Meant to Be note on page 162 - Page 51

Meant to be

part 26

The Sun had stretched its arms lazily and sneaked out behind the hills...dawn had chased all the darkness of the world gradually and canvassed its red orange hue on the vast blue sky...sun rays penetrated the thick mist and tried very hard to heat up the icy cool air of Coonoor...

A crew of people gathered in an open area standing in order...dressed up in their pair of tracks and shirts..

Their face clearly showed the tiredness of early morning wakeup which was alien to most of them...their faces were sleepy and grumpy..

Karthik looked in Raji's direction expecting her to look at him back..but she was insensitive and not even sparing him a glance...

Last night's event's flashed in his mind like a 70mm movie and as a reflex a foolish grin appeared on his lips ..

Raji could felt his piercing gaze on her..but she gathered every ounce of her self control to not look into his side..

Though both looked calm and normal outside but on the contrary their hearts were burning with the sensation they had experienced last night...as if the fire under the ash..

Karthik keeps on chanting in his mind.. "Come on Raji ..Thirumbi paaru..Thirumbi paaaru..."

At last she couldn't control herself anymore and looked at him for a brief moment..Their eyes met ..an unvolunteered blush rose on her cheeks...

Raji could see the contented smile on his face..but her own eyes reflected confusion and restlessness...

Karthik was confused to see such a strange expression from her..

Before he could comprehend that look further..she tore her gaze away from him..After that she never looked at him.. leaving him in a pool of confusion..

"Why she is looking restless..is she regretting...?or was it related to the phone call ..?andha nerathula avalukku yaar phone panni irupaa..?"All he had was only unsolved puzzle..and he looked at the direction of the source of his confusions...

She had seemed to be listening to the instructions with at most concentration as if her life depends on that talk..

The man in his blue jersey giving some instructions to them..

"Guys, now I am going to split u in groups..each team having four members...each team will be given a flag...what u have to do is.. to climb up the hill behind me and plant the flag given to u on the hill top..and have to take away the flag which has already been rooted their..come back and hand over that flag to me..Which team make it first will be the winning team..this hill is not that much steep so it will also be easier for the girls to climb .

The previous record timing is 120 minutes..let's see any of u can break the record..now u can proceed..my assistant will be coming along with u for help..and don't hesitate to call me or the doctor in case of emergency...

Now the time starts for u..."

Fortunately KRVL are one team..and they started climbing the hill...

"Dai..machaan..vidiya kaalaila yezhuppi vittu ippadi malai yaera vakkuraane...indha trainer pona jenmathula kandipaa malai yerura monkey aa dhaan irundhirupaan..."Vishnu was grumbling..

"Pesaamaa vaa Vishnu..pesinaa moochu vaaangum appuram speed aa yera mudiyaadhu..nalla kettukonga at any cost we have to win this challenge.." Lakshmi said firmly...

"Idhu veraiyaa..???andha aalu vittaalum iva vida maataa polaiye..."Vishnu murmured..

"Yennadhu..?"Lakshmi asked in doubt..

"Onnum illai..naama dhaan kandipaa win pannuvomnu sonnen...jeyam manadhe..sathya meva jeyathe.."Vishnu said with raised hand..

And others laughed at him..

"Yennadaa ozharraa..pesaama vaa.." Lakshmi taunted him...

Throughout the conversation KR were silent.. immersed in their own thought...

After climbing for ten minutes they rested for a while and started climbing again..

Karthik had noticed that Raji seemed very tired and she lagged behind from others..so he reduced his pace to match her..

Signaled VL to continue ..

"Yenna aachu Raji..?tired aa irundhaa rest yeduthuttu polaam.." he asked in concern..

"Illai no problem.. i am ok.." she tried to walk fast and she was breathing heavily..

He clutched her hand to stop her..

She looked at him puzzled..

"No...u r not ok...Yenna problem unakku..." he asked with a penetrating look..

She turned to the other side couldn't with stand his look..

"Oru problem mum illaiye..."she said looking at he ground..

"Yedhuvaa irundhaalum yen kitta share pannalaam Raji.." he said softly..

"Naan dhaan onnum illainu solren la..appuram yen chummaa thondharavu panra..? she asked rudely..

At first her attitude irked him more,but then he realized that she used that tone to cut the topic off..

He was not ready to bent for her tactics..so He persuaded her few more times but his attempts went in vain as she was so stubborn to open her mouth ...

Finally he gave up and continued to climb the hill...

"Thirumba vedhaalam murunga maram yeriduchi..." he muttered under his breadth but it was clearly audible to her...

She glared at him in anger..

"Yennai paarthaa vedhaalam maadhiri irukaa..?naan yenna avlo asinga maavaa iruken..."

"Asinga maa vaa..? cha.. cha..unnai poi appadi solvenaa...nee azhagaana vedhaalam podhumaa.." he said muffling his laughter..

She was shooting daggers at him..

While staring at him she lost the concentration on the path and her legs slipped he caught her at the right moment by holding her shoulder..she jerked him off and walked past him with fast strides..

He shrugged off his shoulder at her childish act and followed her quietly..

Driven by her rage didn't know what actually irked her whether it was him or something else...she walked very fast without giving a damn to the consequences...

After climbing for a while ..all the energy drained from her body and she couldn't move an inch from her place...she was sweating all of a sudden..her throat went dry.. breath hitched ,her eyes were blocking out and she was panting like anything...

Raji hasn't eaten anything from the morning...not only that, she hadn't eaten a proper meal for few days which made her so weak..and also the emotional turmoil she had been undergone since last 12 added to her misery...

For the last fews days her emotional graph had been to hill top for some time and the next moment it had touched down the valley...this emotional imbalance accompanied with the physical fatigue took a toll on her and as a result she had got very bad whizzing ..

Karthik was terrified to see her condition from the distance..he immediately ran to her..

Raji was in a terrible condition...she was coughing tremendously and her breath seemed so shallow...she clutched her heart.. Feeling dizzy and was about to fall off rolling down the hill.. when Karthik caught her in time...

Taking her in his lap he patted her cheeks all panicked

"Raji..Raji.."

She was gasped with open mouth but couldn't release the air as her breath caught struck..she found very difficult to breath and was panting and sweating heavily...She clutched his shirt in pain and he was shivered with the touch..he felt his world is slipping from his hands...

He couldn't see her struggling to breath "Raji yenna aachi..pls..open your eyes.."

He was at the wedge of crying...

He ran his hand through his hair in helplessness.. and tried to think sensibly...

He immediately dialed the doctor's number which had been given to them..for emergency contact.

It was ringing...

"Doctor pls pick up the call.." he was restless..

After a few rings the call was answered..

"Hello..."

"Hello doctor...she is dying pls do something..."he said hastily all the while watching her eye balls going upwards and panting heavily..

Raji could see his face with her half opened eyes...fully worn out and all scared..but she couldn't help him as she herself was drowning...

"Hello first tell me who is on the line..?" the doctor's voice came from the other end...

Karthik closed his eyes in frustration..

"Sir, My name is Karthik..I am one of the camp members from Netech..while climbing the hill... suddenly my colleague is suffering from breathing difficulty and she is dying pls help." he said with as much control as he could bring in his voice..

"Ok tell me..what is her condition now.."

He gulped the lump in his throat seeing her hazardous condition and explained briefly to him..

"She was heavily panting and her eye balls going upwards..breath hitched and sweating badly..she is sinking doctor.." he said with utmost pain..

"Ok may be she is hyper ventilated...is she having whizzing problem or asthma..?"

"No idea doctor..pls tell me what to do now.." he asked restlessly...

"One minute wait.." said the doctor and was talking to the other side...

"kaalaila breakfast ku oothappam, thakaali chutney pannidumaa.." he was ordering the menu to someone may be to his wife..

That was the limit...losing his patience completely he yelled at the doctor..

"Yovvv...inga oru uyir poittu irukku unakku saapaadu vakkanaiyaa kekkuthaa..."

He was baffled immediately after uttering those words in sheer frustration..and apologized quickly..

"Sorry doctor..naan tension la kathiten..Sorry.."

"It's ok.. I can understand...ippo patient yenga irukaanga...?"

"She is on my lap doctor.."

"Ok fine..now do as per my instructions ok...? first put ur speaker phone on.."

He immediately did that...

"Then place her on the ground..."

He laid her on the ground ever so soft and gently..

"Just loose up her dress around her chest.."

"What...?"he asked in shock..

"Oh man..do as I said..its a treatment only...to facilitate the lungs movement..."doctor taunted him..

Inhaling sharply..he unfastened her shirt buttons..ignoring her paled face out of his action..

She was not in a position to deny anything..

Doctor's voice came again..

"Have u did that..?"

"Yes doctor.." he replied meekly..and tried to avert his gaze from her milky white skin under her clothes..

"Ok give ur hands heat by rubbing and pumping air in her lungs.."

He was so much hesitating but he has to do that for her well being ...having no other options left...with a determined mind..He pumped her chest keeping his both hands one above another ...

Her skin was soft like a feather...she had shivered with his touch...he felt embarrassed but couldn't help..as he has to do that to save her life...he rubbed his hands to give heat but nothing was working..

His attempts were futile..she was still struggling to breathe..

"Is she ok now..?"Doctor asked..

"No doctor..she is not responding.." he was almost cried over phone..

"Ok don't panick young man..if that method was not working then give her artificial breathing.."

"Means..?"he asked in confusion..

"Haven't u heard about the first aid method for breathing difficulty..just give ur breath to her...through your mouth blow the air into her lungs.."

"Doctor I didn't know how to do that..?"

"See..you have to do this..there is no other go..if u want to save her life then do it.."doctor put him in a fix where he couldn't deny...

Karthik took a deep breath and with a firm determination she took her in his arms and placed her in his lap..

"I have to do this ,for emergency nothing is wrong.." he assured himself and inhaled the oxygen as much as he could and parted her lips with both the hands and closed the distance by keeping his mouth into her and blew the air hard into her...

He felt jitter down his spine with the soft touch of her lips ..it reminded him of the last night..but how contradictory the two events were..

Both had given him shiver but one was out of passion and the other one was out of extreme fear..fear of losing her...losing his life..

Raji could see the blurred image of him leaning near her and she was clueless what he was up to..

As soon as his mouth touched her she shuddered and she could feel his breath filling her lungs and she inhaled his hot breath...mouths united and breaths mingled...life came back to her after his few more attempts..

As he felt her breath became normal he sighed keeping his mouth on her all relieved..he doesn't want to part...as he wanted to feel her presence in every possible ways..he wanted to have her safe and sound in his arms forever..

After a while an impatient voice over the speaker phone had pierced his sense and he parted his mouth from her..and answered the call..

"Hello Mr.Karthik...are u there..is she ok..?"a slight panic felt in his voice..

"Hello..she is fine doctor...thank u so much"he said with utmost content and relief in his voice..

But the next moment he felt a stinging pain on his left cheek ..it took few seconds for him to realize that she had slapped him hard..and wiggled herself from his hold..to get up...

He looked at her blankly..

She was not looking at him..she hugged herself securely over her unfastened shirt covering herself ..

She fell besides the nearby big rock and leaned on it..all drained ..With her legs folded and digging her face in it and crying bitterly..

Karthik couldn't believe what happened a few seconds before..

"Was she slapped me..?"More than a physical pain his heart pained more..

"Don't take it sensual Raji..i did it only to save ur life..nothing more or nothing less.."

his heart wrenched in pain..

Pain of her not trusting him..the pain of her rejection..pain of seeing her crying ..and the pain of not able to do anything to lessen her pain..

she cried endlessly as if his words didn't reach her ears.. He had sit besides her silently..

She looked more fragile and weak..

He called her slowly.. "Raji.."

But she didn't budge..Instead of reducing.. her crying increased by his call..

He was clueless what was happening to her...what caused her to cry. He don't thing his act was the reason behind her out burst..it was something else..Which had been pricked her for so long..

He remembered their first meeting where her face was so pale and lifeless..

Definitely it was something connected to her past perhaps related to her family..

He knew she was undergoing so much of pressure and stress for the past few days..her face itself showed everything to him..to his utter dismay..he also added fuel to her turmoil by his disappearing drama..

So all her emotional torment and pent up emotions had burst out finally in the form of slap..and now she was crying as the last thread she was holding on to also had broken ..

He sat besides her patiently for her to open up her heart to him..

His gut feelings said at the end of her crying there laid her pouring out of her heart to him..

He was waiting for that moment since so long..precisely telling from the moment he had seen the distress in those beautiful eyes..

Gradually her sob subsided..and reduced to little snuffling..

She looked at him with swollen red eyes..

Her face was in total mess..Hair wavering..Eyes swollen..Cheeks dirt with tears..Nose reddens.

He silently offered his kerchief to her..She paused for a moment and accepted his gesture..

She wiped her face with the hanky...

Then he fished his back pack and took out a juice bottle and extended to her...

She took it from him silently as she was desperately needed something to wet her dried up throat..so that she could talk..After emptied the whole bottle she felt herself gaining some energy..

She looked at him with full of gratitude and as well as guilt..

Her finger marks on his cheek shone as a proof to her inhuman act..

She felt ashamed of her ownself...and closed her eyes in remorse..

She tried to reach his cheeks as a result her shirt had moved a little and revealing her inner cloth..

He jerked back at once and turn away..

"Fasten ur buttons Raji.." he said nonchalantly..

She instantly tuned to the other side and done her buttons quickly..

"Thanks Karthik..."she said meekly..

He gave a dry smirk..

"Thanks dhaan nee modhallaiye sollitiye.." he said caressing his cheek..

She felt terrible, "I am really sorry..nan vandhu..yedho kobam.. aathirathula ..yenna panrennu theriyaama panniten..yeppadi irundhaalum thappu dhaan..i am really sorry karthik.."

He looked straight into her eyes and asked..

"Avlo dhaanaa?"

She couldn't bear the intensity of that simple word..Which had carried bundle of meanings in it..

She couldn't able to open her mouth..

Even though after all the things happened between them.. she was hesitating to pour out heart to him..Which frustrated him to the core..And he had started walking away from her without a word..

But he stopped in his track as her words pierced his ear drums..

"Tomorrow is my wedding.."

He stood freeze...

Shock was an understatement for the condition he was then..he was shocked beyond limits...

To be continued..

hello all..

after a sensational part..i have written this emotional part..😉

so do tell me how do u feel about the part..

and pls don't seek for logics here..😃😃

jut read it as a fiction...😃