Nenjamellam kadhal

Chapter 5

                                                   Sakthi

          The next day morning I woke up immediately after hearing the piercing sound of the alarm. Excitement wrung me tight all night which had kept me awake half of the night. I hurriedly made my way to the bathroom, scrubbing every inch of my body with shower gel and shaving. With steam trailing behind me, I entered my walk-in closet and dressed in a red and black kurta set.

          Grabbing my backpack and mobile phone, I went out in search of my parents. I found them engrossed in a business conversation at the dining table. Upon seeing me, my mom headed to the kitchen and returned with a plate of two dosa and chutney. She hand-fed me my favourite dosa and tomato chutney.

         My mom anxiously began speaking " Muthukutty correct a sapdu. Do not skip lunch. college la yarachum prechana panna vandhu odaney solluI don't understand why you won't share anything about your grandfather or father. Knowing your background will keep you safe."

         I narrowed my eyes at her and replied " Amma we have already discussed enough about this. I wanted to join the SPS, but you made a fuss and pushed me to join a college in chennai. In return, you promised that i could keep this secret. So please don't start again and I don't want to start it with you again. I don't want to use my thatha name for everything. Let me be normal at least here. We've already reached a compromise, so please, let's not talk about this again."

            My dad observed in silence, partly in fear of my mom accusing of him taking sides if he spoke in support of me. When I couldn't eat anymore, I pushed my mom's hands away, signalling I was done. My mom washed her hands and rejoined us.

          Ramya arrived ten minutes early to accompany me to the bus stop. Seeing her, my mother began giving instructions to her " Ramya avala pathuko, tea coffee ellam kudika vidadha, also I will send you the list from the Doctor. adhu edhumey sapda vidadha. College velia pona 2 perumey thania pogadhinga 2 perum sendhu ponga or engalukku call pannu. I will arrange for someone to accompany you or at least I will arrange transportation to drop you off. Don't use any form of transportation other than the college bus. if you missed it call us. I will send the driver or we will come ourselves"

         Ramya gave me a matikitomey look and addressed my mother " Chithi en 50km vegathla pesuringa avo enamo war ku pora madri ?? ellam na pathukuren.na epdi avala groom panren nu parunga.college mudikrapa namma sakthi a idhu ivlo independent a aitaley nu neengaley dhairiama avala thania viduvinga.ipo late agudhu nanga kelambharom.yaradhu bus stop la drop pana sollunga.or i can ask sakthi"

          With that, she grabbed her bag from the couch and headed for the entrance, I also grabbed my backpack and went to the along with her. My mom followed us to the entrance and asked my dad to wait until we boarded the college bus.

           My father was waiting in the car, and we drove to the bus stop. On the way, my father handed me a debit and credit card and said " Muthukutty take this and use them wisely. if you face any issues from seniors or anyone else, call me or Raghu. Stay safe. aparam semaya enjoy pannu, it's the best time to enjoy your life and friends. Your mother will ease up on you soon, I will talk to her. You have a few minutes until the bus reaches the bus stop. Have fun muthey. I will drop you off and leave. "

         He stopped the car near the bus stop and we bid him goodbye before getting down. At the bus stop, we joined Ramya's friends Priya, Nivetha, and Divya, whom I had become close to from their frequent visits to Ramya's place. I felt comfortable with her friends, and I don't know when it happened over the years, to avoid confusion between Sakthi and me they started calling me "Muthey".