead of books, it was stuffed with clothes and packet food. She stuffed the chit back in her unzipped bag and murmured a thank you.

"Dei, ava college ke pola!" Peter remarked as Harish watched silently as she crossed the threshold of her college and swiped up her shawl to mask her face.

He knew she was not a person who would voluntarily cut classes for amusement and besides she was walking off into the grove of trees all alone. He was curious about what it could be though he seemed to have a hunch.

It was probably the reason for all the tension emanating from her being.

As he cautiously neared her, hands tucked in his pockets, she looked up at him sensing the shadow of someone near her.

He thanked the stars that she didn't look threatened or wary, instead, he simply focused on him levelly, hands clutching the rear of her seat.

"Enga pora?"

"Therila, poren."

" Idhu inspector sir ku theriuma?" he asked softly, making her gaze turn fiery. It made a surge of emotion swell in his chest.

"Enna? Are you blackmailing me?"

"Not at all," he said sitting down, two seats away from hers. The terminal was abandoned and the only source of clamour was the whizzing of transport on the lane.

"In fact, I'm glad you're doing this. Eppo avar unna kayi neetti adhicharo, appove--"

He noticed her searching gaze and I quickly masked the rage in my expression.

"Anyway, enga poradha plan ippo?"

She smiled sardonically, "Yen? Do you want to come over there also and travel with me on the same bus every day?"

Wrong. Harish thought. Wrong.

"Un finals mudinjiducha?"

"Yesterday. Today is our farewell. So I'm going..."

"The who will collect your degree and gold medal. Unga appana?"

She looked conflicted for a moment and then sighed, "Just go, Harish."

"You know my name?" he asked, flattered.

" You all talk so loudly, of course, I do. And Preethi- your recommendation told me."

Then she shook her head and laughed, " I cannot believe I am having a normal conversation with you of all people? Idhu--"

Then she broke down and cried. It wasn't loud, it was just a few sniffles but he watched her with fascination as her nose turned into an adorable shade of pink.

He thought twice about it but blurted it out, risking the level of comfort between them.

"I know a place for you to stay."

She laughed, wiping her tears with her dupatta, "Shut up."

"Illa, I'm serious. Unga appaku enna theriadhu.I know a guest house and you can stay there until you arrange other accommodation. I know all your relatives are in Mumbai and you don't have enough money to go there."

That deflated her. He'd said the right thing to make her feel conflicted.

He could've offered her some money and helped her board a train to Mumbai but he didn't have it in him. He wasn't that much of a nice person either.

And for his pure reasons of selfishness, he had made such an offer and he felt nervous, wringing his fingers together as she stayed mum.

"I don't even know you."

That was not a bland no so he ventured on hopefully, "Know me now. I'm 22 years old and I lost my mother when I was a child. I only live with my father--He's not even a father, he's a good friend and if you meet him, he will keep you company with all his jokes and stories. I even have a labrador-Pappu which will keep sniffing new people but he's harmless. My other family are only all my friends and they already consider you a sister. If you don't want me around you during your stay--" he gulped convulsively "...I'll try not to bother you with my emotions."

She paused before replying but all of a sudden she went rigid and she quickly pulled him behind an advertisement hoarding of Santoor soap.

"Ssshhh... That's my father's constable," she bit her lip, " He has people all over Madras, ippo naan epdi poven?"

"Come with me," he replied firmly.

The constable pulled out his walkey-talkey and began to talk.

"Relax he thinks you are in college. He is probably waiting for you to come out so he can escort you."

She peered out and her lips murmured in silent prayer. In the moment of stress, her cheeks brushed against his shirt and he inhaled sharply, hoping his rapid heartbeats don't startle her.

"Do you want me to call Preethi?" he rasped.

"Epdi? There are no PCOs here..."

He sighed pulling out his Nokia 510, it seemed as if Preethi didn't carry her phone to college and it rang incessantly with no response. He sighed calling Abdul instead, issuing him a crisp instruction.

"My friends will drop you there and I'll wait for Preethi and bring her to you."

"No."

"No?"

"No," she confirmed.

"Appo ingaye iru. The constable won't budge from that place until college ends."

She sighed, "Ipo avara thaandi kuda poga mudiyaadhu."

"Yen mudiyaadhu?" He motioned for his at the end of the alley but they were in deep discussion, laughing to themselves. He put his hands together and clapped yet no avail. After he whistled shrilly, they looked behind them searchingly until they focused on the twosome hiding behind the hoarding.

Peter looked pleased as they made their way to them.

"Yenna da, correct pannita pola n--"

Harish stamped Jagan's foot down, making him swallow the rest of the sentence.

Harish extracted the loose overalls that embraced his white linen shirt and flung it to her. Jagan handed over his sports cap and peter sacrificed his shades. Because of her lack of accessories, the disguise of a young man with a strange sense of fashion worked. Abdul arrived in his ambassador car a few moments later and the strange lad walked out from behind the hoarding and easily slipped into the car like the rest of them.

Harish, Jagan and Peter squeezed into the front-seat, Jagan taking up most of the space. Peter was jammed in between the two of them. He glared at Jagan, "Evalo dhadava sonnen? Ennoda gym ku va nu?"

" Sorry da macha," Jagan replied sheepishly, shifting a little to offer some space to his annoyed friend.

Harish instructed him to drive to his residence while trying to reach Preethi's mobile once again. It was like a dream come true when they rolled into the gates of his bungalow, Sandhya was with him.

Technically, she only considered him as the lesser of two evils at that point in time but it didn't matter to him. Sandhya was willingly entering his house and he could gaze at her whenever he pleased.

"This is a huge guest house!" Sandhya commented, pulling the beanie off her head and shaking off her mane of raven-black hair that cascaded down like a waterfall.

"Enna, Guest house ah? Idhu avan veedu--"

Harish wanted to cup his palm onto his friend's mouth and drag him away into his closet for the time being but Sandhya had heard him and was more cautious now.

"What?" She demanded.

"Illa--Idhu en veedu--Adho, andha building guest wing tha..."

He returned her glare with what he assumed was an innocent smile of a cherub.

" Enna,velayadriya?" she folded her hands across her chest.

"Illaye. I told you I know a guest house. I just didn't tell whose neither did you ask."

Before Sandhya could reply, he requested his chauffer to escort her into the building and show her around while he decided to go fetch Preethi for her.

She would be comfortable around Preethi and would probably forget the fact that he'd lured her right into his den.

Preethi slid into his car easily, pulling out her stick of lip balm, "Enna ma, pick up ella panra. Ore pasam iniki? Nalla vela naan en driver ah kupudala."

He tossed her his pack of cigars and she caught it with a mutter of how much she'd needed it.

Preethi was also a part of the Madras Elite and he'd met her in Lion's Club during a game of Billiard. It was an advantageous coincidence that she also happened to know Sandhya as they both were a part of NSS in college.

He would sometimes find them among the other NSS members cleaning the beach where he'd eagerly join them or hold campaigns near the beach in support of collecting funds.

The time of the campaign was the first time Sandhya had touched him, pinning a badge against his flannel shirt. He'd felt a surge of electricity flow through his chest as she'd pinned it hurriedly and huffed at him, gesturing him to move for the nest person. He'd complied with a gentlemanly bow.

Shaking off the bittersweet reminiscence, he explained the delicate situation and how instrumental she would be in making Sandhya stay at his manor.

She simply laughed, " You're mad."

He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, offering nothing contradictory to her statement.

****

Preethi tossed her satchel in the living room.

"Where's appa? Does he know this?"

Harish shrugged in reply, " He's not done with his shift, he'll be here only in the evening."

"Hmmm."

For a moment, Harish was filled with apprehension as they strolled into the guest house. What if she had left?

But then the door cracked open and she was perched on the leather sofa as his friends surrounded her, talking in boisterously loud voices.

"God, she's actually here." Preethi muttered peering from behind him and then turned to him in all seriousness, "Avala vandhaala, illa nee kidnap panitiya?"

Harish rolled his eyes, "Does she look kidnapped?"

At that moment, the said person broke into a giggle, slapping her hands onto Jagan's.

"Okay, she doesn't," Preethi agreed while Harish's gaze softened. She had never smiled like that for h--

"Oh, get over it! Mudila da saami!" Preethi said, yanking his sleeve and pushing him inside with her.

The door clamoured as Harish clumsily banged against it. He then straightened his collar and smiled at Sandhya.

Sandhya's smile turned into a full-fledged grin noticing Preethi who already opened her arms wide to envelop her friend in a hug. Sandhya dived straight into her arms, while Preethi patted her hair comfortingly.

"Appa..." She muttered in a muffled tone from Preethi's neck.

"Appa?" Preethi prodded but Sandhya released her, looking over her shoulder.

Preethi didn't need to turn around to know that Harish was pretending to do something else but was all ears for this.

"Boys, get out," Preethi commanded and Jagan looked cheated with his pack of roasted peanuts. Abdul and Peter walked out with a smiley ball that they kept passing between each other. Harish hesitantly, left the room at the end, closing the door behind him.

"Dei, Leave her alone for some time. She'll get comfortable...Namma engayavathu suthitu varlam..."

Harish shook his head, his thought solely focused on the apprehension on her face as he left the room, "Neenga ponga da, I'll--Stay here and see if she wants something."

"If you keep hanging around her like this, shell know we all are unemployed vetti officers macha."

Peter coughed, "That she already knows for the past four years when he kept following her in that paalapona public bus."

Harish chuckled, taking it in good humour. He was already exhilarated that his angel was just an arm's length away and he could do what he'd been meaning to do for a long time. He could propose to her-not marriage, he knew she was an ambitious girl and he wouldn't stand in her way, yet all he wanted was the assurance that she would become his one day.

No matter how far in the future that day would be.

He remembered the number of times he'd attempted to voice his emotions to her but when she would turn to him questioningly, he would lose all reason and would resort to simply staring at her, mesmerised.

He regarded her through the sliver in the door. She too pursed her lips in between her conversation with Preethi and gazed back at him silently.

It was more than a moment for which she held his gaze and then averted her eyes.

He looked away as well, feeling content and turned only to meet the gaze of his annoyed friends.

"Variya, illaya?"

"Varen, varen!"

He pulled Peter towards him and punched his bicep playfully, "Enna, body building ella?"

Jagan followed behind inconspicuously with a can of soda that he'd picked off the kitchen counter, "Yen da kekura, he's always in the gym nowadays, yenna vera va va nu ore torture."

Harish nodded, impressed. Peter was naturally the suavest person in the gang who didn't necessarily require a musculature body to attract the opposite gender. Despite being a few inches shorter than himself, women flocked to him like a swarm of bees to nectar. And unlike Harish he enjoyed female company as well, charming girls into coffee dates only to get fatigued of them much too soon.

Soon, the trio squatted down in the sand at their usual spot , watching the waves crash at the shore. Harish dragged a lone finger through the sand.

Peter dragged his knees upwards, hugging it to his chest, "Do you feel as if the whole world is moving and only we are at the same place?"

"That's the enjoyment of it, we are enjoying life while others are just working, taking care of kids, boring!" Jagan said, "Namma friends ku kuda ippo neraya vela irukum factory la, too much!"

"Illa da, this life is what I wanted. Enga family-conservative Catholics. Oru cinema ku kuda po vida maatanga. Appove, I thought, when I move to hostel I'll live my life. And I have now for two years. But it feels--I don't know. I don't feel anything."

Harish aimed a pebble into the sea and it rippled twice before splashing into the water, "Aama ne--" He caught Peter's wrist in a sign of forewarning as his wandering gaze noticed someone behind him.

"Don't look right away," he muttered under his breath, "He's standing over there, Sandhya's father."

"Who? where?" Jagan said, quickly turning away until he noticed him at a corn vendor's shop.

Peter too had to have a look to quench his curiosity drawing the inspector's attention. His eyes zeroed in on them and his brows furrowed curiously at their undivided attention.

Harish slapped his forehead, " Thanks da. Enakku theva idhu."

"Avarukku yen da namma bayapadanum? We're just youngsters on a beach," Peter protested.

"As if he cares, you both drew his attention by staring at him."

Harish tensed as his eyes narrowed and he stalked towards them with a purpose.

"Ayyo, inga thaa varaan da!"

He didn't have enough time to stop Jagan from panicking because a poster was shoved in front of his face. He blinked recognising the Missing poster of the girl that he had safely given refuge in his house.

In the picture, her face was rounder and she had jasmine flowers on her head. Probably an older picture from her school days.

He didn't flinch simply shaking his head in a no while Jagan shifted uncomfortably. The police officer was observing them with his hawk-like eyes and only Jagan's discomfiture was evidence enough.

"You have seen her," he commented at Jagan and Peter and Harish threw him a look, praying he would not give them away.

"Bus stand la paathuruken, aana I don't know her," he replied.

"Endha bus stand la?"

"Errr..."

"Sorry sir, my mother told us to be home before six, we'll be going now," Peter said, slowly getting up. But he sneered, pulling out his pistol and aiming at them, "NO!" he bellowed.

This psycho. Harish thought raising his hands above his head.

"GET IN MY JEEP!"

"For what?" Peter demanded bravely and the man aimed at the sky and shot, alarming a few crows in the distance, the flock of which fluttered away. Using the chaos as a distraction, they began to run.

If running in the sand was hard enough, they had a psychotic police officer at their heels firing away at them so they had to keep ducking to avoid getting shot. The only fact to their advantage was that his pot-bellied figure did not allow him to go any further. Harish straddled his bike and his friends joined him almost toppling the vehicle over in a hurry and they were gone, leaving the man behind in a puff of smoke.

They heard the sirens on his jeep behind them and Harish laughed at his assumption that he could catch up with them. They knew the streets of Madras all too well and he zig-zagged into narrow lanes, trapping the jeep and losing sight of it eventually.

By the time they reached home, they realised that they had lost track of him and they gasped as they neared the glass doors.

Chandrasekar paused in mid-conversation with the new girl as he glanced at his doorstep.

"Unga appa va na ennanu solla!" Peter gasped immediately catching Sandhya's attention.

"Enga appava? Where did he see you?"

"He just tried to arrest us without a warrant!" Jagan said, clutching his side in the pure exhaustion of the chase. Harish panted softly, gazing straight at Sandhya.
"What" His father demanded.

"Nothing appa.She has ran away from home to pursue her career.That is why her father is acting like this."

"Have some water--You all are okay?" He enquired gently. After they nodded obediently, he simmered down,his smile.making his eyes crinkle at the corners,
"You've given this girl refuge in my absence, it's a good thing but Madras is not safe for her now. So I have decided to send this girl to her mother's relatives in Mumbai tomorrow morning," he patted her hair in a fatherly gesture.

Harish's friends assessed the flicker of emotion in his face and turned away, not knowing what kind of solace they could offer him.

Harish wordlessly left the room and jogged upstairs to find solitude in his bedroom baffling his father.

"Enna achu da avanuku?"

"Onnu illa uncle, he's just tired," Preethi assured him.

He heard Preethi's orders that he open the door that very instant but he didn't comply holding his pet at arm's length and then gathering the ball of fur in a warm hug. Pappu woofed and licked his master's face.

While his dog continually began to prance on the mattress, he unzipped his pillow and deposited Sandhya's last bus ticket into the collection.

While he stared off into space for some time, feeling an unsettling weight in his chest, he heard a soft knock on his door. Twice.

He sat up, having a gut instinct that it was Sandhya. He didn't know how but he just sensed it.

But why would she come even two feet close to him? According to her, he was just a random stalker on a public bus.

He curiously pulled the door ajar to reveal Sandhya. Dressed in plain white pajamas.

It was a beautiful sight.

He didn't know what he should say because he did not know the purpose of her visit.

"Were you asleep?" she asked hesitantly.

"No," he rasped and then cleared his throat.

"Please come in," he offered and sensing her irresolution, he pointed out to the bamboo swing in his balcony.

Sandhya shook her head with a half-smile, taking a seat on the edge of his bed.

"We're past all these formalities, don't you think?" She quirked a brow up sarcastically, "When you jumped into my window and everything to profess your undying love for me?"

He felt as if she had slapped him and he stood by the edge of the bed, offering nothing in condonation of his act. She patted the place opposite to him, gesturing for him to sit down.

He complied warily.

"What is with you da? You have a beautiful family and great friends, why do you do this?"

It was a purely rhetorical question because she didn't wait for his reply, "At first I noticed you and thought you were passing your time. Then your persistency irritated me. After a point of time, it became habitual for me to notice you and deliberately ignore you, hoping you will give up but no. You kept at it. Do you remember the time when you gave me a letter and I threw it away? If you hadn't been distracted by it and gone to pick it up, my father would've shot you at first sight. Again that wasn't out of love, it was humanity."

"And then you kept popping up at NSS camps, donating money and cleaning beaches and for what? Just because I was there? I was starting to think of you as a source of amusement, nothing else."

Harish shrugged again, tossing a novel off of his bed.

"Ippo ethuvum solla maatiya?"

"Naa enna sonnalum,it won't condone what I did. It wasn't the best way to approach a girl but it was the only way I knew to reach you."

Sandhya sighed and covered his large hands with hers. He jerked as if electrocuted but remained still.

Her lips pulled into a simper, " I've seen enough men in my life to know what their motive actually is. I've seen my father, some brutes on the bus,a few cheeky boys in my locality, my supposed mora paiyan-- It took me not more than five months to figure out that you weren't one of them."

Harish locked eyes with hers silently.

"But that didn't matter to me,because I was tired of allowing man by man in my life,each of them peeling away the little freedom I had. That is why my only aim was to study and somehow escape my fathers clutches and live on my own terms. Now that opportunity has presented itself for me."

Harish pulled his hand from under hers, "Nee solla vendiyadha sollita Sandhya. I know what you're trying to say. That you and I part ways and live our lives.I'll just tell you one thing.Just as important as your career is for you,you are for me. I can't--forget you."

Sandhya shook her head, "No,that is not what I was going to say. As I said, my independence is what comes first.Now I have it. It's almost within my reach. Only when I stand on my own two feet, I can distract myself with other commitments in life. So you give me a year's time...I'll find myself a job.Then when the hostile situation simmers down in Madras, let's date."

Harish pulled his unsteady legs off the bed and turned away, "You're--Lying.You're saying this so that I won't follow you to Mumbai, illa?"

"Illa Harish. I really didn't know a man in love can do so much selflessly. The only man I've known all my life is my father who treated my mother worse than garbage. But ippo nee idellam panradhu--I want to understand your love, I might not love you now but I'm sure I will."

He felt her hand poised on his shoulder firmly, as if to reassure him and gently guided his cheek to her lips and placed a soft peck, "This is for giving me a place to stay today, thank you."

She was going to pull back but he instinctively clutched her wrist and tugged it to his chest.

He didn't know how many moments had passed since he had been staring at the nervous alarmed expression on her face. To not startle her right away, he picked her wrist up very delicately and placed a gentle kiss on her wrist, "And thank you...For existing."

Sandhya's expression was a mixture of surprise and amusement as she swallowed a chuckle, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him into her embrace.

The proximity and her scent almost had his life.

He stayed still with considerable effort, breathing into her scent and attempting to regulate his racing heartbeats that almost threatened to jump out of his chest.

"Goodnight Harish," she mumbled pulling away, "When I come back, I hope you will be ready."

When I come back.

When I come back.

When I come back.

With that promising sentence hanging in the air, she left the room closing it discreetly behind her.
The door groaned under the pressure or the hinges while he returned to his bed, numbly grasping the novel in his hand only to spend a sleepless night with his pet curled up by his side.

It was surreal that he'd wished upon a falling star and now it was almost in the palm of his hand.
Her words rang incessantly in his ears as he twisted restlessly on his bed with a dopey smile across his face.

After a whole night of contemplation, he decided what he would do.

Given the fact that he wouldn't let her go when he would see her off in the airport it would be better to not see her off after all.

He picked up his fountain pen and hastily scribbled off the note on a piece of paper,

Dear Appa,
I'm going to Coimbatore to attend the selection interview for the posting in Madras. I will be back in a week's time. I will miss you and my friends but I know this will make you proud. And I can also provide for my spouse. I'm not informing you of my departure because you will insist in joining me even though your work restrains you. I don't want to hold you back from what you love. Similarly, I love a girl and wish to wed her. I hope you will not hold me back and understand me. Please drop her safely at the airport. I might not be with her but my heart will.

Tossing the note under the sheets, he clumsily adjusted his tie feeling it to be a new beginning. He grabbed his luggage and tiptoed through the backyard where Preethi and Peter were awaiting him in their car.

The sky was a shade of inky black, indicating that it did not dawn as of yet.

"Are you sure da?" Preethi asked as the car roared to life.

"Never been more sure about anything," Harish answered, laying back on the cushions, hugging the framed picture of his father and himself close to his heart, breathing in deeply as the buildings flashed by.

A new beginning.

It would bridge two of the most important people in his life.