Nenjamellam kadhal

Chapter-2

                                                                             Sakthi

Four years ago.....

I groggily silenced my alarm clock for the umpteenth time, struggling to open my eyes even halfway. I was going to join college this Monday, only 3 more days of late morning sleep. My mom Lakshmi entered my room with a sense of urgency "yei papa endri d it's already10,iniki ramya kuda shopping poganum nu sonnala avo vandhruva 11 ku.kelambi saptu po ellam table la iruku.bhatharama poitu va. I am going to Kavitha's home for Sumi's nalungu function with Revathi Aunty. Have your lunch at the mall with ramya.card irukula? Please remember to take it. call us once you are back home.Bye."

Kavitha and Revathy Aunty were my mom's childhood best friends. She walked with wheels on her heels for the past 1 month because of Sumi Akka's marriage.

I sat on the bed while hugging the pillow "Ya I have, bye mamma. Ne enaku varapo mango vangitu va, then amma pls lunch box vangitu va college ku eduthu poga, palasu veena poiduchu. na dress matumdha vanguven iniki".

My mom shouted from the main door "Sari na kelambharen bye. I have a key, we have some work at mandabham, Dad will pick me up this evening and we will be late to come home. Send me a list of things you need me to buy, we will buy them on our way back home. Now veedu lock pannitu un key ne eduthu poidu. now come and lock the door" She hurried off before I could get up to lock the door.

Dragging myself out of bed, I prepared to get ready. Ramya arrived as I was having brunch, patiently waiting for me to finish eating. We hailed a taxi and headed to the mall. Since we would be starting our first year of B.TECH the following week, we began by shopping for college essentials before moving on to clothing

While shopping for clothes, ramya made me try on each dress I picked for myself and insisted on me modelling them to ensure they weren't too revealing because according to her I was naïve and didn't know or could understand the thought process of hormonal boys at college and I could not dress appropriately.

Often she says " Sakthi, you can't understand the reason for half of the things I am telling you even if you tried. I like you being naïve and innocent. I always feel the urge to protect your innocence. But you also need to learn to dress and behave appropriately around the opposite gender.Ne sollra madri nalla pesuravanga ellam nallavanga ila d."

Then went on explaining her reason." Even a normal dress like a Kurti with a low neckline can make boys look at your cleavage. It's not your mistake. It's their primal instinct to get attracted towards women. Sometimes they can't resist their primal instinct. So let me select your outfits for my peace of mind.

Like this, she always felt protective towards me and often chastised me to dress and behave suitably when we went out. It is not that I dressed inappropriately; I just didn't pay much attention to the details like the necklines of my outfit and rarely considered how my attire might be perceived by boys.

After buying college supplies and clothes, both of us had lunch at the mall and went our separate ways to our respective homes. I collapsed on the bed, desperate for a much-needed nap after a long, tiring day at the mall.

Evening at home, I was lounging in the living room, watching random music videos, when my parents returned with bags of purchases. They handed me the things I had asked them to buy and headed to their room.

It was not that I was not close to my parents, it was just that I had a special bond with my Dada, my maternal uncle, and my mom's younger brother and thatha than my parents because even at my parents' home my dada was the one who took care of me and played with me during my childhood days majorly, also I spent all my holidays in my thatha home. apart from that whenever my parents had work they ditched me at my thatha home which was a frequent occurrence when I was very young. It got reduced when I hit my teenage but still, I spent most of my weekends and holidays at my thatha home and I have always felt comfortable with my dada like he is also my father.