Agaran woke up very early; the new place and the shared bed with his mom did the trick. He is used to sleeping all alone in his bed with his hands and legs sprawled, occupying the whole bed. The absence of AC was also a reason. He opened the window near his bed for some cool breeze, but it also let in mosquitoes! It was a torturous night.

As usual, Jyothi woke up Maanu, and she came back through the bush, catching Agaran's attention. In the morning dim light, she looked like a ghost with her hair messed up in all different directions. Her pajama shirt was open at the top, teasing his eyes! The first thing he saw in the morning made him drool over her. Unaware of a pair of eyes on her, she climbed the stairs halfway up and jumped on the sunshade. The windows were next to each other, and she saw Agaran standing by the window when she pulled out the stool from inside her bedroom.

"Good morning, Athaan!" She chirped while he kept staring at her.

"Hehe, I went to choose clothes for Anjukka. Don't breathe a word about this to appa. He will kill me. Meet you at breakfast. Bye, Athaan." She added when he didn't speak a word.

"Hey, wait, what did you call me?" he asked her, peeking out the window when she climbed into her room.

"Athaan!" She put her head and half her body out of the window to see him. "That is how we call the husband of our sister."

"Oh!" He wanted to talk to her. He thought maybe if he made friends with her, he would not get these weird thoughts about her. The very trick he uses on his stupid students like Haritha. "How are you so sure that I will say yes to marry your sister?"

"You are too handsome, I agree. But my Anjukka is too beautiful; you can't say no! Anjukka is the perfect match for you. She is a very beautiful girl. She studied in Chennai. I will let you meet Anjukka today. You will know what I am talking about then." She kept talking to him like she had known him for so long. There was no inhibition. This was the first time he looked at her face since he arrived.

Her wheatish skin was glowing in the morning light; her clear skin and chubby cheeks made her look like a child. Her pearl-white teeth, with one misaligned tooth, added to her beauty. Her cute dimple as she spoke was to die for. 'Whoa, snap out of it, Agara!' He warned himself.

"I am eager to meet this beauty you speak about."

"Shh, don't shout. This is not your city, where meeting and talking with girls before engagement is very common. We have to sneak behind the oldies. I have a plan." She spoke huskily, leaning further out.

"Careful!"

"Don't worry. I am used to this."

"I saw!" he smiled at her. "Why do you jump out like this? This is too dangerous. What if you slipped?"

"Ha, I have been doing this for many years, Athaan. Don't worry about me. I can jump out of here even in my skirt." She pulled her collar as if it were a big achievement, changing his attention from her face back to his perverted mind. Her cleavage was treating his eyes.

"God!" He mumbled as he closed his eyes tightly. Maanu was puzzled by his sudden change.

"What happened, Athaan? Did you sleep well?" She asked him, still hanging out of her window.

"Maanvizhi!" He called her in his professor tone, which instantly caught her attention. "Your shirt button is open, and I can see you. You are a grown girl, and you have to check your dress before getting out of bed or going out." He said, looking into her eyes.

Maanu's tummy made weird flips as she looked down at her and clutched her shirt together. She instantly pulled her head inside and secured the button. She bit her lip and hit her head. 'God, what would he have thought about me!?' She thought to herself. No one, I mean, no one in her life has ever commented on her clothes or asked her to dress appropriately. It's not even a day since he arrived, and he has told her. She felt shame and another unnamed feeling at the same time.

There, Agaran was hitting his nape. 'God, did she mistake me?' He was alarmed. Never in his life had he ever felt like this. He's never cared for anyone's opinion or approval. So what if she had mistaken him? That is not going to impact him anyway. Her opinion of him is uncalled for, but he could not let it go. He waited for her to come out of the window, but she never did. He was restless.

During breakfast, Maanu never lifted her eyes to him while he was trying to get a hold of her eyes. She never talked like she did last night. She answered his mom and served them. He saw her going to the backyard and followed her.

"Maanvizhi!" He called her. She was in her purple silk skirt and blouse. She turned around to see him.

"I.. I didn't mean to offend you. I wanted to..." His stutter was an absolute horror to him. He is a college professor and stutters in front of a girl who is just half his height. He was mortified.

"Athaan!" She smiled at him as she walked towards him. He heard his heart like a drum. "Sorry if I made you uncomfortable. You just proved that you are a gentleman. Anjukka is really lucky. I will be careful. Thank you." She spoke, looking at his eyes. She saw him visibly relax at her words. "I got too shy and awkward after that, athaan. That was why I didn't see you or talk to you. But I see that made you so distressed. Let's forget what happened. Akka is wearing a purple saree today. Go and change into something purple." She changed the subject, and he got on with it with relief.

"I don't have anything purple." He smiled at her. The way she made his worry disappear and put him at ease impressed him. He decided not to make their relationship awkward again. It was like a reset! Getting to know her would shift his perverted mind to the real goodness in her, he thought.

"Your smile is too good! Do it often, athaan." She said, making him shy. "Don't worry, I will ask Kumaran mama to bring you his clothes. You are as tall and built as him. His clothes would fit you right. Also, these pants and shorts are frowned upon at the temple." She spoke, biting her nails as she looked him up and down.

"Pch, don't bite your nails," Agaran swatted her hand out of her mouth. "I am not comfortable in dhotis." He added.

"Don't worry, Kumaran mama is using 'ottiko-kattiko' (velcro) dhotis. It is easy." She said as she wiped her hand on her skirt.

"God, you are dirty!" He said, scrunching his eyebrows.

"Dirty?" She asked him with a frown as she put her finger in her mouth and took it to him.

"God! Stop!" He caught her hand in the air and stopped her. After a little struggle, he turned her finger away from him to her skirt, wiped her saliva on her skirt, and let her go. They were laughing heartily the whole time. That little banter broke the serious mask he had been putting on. It eased him. His perverted mind took a back seat as he slowly transitioned to get to know her.

"You are too strong!" She complained as she pulled out her phone and called Kumaran to bring his clothes in the colors she wanted to match with Anjana. Agaran kept his eyes on her the whole time. Her eyes were talking along with her lips.

"Maanu!" She heard her father.

"Coming, pa!" She screamed looking inside, and turned to him. "Hitler is calling. I will see you at the temple. Bye, Athaan." She said as she turned to run.

"Are you going to go out in this dress?" He asked her, holding her hand, stopping her from running. His mouth slipped those words before his mind could stop. His hands reacted before his sanity protested against it.

"Mmm!" She hummed, curling her toes at the contact. The first man to hold her hand. Even Kumaran keeps his distance. Agaran could not let her leave the house in that dress. It covered everything, but it was like a second skin on her. Her hourglass shape was explicitly shown, and her front and back beauty could not be hidden! Even her little tummy pouch was showy. Her answer made him angry.

"Sss!" She whined when his grip tightened.

"Pch, sorry!" He left her.

"You don't like this dress? Am I not looking good?" She spun in front of him and showed him what had been disturbing him ever since he came here. She looked down on herself to see if anything was inappropriate and found nothing.

"I like it. You are looking too good." His lips answered her without his consent. He mentally face-palmed himself at what he was doing.

"Thanks, Athaan! Then why did you ask like that?"

"You are too beautiful to go out just like that!" He answered truthfully.

"Aiyo, you are making me blush!" She smiled lovingly. He saw her cheeks visibly turn red. He had never seen a girl's blush that truly turned her red. He had only read that in books. It made him very curious about her. Maanu felt a weird twist in her tummy as she held his gaze. She looked down.

"Thanks, Athaan! If you find me beautiful, you will definitely like Anjukka. She is more beautiful." Maanu said it just like that, making Agaran adore her more. A girl complimenting another is a surprise, but here, she is praising another above her! Interesting, he thought. Her talk interested him in her instead of being interested in Anjana. "If I didn't go now, Hitler would take his walking stick. Bye, Athaan." She chirped and ran inside the house, lifting her long skirt. It seemed like a portrait to him. He smiled at her receding figure.

***

They all left for the temple on foot. Maanu's friends joined her on the way, and she left with them. Kumaran and Agaran got on well as Kumaran helped Agaran get ready. When Agaran was hesitant to use Kumaran's clothes, "These are new, Mr. Agaran. You don't have to hesitate." Kumaran said, showing the bags.

"Oh, I didn't mean it that way."

"Maanu is a child. She doesn't know these nuances. She talks about whatever comes to her mind without thinking twice. When she called me to bring my clothes to you, I went shopping to bring you these in the colors she asked for." Kumaran gave the bag to Agaran.

"Thank you for taking the pain to go shopping this early."

"There are stalls outside our temple for the festival, Agaran. It's no big deal."

"Please, you should take money for these," Agaran insisted, and Kumaran got the money from him. That made an easy brotherly bond between them. Agaran was relaxed enough that he got someone to keep him company and distract him from Maanvizhi.