This chapter is a continuation of the previous work En Arunthozhi: 2.
Disclaimer: This is a work of FICTION.
As always, there's a note at the end of this chapter.
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En Arunthozhi: 3
Ashwin kept staring at the WhatsApp chat window. Should he text Sivaangi? He had been putting off reaching out to his wife the past week largely out of fear. What would he even tell her? Would she even be willing to listen to him? Hadn't she given up hope and moved on? His eyes involuntarily moved to the envelope that he had tossed haphazardly near the couch when he entered the house.
Sighing, he exited out of her WhatsApp chat window and walked to the couch. Sitting down, he picked up the envelope, which definitely looked and weighed like a stack of papers. She had given up on him, hadn't she? Why wouldn't she? The past 8 months had been brutal for the both of them in many ways. Turning over the envelope to the right side, he spoke to himself "naanaa kekalenaalum, Nee Enna oru naal vittutu dhaana poirupa".
As if the envelope burnt his fingers, he quickly dropped it on the coffee table. May be he wasn't ready to give up yet. Picking up his phone once again, he typed the first thing that came to his mind.
நான் நிழலில்லாதவன் தெரியாதா
என் நிழலும் நீயெனப் புரியாதா?
(Naan Nizhal illaadhavan theriyaadhaa
En nizhalum Nee ena puriyaadha?)
He knew she expressed her emotions through music and her current playlist would always be indicative of her current state of mind. But, something stopped him from hitting send yet. How do you go from "Enaku divorce kudu" to this, his mind admonished him. Besides, he wasn't this person.
Deleting the text, he typed again
Hi ma, have you reached? Are you being safe? Where are you staying? Company flat? Olunga sapdriya? Weather appropriate clothes eduthutu ponela? I hope you decided to go for the Omega implementation. I hope Varun or Nandini accompanied you? How's that coming along? Is Bryan's team being supportive? Rolex 2 release date confirm aagirum in 2 weeks. First single response was better than expected, kettiya?
Re-reading the text for the fifth time, he told himself "kekradhae ivlo late ah, idhula edho kozandhaiya kekra maari pencil eduthiya, rubber eduthiya nu". Deleting the text, he exited out the app entirely.
Frustrated about his condition but also wanting to check up on her, he called Priya.
"Hi Priya, busy ah? Two mins pesalamaa" he started hesitantly. "Sure, sollunga", Priya replied with a muffled voice. She was probably resting up in the on-call room, Ashwin wondered.
"How's Sivaangi? Reach aagitaala? Is everything ok?" he asked cutting right to the chase.
Exhaling loud, Priya replied "unga wife dhaana? Neenga Ava kittaye keka vendiyadhaana? Wife ngradhu marandha maari, have you forgotten her number? WhatsApp panna vendidhaana? Enkitta edhuku kekreenga?" .
As Ashwin hesitated for a few seconds on what to tell his wife's best friend, a person he had become friends with too over the years, Priya had cut the call.
