Meant to be
part 7
She has no other way than to go with Koushik..
Reluctantly she followed him...as she looked towards the entrance...
Karthik was waving his hand with a huge grin on his face..like her prayer was heard...
Raji was astonished at first... then automatically a contended smile appeared on her lips...
The happiness and relief she had then was priceless...
Her restless heart finds solace now..Her heart had attained an unknown calmness and peace ..
But Koushik was shocked to the core on seeing Karthik there...
Leave alone Karthik,he never expected anyone at this time...he was rooted to his place in shock.
Karthik came forward and said, "Hi... boss..." in a cheerful voice..
"Hai...Karthik nee inga yenna panra?"he asked in annoyance..
"Raji ya koottitu poradhukku dhaan boss..."he replied with a naughty smile.
"Nee yen Raji ya kottitu poganum..?"koushik asked in confusion..
"Boss,ungalukku vishayame theriyaadha?Raji yum naamum neighbours...yennoda opposite flat la dhaan Raji irukaa..."
"Raji yen kitta sollave illaiye..."koushik was not convinced..
"Yedhukku boss sollanum..?team la yellaarukkume theriyum..daily naan dhaan Raji ya pick up and drop panren..nu" he lied not even hesitated for a second..
Koushik looked at Raji for confirmation
She hastily accepted Karthik's statement..
"Yes sir...Karthik kooda dhaan naan daily varuven..."
"Karthik wait panraan nu nee yaen munnaadiye sollala...?"he asked in suspicion...
Karthik interrupted... before Raji said anything...
"Raji yennai poga dhaan sonnaa,but naan dhaan avla surprise panradhukkaaga wait pannitu irundhen without her knowledge..."he said smiling at Raji...
Koushik seemed irritated with Karthik's statement...
"Raji velai mudinjadhaa?naama polaamaa"he asked Raji ignoring Koushik completely..
She nodded her head affirmatively and both had left..
Koushik was looking at them in pure hatred...
He got furious as his plan had spoiled...the sight of Raji left with Karthik.. illuminated the jealousy in him...
He was like a wounded lion..now
"Karthik I won't spare u ... you have to pay for this.."he thought in vengeance...
KR reached the parking lot...
Karthik sat on his bike and ignited the engine...he raised the accelerator and was waiting for Raji to sit ...
Raji was hesitating...knotting her duppatta in tension...
With a impatient gasp..
"Raji I don't have the whole day to wait,pls make it fast.."he was irritated now..the thought of Raji was hesitating to come with him made him go mad.
As she was about to sit one sided, Karthik asked her to sit double side...
"Rendu pakkamaa kaal pottu ukkaaru Raji,appa dhaan yenakku otturadhukku easy aa irukkum" he insisted
"Yellaam yen neram..." she muttered to herself and did as he said.
After she settled he was about to start the bike...all of a sudden she cried,,"Iyooo.."
"Yenna aachi..?"he asked in concern...
"Indha bike la,pudichikaradhukku place ae illai.."she declared her problem...
Karthik shook his head in disbelief..
"Idhellaam oru problem aa...?adhaan ivlo periya uruvam munnadi irukkulla..?pudichika vendiyadhu dhaane..?he said as a matter of fact..
Raji's eyes stretched in shock..
"Paravaalla Raji ...naan thappaa yeduthukka maaten,neenga yen shoulder ah pudichikonga..."
He said controlling his laughter..
Raji reluctantly put her one hand on his shoulder...
He thought to himself.."Idhu velaikku aagaadhu..."and started the bike in a jiffy..
Raji was shocked and losing balance with a sudden jerk...she hastily grabbed his shoulder tightly with both the hands as a reflex..
With a sarcastic smile..he rode even faster..
She grabbed him even tighter...
He was driving very fast ,but it was obvious that he was in control as well.
So Raji has nothing to say regarding his driving...
Karthik was a good driver, but the only thing she doesn't like was, he applied the brake suddenly at times which made her to fall on him..
She warned him many times..but it was like falling in deaf ears..
Whenever he applied brake she fell on him ..the outcome would be she glaring at his back...
"Moraikkaadheenga Raji,neenga pinnaadi moraikaradhu munnadi theriyudhu.."he teased her..
"Ozhungaa otta koodaadha.."she complained him
"Road mosamaa irukku naan yenna pannradhu..?"he had put all the blame on road condition.
She twisted her lips ironically...
"Raji yen amaidhiyaa vareeenga,yedhaavadhu pesunga...bore adikkudhu yenakku"
"Ungalukku bore adichaa pesaradhukku naan yenna RJ vaa?" she asked in irritation..
"Paaraaa... Raji neenga comedy kooda pannuveengalaa? Ungalukku koba pada mattum dhaan theriyumnu nenaichen .."he teased at her.
She showed her tongue to him, but he had seen that in revive view mirror..
He smiled inwardly...at her childishness..
As he was concentrating on her antics he just lost his focus on the road for a moment...at the last moment only he had seen the speed breaker and applied brake forcibly...
Raji was not prepared for this sudden brake..with a jerk she was almost fell on him ,because of the momentum she hugged him tightly from the back to prevent herself from falling...
Her heart was palpitating...she plastered herself to him and hide her face on his shoulder..in shock
Karthik asked sorry..."Sorry Raji..sorry...are u ok..?"he asked in concern with a regretting voice.
As she was fully recovered from the shock.. she detached herself from him quickly..
She was on fire now..."how cheaply he had behaved..?There was no difference to Koushik and Karthik..all men were same.. opportunists..."
She got down from the bike at the very moment.
"Raji yen irangiteenga...yenna aachu..?"he asked in confusion..
She had started walking... without a word...
He followed her in his bike matching to her speed...
"Raji its an accident ,that's it..idhula neenga kobapada yedhu vum illai..pls vaanga..."he almost pleaded her..
"It's not an accident you did it purposely..."she accused him out rightly..
"No Raji ,at the last moment only I had seen the speed breaker..that's why I have applied the brake suddenly..i didn't do that intentionally..."he explained his side genuinely..
But she was not ready to buy his excuse...
"Podhum idhuvaraikkum neenga panna help...inimel naane poikaren..."she increased her walking speed...
"Raji velaiyaadaadheenga..indha nadu raathirila..yeppadi poveenga..?pesaama vandhu vandila yerunga...inimel naan brake ae poda maaten.10 km speed ku mela otta maaten..promise..."
He was begging her now..she nowhere seemed to convinced..
"Oru murai sonnaa puriyaadhaa..?unga help thevai illai..just leave me alone.."she talked very rudely...and walked ahead without listening to his plead..
He too was furious now...
"Oru manushan yevlo dhaan kenjaradhu..? aanaalum ivlo thimiru aagaadhu...yeppadi oo poi tholayattum..ivalukku pattaa dhaan puthi varum..." he thought in anger.. Accelerated the engine and rode away in full speed..
Raji was walking very fast...actually her anger alone driving her ..as the bike
disappeared from her eyes...she noticed the surrounding...it was a
deserted place..street light also giving a very dim light..she has to watch
keenly to get a clear view of the road...the road was covered with trees on
both the sides giving scary effect...
It's a newly developing area..so there was not much movement of vehicles
and people..
A lone howl of an animal agitated her heart...even small movement of the
branches increased her heart beat..her legs slowed down automatically...
As she crossing a half built construction site ..her mind started predicting all
the unwanted things...as people said human mind was faster than a light...
her mind also working uncontrollably...
Everything seemed to be frightening her...
Suddenly she heard a foot steps from behind..she got terrified and slowly
turned back clutching her heart in hand...it was a dog..she released a sigh
of relief...
Now she was regretting her decision,"Innum yelo dhooram ippadi
bayandhukittae yeppadi poradhu?avan avlo dhooram
kenjinaan,yennoda thimiru..ipadi vandhu maattikiten.."she was at the
verge of crying..
All of a sudden a dim light was coming behind her... with a mild sound of an
engine...
She presumed that it was a bike...she was scared even more now..."what
if it was a theif...?"
she thought of calling Karthik..."Avan romba thoor
am poi irukka maataan,phone panni vara solla laamaa?
But her ego stopped her...
She slowed a bit to allow the bike to cross her..but as she slowed down, the
bike also slowed down it seemed..
She was terrified now...she walked fast now..the speed of the bike also
increased.
She was sure that someone following her her...
Her heart beats rapidly..and she felt a shiver down her spine..
She had started running faster without a second thought...
Bike also started chasing her..
Her legs were giving up..her throat went dry..she knew that at any time she may fall down...
All the energy in her body has been drained...
Suddenly the bike was speeded up and went across her and stopped before her ..
She stopped abruptly.. her breath was uneven ...she watched the man
driving the bike...
The man was covering his face with the helmet..
When he removed the helmet and laughed at her..
Her eyes dilated in shock on seeing the person..
All the fear she had experienced now has changed into a sheer anger...
His laughter increased seeing her plight..
"Ivlo bayam irukkulla...appuram yedhukku nadikanum..? he asked her mockingly..
"Dai. Sirikaadha daa...unakku arivu irukaa..?ippadi yaaraavadhu pannuvaanga...?"she yelled at him...
"Dai... yaa...?" he asked in utter shock...
She glared at him in fury...
"Ok..sorry..vaa polaam..." he asked apology...
She sat behind him..without a word...
In her shocked state she doesn't noticed that he used singular form to
address her..
She clutched his shoulder tightly..which clearly indicates him of her fear.
He closed his eyes in remorse..he cursed himself for doing such a stupid prank..
He asked a heartfelt sorry to her in his mind...
Rest of the journey passed in silence...
As they entered into the apartment gate , her breathe becomes normal..
They had reached their floor..walking in the corridor.. None was speaking...
Their legs came to halt as they neared their flat door...
He looked at her one last time before he entered into his flat..but her voice stopped him..
"Karthik..."she called him meekly
He looked at her questioningly ...
"Good night..."she said
He raised his brows to its height..there were no such formalities in their
strange relationship...so her greeting wondered him..
She sensed his surprise...
"Romba.. thanks.. Karthik.." said in a struggling voice..
He knew she was embarrassed to be in this kind of situation..
So he tried to ease the air between them..
"Naan yeppadi andha nerathukku office ku vandhennu neenga kekkave illaiye...?"he asked in surprise..
Then only it hits her mind..."how come he was there at that late hour...?"
She looked at him in confusion...
On seeing her confused face,he explained how he had come to know about her late night work at office through Lakshmi...and decided to wait for her in the canteen...
She was surprised .."Yedhukkaagaa neenga wait paneenga..?"
"Theriyala..just like that ..thonichi..."he shrugged off his shoulder casually...
She fully understood that he did everything one and only for her safety..
She regretted for her bad opinion on him..she had never thought good of him..
She was struggling to form a sentence to ask apology..
He perceived her situation and asked her
"Innum yedho micham irukkara maathiri theriyudhe..yenna ?with a mocking smile..
She ignored his mockery..
"Vandhu...sorry..."she passed hesitantly..
"Yedhukku sorry...neenga kobamaa pesinadhukkaa..never mind..."he said casually..
"Adhukku illai..first la irundhe ungalai thappaa nenaichadhukku..."atlast she confessed it with difficulty..
"Yenna thappaa nenaicheenga...?"he was pretending like he doesn't know anything...
Then he continued like he had realized something...
"Oh...yennai oru drool nu nenaicheenga..adhukku thane indha sorry..?"
She accepted it with her silence ...
He smiled at her..."Adhu onnum thappu illai Raji...naan konjam drooling party dhaan...
But neenga kavalai padaadheehnga...naan azhagaana ponnungala paarthu dhaan drool pannuven...So ungalukku oru problem mum varaadhu..."he said in a serious tone..with a suppressed smile...
It took a moment for her to comprehend his words...then as she realized his mockery..
She starred at him in rage...
He laughed out loud and went into his flat before she hits him in fury...
She threw her bag in anger..
"Korangu...naayi..paeyee...ivan maarave maataan..."
Naan azhagaa illaiyaam...she was frowning at his words..
She looked herself in mirror...she was in a total mess..her wavering hair,
lifeless face...and wrinkled dress...
She looked more like a witch...
"Ippadi irundhaa avan appadi than solluvaan..."she was depressed now..
"Avanukku yen yennai pidikalai..?"she asked the question with a pouting face..
But she didn't understand why his opinion about her beauty mattered so much to her...?
Same time,Karthik was laughed clutching his stomach thinking of her face ...
"Naan appadi sonnadhum ava face ah paarkanum me...it was priceless..."he smiled uncontrollably...
He recalled all the events ..his blood boiled at the thought of that rogue koushik..
"Why I am so much concerned on her safety...?was this a just humanity or something more than that?"
He was not sure had he fallen for her ..but he was sure that he was on the way..
".Ippadiyae...ponaa..naan avala love panniduven pola irukke.."
It was the thought came to his mind before he fell into a sound sleep...
To be continued...
Anupamaa
