You Are Missing In My Heart!

Part 10

The Knock from the door interrupted the conversation between Abhinay and Mithun.

“Yes.. Come in,” Abhi answered the door.

The door opened in response and the person stepped in saw the two sitting at the sofa with mocking eyes.

“God save my company! You both doesn’t seem to have any intention of developing it.. Chilling out and chatting during work hours,” exclaimed Arundati in a sarcastic tone and smirked!

“Think of the devil and there it is,” said Mithun in a loud wishper and Abhinay laughed.

“Anna.. he is calling me a devil and you are laughing?” Arundati pouted at her brother and complained.

Abhinay switched his expression to an angry one and slapped Mithun on his back and gave a high-five to his sister.

“Enough enough.. now tell me what brought you here,” asked Mithun.

“I came here to drop Anita” announced Arundati and both the men exclaimed in chorus, “Anita?”

“Yes, your college friend, Abhi” she clarified.

“But, where did you meet her?” interrupted Abhinay.

“At our home!” she announced

“What?!” again both the men asked in shock.

“Now, why are both acting so weird? Looks like she dropped by to see Mom.. I happened to be at our home and she was starting to office and I offered to drop her.. what is so surprising about all this?” she raised her eyebrows looking at her brother and husband.

“Nothing Aru.. I didn’t expect she would visit our home.. that’s all! Nothing else” Abhi managed.

“Whatever.. Ok am getting late.. just came to say ‘hi’ to you both,” saying so she walked towards the door and said, “And Abhi.. she seems to be a nice person.. Mom likes her,” and winked before she opened the door and disappeared out.

Abhinay slapped on his forehead and fell on the Sofa and Mithun sat near him resting his face on his palms.


Abhinay was driving his car towards home and as usual, his mind was playing the incidents happened after he met Nethra. He thought about the day she declined his offer to drop her and in that anger he skipped the meeting with Madhavan and avoided meeting her. Now, he cursed himself for missing an opportunity to meet her. When he crossed the road he met her, his head involuntarily turned to check the spot where she was standing and his heart sank as she was not there. He continued driving unaware of the luck that awaited him on his way.


Nethra stood at the bus stop near her office waiting for an auto to go home. Her mobile phone rang. Seieing her father’s number she answered, “Appa.. What a surprise! Calling at this time?”

“Neethu ma.. are you alright? Where are you? in office?” her dad enquired in a worried tone.

“Yes pa.. am alright! But what happened? Why are you tensed?” she asked

“Kannamma.. didn’t you see the news? There are riots happening across Bangalore against the Supreme Court judgment in the Cauvery water issue. They are burning TN registration vehicles. You don’t go outside alone.. you don’t know kanada also” he explained still worried.

“Don’t worry appa.. I am in office only.. I will not go outside alone.. will call you and confirm once I reach home safely,” she lied. She knew her parents will be much more worried if they knew that she was already standing in the bus stop. She turned her head both sides and noted the street. As far as her eyes could see, there were no doubtful activities or outbursts. When she was debating whether to walk back to the office or to take an auto home, she noticed a black Honda Accord pass by. She remembered the day when a similar Honda Accord stopped beside her and Abhinay offered her lift, but today this Honda Accord did not stop. 'May be it’s not him or he didn’t want to get insulted anymore' she thought and somehow the thought disappointed her.


Abhinay noticed Nethra standing at the bus stop and his spirits soared automatically like a fresh water spring from underneath rich mountain rocks. Though he badly wanted to stop by and talk to her, he controlled himself and continued driving as he did not want her to misunderstand him. While he continued, he thought ‘maybe I should have just stopped and spoke to her and started without offering to drop..’ but again his brain argued ‘but wouldn’t that be more awkward.. as if telling her that am not offering you lift coz of your insult..’ as he was driving lost in his thoughts, the street in front of him caught his attention.

A bike was burning and there were some five people who were walking away from it. The cloth around their necks made in the color of a political party flag and the way they walked indicated that they were the ones who had set the bike on fire. There was a car a few feet away which was making a U-turn hastily and these guys were running towards it to catch it. Abhi could see that the car had a TN registration. He remembered hearing about the SC judgment and the protests in response to it. He had forgotten all those in his otherwise busy day. Suddenly his mind flashed the image of Nethra standing in the bus stop and he hit the brake hard. The car screeched to a stop. He reversed the car and made a sharp U-turn and sped past to the place where he saw her. His mind was in turmoil. He thought of umpteen scenarios in which she might have got affected. ‘What if she had started from there and got caught in some other unsafe area?’ ‘What if some outbursts happen in the street that she was standing’ He cursed himself again for not stopping his car. ‘I should have asked her..’ He prayed that she should be safe. With all this million thoughts and a five minute drive which seemed like forever to him, he reached the bus stop. To his great relief and surprise, Nethra was still standing there. She tried stopping an auto but he declined and left. Without any further delay, he reached near her and stopped the car.

Nethra was also equally surprised to see Abhinay stepping out of the car. ‘Think of the devil and there it is!’ she thought and struggled not to laugh at the thought.

“Hello Abhinay” she greeted. Somehow she felt happy seeing him and she herself was surprised by her happiness.

“Hello Nethra..” he greeted back and said, “are you heading home? You come with me coz..” he could not finish. She hastily interrupted him, “that’s fine Abhinay.. no problem.. I will take care.. you please carry on” she said in a sweet manner.

“Nethra.. the situation in the city is not good.. there are outbursts in many areas” he explained in a controlled voice.

“Oh ya.. but I can book a call taxi and go.. not a problem.. you don’t worry..” before she could finish Abhinay lost all his calm.

“What do you think of yourself? Or about me? Do I look like some kind of a flirt or a stalker to you? Even in this worse situation you prefer to trust an unknown call taxi driver better than me? Do you think am lying to you.. Go.. Walk a couple of streets from here and see for yourself.. the street is burning. I just don’t understand..

Listen Madam.. on any other normal day I would have never bothered to stop by when you have already made your preferences clear the other day. Even today at first I didn’t stop but after seeing the riots I couldn’t bring myself not to help you knowing that you might get into danger.” Though he did not raise his voice, anger seethed in his every word.

Nethra stood there wide-eyed too stunned to react. Seeing her face, he sighed and said, “If you still prefer to book a call-taxi, please carry on” and walked towards his car.

It took a few seconds for Nethra to come out of her trance and she called, “Abhinay! I will come”

He just nodded his head and stood near the half opened door without getting into the driver seat, waiting for her. Nethra walked to the other side and opened the front door and they both got in at the same time.

Abhinay started the car and drove without saying a word. An awkward silence settled like a fog inside the car which suffocated them both. Abhinay’s hand automatically reached for the music system and it played –

“Avalukkum enakkum naduvinile thirai ondru therinthathu

Edhirinile mugamoodi aninthaal therinthidumaa..

Oho..Muzhumadhi avalathu mugamaagum..”

(Translation - There is a screen between her and me..

If you wear a mask, how the real face can be seen)

(Contd.)

 

Thanks a lot sgandiva!!

 

Part 11

Abhinay’s face was carefully devoid of any expressions as he drove his car, though internally he was horrified about the fact that he had just shouted at Nethra and worried about what she might have thought about such an outburst. Though, he was truly upset when she stubbornly declined to come with him, he felt that he should have dealt the matter with a little more composure. He neither could bring himself to turn and look at her nor could find his voice to start a conversation.

Nethra watched Abhinay’s expressionless face out of the corner her eyes and how his hands had clutched the steering wheel. Somehow in an unexplainable way his mood affected her. She thought of his rage a few minutes ago. Surprisingly, for reasons she herself could not fathom, his anger amused her instead of irritating her and a small smile played at the corner of her lips. Something he said in his outburst also caught her attention. ‘Did he say that he did not stop at first but came back after seeing the riots? So, it is his car that I saw earlier when it passed by? So he passed by earlier assuming, of course correctly, that I will not come and yet he decided to come and check when he thought I might be in danger?!’ something warmed inside her at the thought.

“I, now, truly believe that you are not a stalker and you have never stalked me”, Nethra announced breaking the uncomfortable silence inside the car.

Abhinay almost jumped hearing her voice and confusion broke through the stone mask of his face. He suddenly turned to her side and was astounded to find her trying hard to suppress a smile and how that little effort made her face much more beautiful. Suddenly what she just told sank in and he hit on the brakes. He had not asked where she was living and he was just driving ahead lost in his thoughts. So, she was indicating that since he did not know where she lived, he could not have possibly been stalking her. He chuckled at her comment and was also surprised by the effort she took to lighten the atmosphere between them.

“Just going ‘out of the way’ to prove things”, he replied with a smile.

Nethra laughed at his reply and he joined her. She was impressed on how fast he recovered and understood her comment and how he confirmed that in his response. He stressed the ‘out of the way’ to indicate that he understood that he was driving the wrong way. So, he was saying he drove the wrong way to prove her that he did not know where she lived.

As both of them finished laughing, he asked, “Sorry Nethra, where do you live?”

“Ashok Nagar, near Garuda mall” she said.

“Oh ok” he nodded and started the car.

Nethra looked out of the window as he drove and this time the silence between them, with the melodies playing at the background, was just comfortable.

As Abhinay took a left, he was stopped by cops and was asked to take an alternate route as the road ahead was blocked. He turned on the map in his phone and drove ahead. When they were faced by the same blockade in two other alternative routes, Nethra grew impatient.

“What can we do now? Looks like all the roads are blocked”, She said in a panic-stricken voice.

“Don’t worry Nethra.. we will see”, he assured her and dialed Mithun.

“Hey maabhi.. we are held up on the way to Ashok Nagar da.. I am at the moment in Domlur.. check for a safe route to reach there da..”, he said in a urgent tone.

“We uh? Who?”, Mithun asked and Abhinay could see Mithun raise an eyebrow coyly as he asked this.

“Yes da.. can you check?”, Abhi said ignoring his question.

“No straight answer means.. oh is it Nethra with you?”, Mithun exclaimed.

“Yes yes.. most of the routes are blocked”, again Abhinay gave a indirect reply.

“Dai.. from when did you start the driver job da? Hiding everything from me..”, Mithun was all surprises

“Yes da.. Could you please check now”, Abhi said now between his clenched teeth.

“Ok ok.. on it buddy”, said Mithun laughing and disconnected the call.

Nethra’s mobile rang as if waiting for Abhinay to finish his call.

“Tell me Aarthi..are you safe?”, Spoke Nethra and listened to the other end and her face turned pale as she listened.

“What happened?”, Abhinay asked as she finished the call.

“Uhmm.. My flat-mate.. she is staying at her friend’s place it seems.. as she couldn’t reach our area..”, She said hesitating.

“Then its not safe for you to stay alone Nethra.. is there a friend with whom you can stay?”, he inquired. His tone sounded truly worried.

“No its fine.. if I reach the apartment then its safe only”, she insisted.

He again started the car and drove trying to find another alternative route.

“Am sorry.. its unnecessary trouble for you..”, she said in a small embarrassed voice.

“Of course not! I am not in any hurry.. U relax Nethra..”, he said in a soothing tone.

Abhinay’s mobile rang again and he saw his Mom’s number on the screen.

He turned on the car Bluetooth speaker as he was driving and Samyuktha’s worried tone filled the car.

“Abhi.. Abhi.. where are you..?”

“Ma.. am on my way.. now why tension?”, he replied in the usual teasing tone for his mother.

“Why eh? Did you not hear any news… the city is burning and you are casually asking why am tensed.. do you have any concern that I will be worried.. did you care to call me and inform..”, she went on and Nethra smiled hearing Samyuktha’s affectionate accusations and Abhinay turned towards Nethra and winked at her as he replied his Mom, “Maa.. enough.. enough.. am safe and I am here to drop a friend at her place..”, he said.

MeaNethra was caught off-hand at Abhi’s casual wink. She was taken aback by the charm that wink added to his face. Of course, she knew it was an innocent wink made regarding his mother’s talk, yet, her heart skipped a beat at the gesture.

He was still talking to his Mother, “No ma.. she is staying with her friend and most of the routes to her area is blocked so we are trying to find a way to break-in..”, he said casually and at that very moment Samyuktha said something which Abhinay didn’t dare to think about.

“Abhi why don’t you bring her to our home.. If that area is not safe.. its not good for her to go there na.. You are telling that she is also Tamil.. its all the more dangerous.. so better ask her to come here.. why take unnecessary risk..”, she said a worried tone.

If Samyuktha was near him, Abhi would have hugged her tight in joy, he commanded all his control not to grin and said casually, “Of course Maa.. If Nethra doesn’t mind, even I feel it would be better if she is not alone..”, and eyed Nethra.

Before Nethra could open her mouth to deny, Samyuktha said, “You give the phone to her Abhi.. I will talk.. She can stay with me”

Abhinay raised his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders at Nethra in a can’t-help-it gesture and said, “talk Amma… you are already on speaker”

“Oh.. but what is her name by the way..”, she asked just realizing that she didn’t know the name of the person whom she was inviting.

“Nethra Maa..”, Nethra replied before Abhinay and smiled at Samyuktha’s care and worry for an unknown girl. Motherly instinct she thought and smiled again at it. She was reminded of Nirmala from the moment she started hearing Samyuktha’s voice. Nirmala was more soft-spoken and mature while Samyuktha sounded childish and bold, yet, she reminded her of her mother.

“Hello Nethra.. you better come home to me with Abhi da.. don’t take risk ma”, she said and the ‘come home to me’ warmed Nethra’s feelings.

“It’s ok ma.. I..”, she hesitated not knowing what to say and Samyuktha continued, “Why are you hesitating da.. did that boy tell you that I am a demoness with a horn”, she asked in a serious tone and both Abhinay and Nethra laughed and Abhinay said quickly, “I didn’t Mom.. May be she assumed that hearing you talk..”

Nethra interrupted, “No no.. not like that Maa.. you sound such a sweet person..”

“You are lying Nethra”, Samyuktha said in a sad tone.

“Of course not Maa.. I promise.. you are sweet and you remind me of my mother..”, she assured with a smile. She liked talking to her.

“Then come to this Mother.. Now its settled.. Abhi both of you come straight to home..”, saying so she disconnected without waiting for any responses.

Nethra could not help but smile at the way how Samyuktha did not give her a chance and she did not want to disappoint her, but she was also hesitant on what Abhinay might think. Before she could think or say anything Abhinay spoke,

“Come Nethra.. It didn’t strike me, I should have invited you myself.. Don’t worry, you will be safe and as you can see.. my Mom is fun to be with..”, he finished with a smile thinking of his Mom and though his every cell waited for Nethra’s reaction, he maintained his composure.

“umhmm.. I have to inform my parents”, she said.

‘Wow.. that means an yes… OH MY GOD..’ Abhinay jumped and rejoiced inside and said, “Of course, better call them once we reach home. Mom can also talk to your parents. That will assure them that you are safe..”

Nethra was again impressed by his thoughtfulness and his concern for her parents’ feelings. ‘He is naturally a caring and thoughtful person.. this will not come in a day rather this is a reflection of his character’ she thought and they both sped towards Abhinay’s home.

The music continued –

“Ennodu vaa en veraikkum..

En veettai paar ennai pidikkum!

Ival yaaro yevalo theriyadhe..

Ival pinnaal nenje pogadhe!”

(Translation – Come to my Home with me,

See my Home and you Will like me!

Who is this girl, I am not sure,

Oh my Heart, don’t go behind her!)

(Contd.)