"So what are you planning to do next..?"

"Nothing much. Must go find some good job in Mumbai again."

"Rakshan.... STOP!!!" I screamed on the top of my voice.

He halted the car on hearing me shout.

"What happened??"

"I am so sorry!"

"For what??"

"I forgot the ring home what Jiju must give Akka! I flopped it again. Ohh God!" I said hitting my head with my hand. "Now we can't even go home, all would be thinking that I am with Akka, in their car, but better on hell I am with you now!! How will I get the ring?? How will he propose her?? What a duffer I am!?"

"Mad girl, listen to me first.. I got the ring from you yesterday. Remember!? So we have the ring, he will propose her. Nothing to worry about." he said. Immediately he opened the dashboard in front of me and showed me the ring box. 'Phew.

"Thank-god!!"

"Ms.Hitler, you feel better being in hell but not with me. How mean!??"

"Uhh you got me wrong, I meant if the ring had happened to be with me home, then now it wouldn't have been easy to go back home and get it."

"So I give you a feeling worse than hell?"

"Rakshan!!! Won't my family question me what I am doing with you alone and all sorts?? Handling those many questions isn't as easy as brushing ones teeth!"

"Everything in life can't be easy. And if you don't get to handle problems, how will you know what life exactly is??"

"I agree. Thank-you and sorry for the trouble."

"Nothing of that sort Poornitha."

My phone rang and it was Akka who was calling.

Conversation on the call.. .. .. .. ..

"Chelm tell da.."

"Yeah he is here.."

"No no I am fine!"

"Yeah sure we will reach there soon. On the way honey."

"One second, what about Abhi and Rigesh??"

"Ohh so sweet of you! Thank-you Akka once again."

"I am not a shorty!"

"Love you Kuttyma!! Take Care!! See you soon! "

"Ummmmhhhaaaa!"

"What was your Chelam, Honey, Kuttyma telling..?"

"Hey only I can call her like that, you can't. Stop it!!"

"Ok Sorry. Cool down, Hitler!" he said.

"Akka was like did Rakshan come? are you fine? Reach the hotel safely..and all those usual stuffs!!" I heard him call me Hitler often, I wanted to frown up, but this time I kept quiet instead of getting into an argument.

"What happened?? Why didn't you come with your Akka and cousins?"

"Ahh some issues!"

"Ohh!! Why? Anything serious?"

"Nothing of that sort. It always happens between me and Sushant."

Travelling with Rakshan did not give me any weird feeling, I felt as if I was very safe with him, like there is a deep relationship between us. I wasn't scared while traveling with him alone. A feeling of being in safe hands, a feeling of being secured was into me. I had no clue of why I felt so for a person whom I had met only a couple of days back.

"Why do you call Krish Jiju? You are actually supposed to call him Mamma(that's how sister's husband is called in Tamil Nadu) isn't it?"

"Too many questions Rakshan. Am I calling you Jiju?? Why are you bothered."

"No please!! Call me Rakshan. That's better. Uhh well why don't you explain to my question?"

"I like calling him Jiju. Right from my birth, I mean from childhood itself I was brought up in the Tamil tradition, when I went to Mumbai I got to know about this new term Jiju, and I loved it. I decided to call Akka's husband Jiju from then on. When I spoke to him about it he did not have any objections. So it goes on like that."

"Very well. Uhh Poornitha we need to get the cake on the way, you don't mind waiting na?"

"No. Not at all."

Soon we reached the bakery, and Rakshan went to get the cake, he allowed me to stay in the car because of Mr. Sun. He finished all the payment stuffs soon and walked fast towards the car. He handed me the cake and said, "Guard it with your life, this is very precious."

"Don't worry I will!"

I had the cake box on my lap and held it with at most care. At last we reached our destination, and Rakshan helped me get down at the entrance of the hotel with the cake. He asked me to wait for him till he returned after parking his car. I went and sat at the waiting area and waited for him.

He was pretty soon, and we went in together. We weren't sure of where Anand's hall was so we got the directions from the receptionist, and proceeded. As we got into the hall I was awestruck on the appearance of it. To be precise not only our dress code had black and white but the decoration theme too was the same.

All of them had already arrived and we were the ones missing.

"Where were you both?" asked Jiju.

"You took so much of time to reach here." said Akka.

"Sorry Akka! Actually..." I tried to explain.

"We were caught up in traffic!" came up the ring-boy.

"Hi everyone." I said.

"Look Poovu, this is Naresh and this pretty lady is Anamika, my cousins." said Jiju. "And this is Poornitha my sister!"

I shook hands with them and had some formal talks.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMAN!!! As we all know we are here to celebrate Krish and Swadhintha's Engagement. First of all Congratulations to you both. God bless you and don't worry our blessings are also with you Anna and Anni!" he said. All laughed for his last statement.

"Who is he? I've never seen him around!" I asked Abhi.

"Well..." Abhi was trying to make gueses.

"He is my brother Reyansh!" answered Rakshan, who was standing behind us.

"Well, you have a brother!?!" I asked.

"A sister too!" he added.

"Oh Wow.. Does it end there?? Or do you have some more siblings..?" I asked narrowing my eyes, trying to bring in a funny expression.

"No no that's it! Reyansh, Rakshita and myself.!"

"Rakshan!! Reyansh!! Rakshita!! Pretty names. Your parents were well planned or what? The names rhyme so well with each-other.!"

"I wonder the same. But it just happened they say."

"Come on guys step forward, and cut the cake." said Reyansh, pointing at the cake table which someone had arranged.

The cake had the picture of Akka and Jiju! It looked really good. I must say Rakshan did a good work while placing an order with the cake.

Akka and Jiju cut the cake and fed each other. That was really a cute scene.

"Poornitha that ring?" Jiju asked me. I looked at Rakshan. He took the ring from his pocket and gave it to me.

"You itself give it to him."

"No. You give it." said Rakshan opening the box and showing me the ring. Taking the ring from his hand, I handed Jiju the ring.

"I love you Swadhintha!! Will you marry me.?" Jiju went on his knees and did that.

"I love you too Krish! Yes, I will marry you." she replied. Akka, as it happens to most of the girls, was so excited to see Jiju propose her on his knees, and was blushing pink. Jiju pulled Akka towards him and made her sit on his lap, they shared a short eye-to-eye lock which was disturbed by Reyansh.

"And now, sorry to interrupt you both, but you have a long way together where you will enjoy life in each other's company. So can we continue with the party?" he asked looking at Jiju and Akka. To this Jiju responded with a nod.

"It's the time to celebrate this wonderful occasion! Let's sing dance and enjoy the day. Come on guys let's start!!" said Reyansh.

We went to the dance floor and started dancing as the DJ played the songs. We enjoyed soooo well to all the songs he played. His fusion of songs were really worth dancing. Finally he played a song it was a Tamil song Ayila Ayila from the movie 'I' one of my favorite songs.

I went on dancing with Abhi. We twisted, turned, swung in each other's arms, he held me down, and all those dance steps that we knew we did it together. We had so much of fun. At last when the song got over I lost my breath. I was so tired that I badly needed water.

"I will get some refreshments for us, sit here." said Abhi and left.

I made myself comfortable on one of the couches that was kept in one corner.

Most of them were tired after the dance. We needed some refreshments. As all stepped down the dance-floor we heard Jiju's voice.

"Hello!! Check check!! So the mic is working, can you all hear me???"

"Yes we can." we responded together.

"I am here to present before you one of the bestest voices I have ever come across. I am sure you are all going to like it. Rakshan please sing a song for us!!" he said.

"Hey I am not going to sing. No no not today. Please!" said Rakshan.

By then Abhi had returned with two glasses of lemon squash I gulped mine down my throat and charged myself quickly.

"We want to hear you!! We want to hear you!" shouted most of them. I joined them too. I walked up to the dance floor on the left there was a stage kind of setup Jiju and Rakshan stood there.

"Hey I haven't prepared any song. Next time for sure." he said.

"You don't need any preparation man! You just sing." insisted Jiju.

"Anna 'Kadhal Sadugudu' from Alaipayuthe." shouted Reyansh.

(That was a Tamil film song a kind of romantic melody song).

"Yeah sing that one!" said a few others.

"Ok!" he agreed finally.

"Come on Rakshan. You are going to rock." we shouted.

The DJ had a Karaoke of that song and he played it. Rakshan too started off and I could not believe he had such a melodious, sweet and a cute voice. His expressions were so good, we all couldn't take our eyes off him. I on the other hand wasn't willing to even blink my eyes. He totally went into the song, and sung it with all his heart. He just closed his eyes, and went on singing.

Rigesh got on stage with Raghini, who was Reyansh's friend and danced as Rakshan sang. Juju and Akka started dancing too.

Actually when he said that he wanted to become a singer I thought he would have to work on it a lot. Like getting into playback singing and becoming a music director isn't an easy task. But his voice was so good that he did not need any efforts to achieve his dream. He was already gifted with a wonderful voice, what more is needed!

Till he finished his song he had his eyes closed, maybe he was recalling the lyrics. Or possibilities could be that I am so stupid to think so.

"Wooowww!!! That was awesome!! Hats Off to you Rakshan!!" most of them cheered for him, when the song was over. The lovely dancers and the mesmerizing singer did their dramatic bows at the end.

"Thank-you. Thank-you all!" he said.

I gave him a thumbs up sign when he looked at me, for which he replied me with a cute smile of gratitude.

It was almost lunch time and we moved toward the Dining area. It was a buffet setup. The hall had tables for 2,4,6, and big groups like for 10-15 too. We had already booked a table for ourselves table no.5 and so we took our food and went sat there.

"Poornitha sit here!!" said Abhi.



"Thank-you Abhi!" I always wanted a brother like him. And it happened. I love Abhi very much he is very sweet, caring, loving and understands me very well. Except at times, like this morning when he let Sushant drive in my presence. Besides that I like him very much.

"Hey Poo!" said Rakshan and sat near me with his plate.

"Hey.. Rakshan you sang really well!! I mean I never expected your voice soooo sweet. Great man you will definitely hit the play back singing. All the best!!" I said.

"He is participating in a competition 'Voice Of India' conducted in Cochin and he has successfully cleared 3 levels in that." said Jiju.

"Is it so?? That's wonderful!"

"Yeah!" he replied for my wishes.

"All the best buddy!" said Abhi.

"God bless you dude, may your dreams come true." said Sushant.

Many others also wished him like Govi-Jiju's friend, Naresh-Jiju's cousin, Anamika- Jiju's Cousin again, Jenni-Rakshan's friend with whom he danced on the dance floor, Raghini -Reyansh's friend. I knew their names but I hadn't spoke to them personally.

After we finished our lunch we sat down to talk. Most of us shared our childhood memories, a few of them said about their love, their family and all sorts. After some time we decided to play,



This is such an interesting game and an apt one when in groups. I went and got an empty bottle by the time Rigesh and Rakshan made arrangements for the table and chairs. We all sat in a circle and started. I rotated the bottle first, the top of the bottle pointed Jenni and the bottom of the bottle faced Rigesh. So now Rigesh had to question Jenni.

"Ok, so Jenni.. Truth or Dare?" he asked.

Jenni took dare. At times dare is good. It's better than revealing a secret worth your life.

"Ok act like Romeo from Romeo and Juliet." said Rigesh. We all laughed at the task he gave. Is he mad to give such a dare to a new friend??

"Ok fine. I will do it." she agreed, and asked Rakshan to be Juliet. This was more funny. Obviously she was his friend and knew him more than anyone else in the group. I was expecting her to frown on the dare given to her, but instead she agreed upon it immediately.

They both did it and their act was worth watching. Jenni as Romeo looked too handsome and Rakshan as Juliet looked very cute. We took a lot of selfies. I even changed my Whats-App DP and the status was //With Rakshan Menon the Juliet of the day!!// Rakshan did not know this. I hope he doesn't kill me when he sees my DP and status.

Later we again rotated the bottle and it stopped pointing Akka and Naresh.

Akka had to question Naresh now.

"Naresh, truth or dare??"

He went in for truth.

"What do you daydream about the most??" asked Akka.

"Aaahh.. I think about my crush most of the time." he said.

"Oooohooo!!!" we all shouted.

"And who is she?" she asked.

"The Indian Army!!" he said.

We were all shocked for a moment, we were expecting a girl's name and he said The Army!! This was really unexpected.

"Army!!!!??????" we all asked in unison.

"Yeah! I am proud to be one among the Indian Army!! Serving the Nation makes me feel very proud of myself and she will always be my first love." said Naresh.

"All the best man." said Akka.

"Apart from The Army, do you have any other secret crush?" asked Raghini.

"No I don't!" he replied.

Now next Rakshan rotated the bottle and it stopped Pointing Sushant and me. Deivame!!! Why did this happen? I just tried to move from the place but Jiju who was sitting near me stopped me.

"You are not going anywhere." he said holding my hand under the table.

"What do you choose Poornitha Truth Or Dare??" asked Sushant.

I was quiet for sometime and did not answer to his question. Jiju nudged me and gave me an expression to answer his question. "Aaaaahh.. Well.." I stammered.

"Come on Poovu tell what do you choose??" said most of them.

"Truth!" I said. Ohh damn! I went in for TRUTH!! This is going to be the worst part of the day.

"If a person hurts you badly and regrets for that, tries to get apologies from you, would you forgive him??" he asked. "Or her?" All started wondering what he was asking! God why is Sushant doing this??

"Come on tell Poornitha.." he spoke up again.

"No! I will not forgive, neither that person nor you!!!!" I said and left the place.

"Poornitha!! What has happened? What are you thinking?? See Sushant is asking you something!" said Jiju snapping his finger in front of my face and bringing me out of my world.

"How many kids would you like to have Poornitha??" he asked.

"Huuuhh?? Is that the question he really asked me??" I asked Jiju.

"Yeah doll. How many kids would you like to have. That's what Sushant asked." said Jiju.

"Come on answer Poornitha." all came up together.

"Aaahh well 3 kids!!" I said.

"Boys or girls?" he asked and others too joined him. Ohh come on, he needn't be this intense in this question. Why is he so inquisitive to know what babies I would like to have??

"Twin boys and a little girl!!" I said, and all started laughing.

"Poornitha this is exceptionally cute." said Rakshan.

"Jiju are you sure he asked the same question??" I asked him again.

"Yes dear. Why... what happened??" Jiju asked putting his hand around my shoulder in-order to comfort me.

"No no nothing! I am fine." I said.

Akka who was sitting on the other side mouthed me asking if I was fine. 'Your brother behaves so brainless in front of so many people and ultimately what?? I should be all fine and normal! Uhhggrr' I thought that to myself, and mouthed back "How BLAH!"

"Sure you are fine na??" Jiju asked again.

"Yeah Jiju!!"

If I go in with Jiju's words, then may be I was over-thinking about it and all those thoughts came into my brain. Thank-god Sushant did not bring in our personal problem in front of all.

We continued playing the same for another hour and then decided to leave home. Jaya Perima (Aunty) was supposed to be home by 6 pm. She lives in London with her son and rarely comes to India. She is very strict and expects punctuality and discipline from all the family members.

Rakshan said that he would drop me home, and I agreed for the ride. Akka, Abhi, Rigesh and Sushant had already left. Jiju also left with his cousins Naresh and Anamika and said that he would be home by 5:30pm to meet Jaya Perima. Govi left on his own and Raghini and Jenni left in Raghini's car.

"Poornitha I need to do some payments I will be back soon you wait in the car." said Rakshan throwing his car keys to me, which I eventually missed to catch.

Picking up the car keys, I went to the parking lot, got into the car and waited quietly for Rakshan.

Rakshan came back in about 20 minutes. "Sorry for the delay!!" he said and got in.

"It's ok!!"

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