CBC - Valentine's Day - Chapter 8 - Destiny

This is a chain love story, as a part of CBC Valentine's Day celebrations. Chapter 7 was written by Kalyan Varadarajan - a photography enthusiast, lazy sleep loving lad and a gadget freak. He blogs here -  http://kalyanb4u.wordpress.com/  and the previous chapters can be read here.

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Frankfurt, Germany

"Please fasten your seat belts. We will be landing shortly" - The announcement from the pilot brought a smile to her dull face. She was going to see her elder sister and her favorite aunt. Two people who were her best buddies in her growing up years. The family feud had to be resolved. That was number 1 priority on her list. Guru, Varun and the whole world can wait.  Little did she know that her whole world would shortly revolve around Guru.

Ahalya smiled as she walked through the terminal. Her aunt and uncle were waiting. She quickened her pace and shortly broke into a run, straight into her aunt's waiting arms. The tears spoke volumes of her hidden emotions.

Chennai, India

Meanwhile, Guru was still absorbing the news his manager had hurled at him. Sweden! Blasted Sweden! He batted his eyelids and looked around. He pinched himself but didn't feel a thing. And so, he pinched his friend, Varun.

"Ouch. That hurts"

"Well, yeah was just wondering if I am dreaming, is this real or am I dreaming in reality, else is this reality a dream"

"Duh! You just sound like DiCaprio auditioning for a sequel to Inception"

Guru looked at Varun blankly. He blinked and then smiled the smile that housed a thousand hidden meanings. He had to leave in 3 weeks, which would mean, he quickly calculated, Ahalya would have finished her Frankfurt trip and settled comfortably in Sweden. Sweet-Den. Perfect. The meaning of the smile was exponential now.


Frankfurt, Germany

Ahalya settled on the couch, feet tucked in, flicking the channels mindlessly. Here she was in a comforting place. yet, robotic were her actions

"Aggiiieeee....."

Ahalya broke off from her reverie. There was only person who ever called her like that. Her sister. She propelled off the couch and ran to the door pulling her sister into the biggest ever hug possible.

Chennai, India

Guru was excited and nervous. He had never felt this way, not even with Geetha. Now, why would she enter his thoughts, he mused. As he lay down on his bed, his arms folded under his head, his thoughts rewound a few years.

She was his first love or so he had thought. It was almost as if Geetha and he were destined for each other ever since she was born. They were neighbors and family friends. Their parents even joked about getting them married off to each other. As years went by, the kid who used to tag him along and dog his every step grew into the most beautiful maiden he'd ever seen. He was a boy in his teens, the age when everything seemed rosy and fresh. A girl always became the hot topic of conversation among friends.

Geetha was extraordinarily beautiful. Those sparkling big eyes, the heart shaped lips and a figure an hour glass would lust for was not lost on him. He had always fantasized kissing those luscious lips.

Eventually he did but he didn't feel a thing. Nothing, zilch, nada. There was no passion, emotion, fireworks and he'd wondered why.

And now, he knew. It was a lust filled fantasy. The heart that had so beautifully shaped her lips failed to fill his with love. The only strange feeling on the breakup was losing a long time fantasy.

He felt free. His heart was light, with a warm feeling in his chest that wanted to take flight as he thought about Ahalya. Was this love? In his heart, he knew it had to be. But he wanted to be sure. He didn't want to make a mistake again. Ahalya was too sweet a girl to be just a snack. That fleeting yet poignant moment in the airport, he had wanted to kiss her. Almost. So close, awkwardly close as she turned and walked away.

Frankfurt, Germany

The iPod poured the mellifluous voice into her ears and consumed all the space in her heart.

Annul mele pani thuli, Alaipaayum oru kili
Maram thedum mazhai thuli, ivai thaane ival ini
imai irandum thani thani, urakkangal urai pani
etharkaaga thadai ini!

Something snapped inside her.

Suddenly, Ahalya felt free in a long time. Her turmoil seemed to have vanished without a trace. It was almost as if someone was holding her hand and guiding her. She logged on to Facebook and was all smiles when Guru's news feed popped in first. His status message read "Dreams are real... :-) " Very cryptic!

She pinged him on gmail.

Ahalya: Hey! What's with the cryptic status message?

He immediately responded.

Guru: Heyyyyy! :-) How's Germany treating you?

Ahalya: :-) All well. I feel a lot better. How have you been?

Guru: Good good. Aunt, uncle, sis - all good?

Ahalya: Yes yes, everyone good. Now tell me, what's that status message of yours?

Guru: Oh, nothing. Just something I read somewhere :-)

Ahalya: Uh Oh. Okay. Not like I believe that, but if you say so! ;-)

Guru: Ha ha. You know, I was thinking, it's been just a couple of days since you left. But it sure feels like a long time.

Ahalya: Yep! Feels like it's been eons since I had that coffee with you.

Guru: What's an eon but a spec in a lifetime!

Ahalya: Whoa! Profound! That spec seems too long when you aren't around!

"Agieeeee... Lunch.." yelled her sister

"Coming.... "

Ahalya: Gotta go. Lunch time.

Guru: bye bye! Bon Appetit.

Ahalya: :-) See ya!

Guru: Hey...

Ahalya: ?

Guru: Nothing.... carry on. Just that.. Can we get on skype tomorrow? same time?

Ahalya: :-) :-) :-)

Ahalya is offline. Messages you send will be delivered when Ahalya comes online.


-To be continued by gils aka atcharam pisagaamal altogether pisagi pona agmark gemini :D:D aka Vidhyasankar Ravindran. He blogs at http://supershanki.blogspot.in/. Suffice to say that he has penned a whole new series of F.R.I.E.N.D.S ;-)