Maha stood in the quiet hallway of the house. The air was cool, and she was
ready to go home. But suddenly, a strong hand gripped her wrist. She gasped,
her heart jumping in her chest. She turned around quickly, and her eyes met
Rudra's intense gaze.
"Bava..." she whispered. Her voice was soft and shaky.
Without saying a word, Rudra pulled her wrist toward him. The movement was
sudden but gentle. Maha lost her balance and landed right against Rudra's
solid chest. She could feel the heat of his body. Her heartbeat began to rise,
thumping loudly like a drum. Her breath became uneven and shallow.
Maha felt shy. She could not look him in the eye. Instead, she stared down at
the floor, her long eyelashes casting small shadows on her cheeks. She was
frozen in his arms, too nervous to move.
Rudra's POV
Is the ground really that beautiful? Rudra thought to himself. He looked down at
her small, delicate face. He noticed how her long eyelashes trembled. He had
never noticed how tiny she looked standing next to him.
"Am I looking ugly?" Rudra whispered into the silence.
Maha's head shook quickly from side to side. "No," she whispered back, still not
looking up.
"Then why are you not looking at my face?" Rudra asked softly.
Maha took a deep breath. She slowly lifted her eyelashes and looked up. She
found herself staring into Rudra's deep brown eyes. For a long moment, neither
of them spoke. They just stood there, lost in each other's gaze. The world
around them seemed to disappear.
"Sorry and thanks, Maha," Rudra said.
Maha furrowed her eyebrows. She looked confused. She didn't understand why
he was saying these things. Rudra saw her confusion and decided to explain.
"I am saying sorry because I make fun of you sometimes," Rudra said sincerely.
"But I swear, Maha, I never mean to hurt your feelings. It is just my way of
talking."
Maha looked at him and pouted her lips. "It's okay," she said, though she still
looked a little annoyed.
Rudra looked at her pout. He thought she looked incredibly cute. He couldn't
help himself,he reached out and playfully pulled her cheeks.
"Bava! Don't pull my cheeks!" Maha said, trying to look angry. "I told you, I
don't like it when anyone pulls my cheeks!"Even though she was trying to be angry, Rudra only found her more adorable.
He let out a low chuckle. "Okay, okay," he said. "If I can't pull your cheeks, then
I will pull your nose."
He reached out and gave her nose a playful tug.
"Bavaaa!" Maha whined, her face turning red.
"Maha, don't make that face," Rudra teased. "If you keep looking like that, I
don't know what I might do."
What will you do? his subconscious mind mocked him.
Nothing. You won't do anything. Why do you always interrupt me? Rudra
argued back with his own thoughts.
Maha shook her head to clear her mind. "Bava, then... why did you say
thanks?"
Rudra's expression became serious. He reached out and took both of Maha's
hands into his own. His hands were large and warm, making her small hands
feel very safe.
"I am saying thanks because of Lucky," Rudra said. "Thank you for being with
her. You took such good care of her. You made her forget the bad things that
happened. You made her laugh again."
Maha looked at their joined hands. "Bava, there is no need to thank me for
that. Lucky is my best friend. I would do anything for her. Her happiness is my
happiness."
Rudra looked at Maha. His eyes were full of deep emotions, but he kept his face
calm and steady. He didn't want to show her how much her words touched his
heart.
After a moment of silence, Maha realized how late it was. "Bava... Mari nenu
velana? (Bava, shall I go then?)"
Rudra's eyes narrowed slightly, as if he didn't want her to leave yet. Maha
looked down at her hands, which were still tucked inside his. Rudra followed her
gaze and realized he was still holding her. He slowly and reluctantly let go.
"Goodnight, Maha," he said.
"Goodnight, Bava," she replied, and she quickly walked out the door and
toward her home.
When Maha entered her house, she tried to be quiet, but her mother, Sanjana,
was already waiting in the kitchen.
"Where did you go?" Sanjana asked, her voice full of worry. "I have been
searching for you everywhere! Do you know how worried I was?""Maa, you know where I go," Maha said gently. "If I am not here, I am always at
Seetha's house."
"But why did you go at this time?" Sanjana asked, crossing her arms. "Day by
day, you are stopping listening to my words. You can't just run off in the middle
of the night!"
"Maa, it's not like that," Maha explained. "Lucky called me. She said she really
needed my help with something important, so I had to go."
Maha didn't want to tell her mother about the scary thing that happened to
Lucky in the cab. She didn't want to cause her parents any more stress or
worry, so she kept the secret.
"Okay, but you should inform me first," Sanjana insisted.
"Maa, I said I'm sorry!" Maha pleaded.
At that moment, Maha's father, Raghu, walked into the kitchen. "Sanju, what is
happening here? Why is there so much noise?"
"Look at your daughter," Sanjana said, pointing at Maha. "She went to Seetha's
house at this time of night without telling me."
Raghu smiled kindly. "What is wrong with that? She was with family."
Maha ran over to her father and gave him a big hug.
"There is nothing wrong with going there," Sanjana said, "but she should at
least tell me so I don't think she is lost!"
Maha looked at her father. "Nanna, please tell Amma that I will inform her next
time. See? She is still pouting at me!"
Raghu laughed and looked at his wife. "Sanju, she promised to tell you next
time. Forgive her this once."
Maha moved forward and hugged both of them together. Sanjana couldn't stay
angry for long. She leaned down and kissed Maha's forehead.
"Bangaram naa thalli (My golden daughter)," Sanjana said affectionately.
Maha giggled, the tension finally leaving the room. "Okay, now let's eat
something and go to bed."
The family sat down and finished a late meal together. Afterward, Sanjana went
to the bedroom to prepare for sleep.
"Maha," Raghu said softly. "Enti nanna? (What is it, Nanna?)"
Raghu patted the sofa cushion beside him. "Come sit with me for a minute."
Maha sat down. She could see that her father looked a bit tired. "What
happened, Nanna? Is everything okay?""It's nothing, Maha," Raghu said, leaning his head back. "Just some stress from
work. But you know, whenever I see your smile, all my stress just disappears."
Maha leaned over and hugged her father tightly. Raghu began to gently stroke
her hair, his hand moving in a steady, calming rhythm.
"You know how much your mother and I love you, right?" he asked.Maha
nodded against his shoulder.
"At the time of your delivery," Raghu said, his voice becoming very quiet, "your
mother faced so much pain. It was a very difficult birth. The doctors came to
me and said they might have to choose between saving the baby or saving
Sanju."
Maha pulled back a little, her eyes wide. She had never heard this story before.
"But your mom didn't hesitate," Raghu continued. "She said, 'I want the baby.'
She was ready to give up everything for you. But you... you are a warrior,
Maha. You were our lucky charm. You fought hard to survive, and you saved
your mother too. Now, I am the luckiest man because I have my two most
important ladies with me."
Maha's eyes filled with tears. she hugged her father as tightly as she could.
She felt so much love for her parents in that moment. Raghu kissed her
forehead and smiled.
"Okay, now go and sleep," Raghu joked. "Or else your mother will come back
and scold me for keeping you awake so late!"
Maha laughed, wiped her eyes, and stood up. "Nanna, are you afraid of
Amma?"
Raghu winked at her. "No, it's not fear. It's safety!"
"What safety?" Sanjana asked, walking back into the room.
Raghu jumped a little and looked at his wife. "Nothing! I was just telling Maha
that her safety is very important to us."
Sanjana shook her head, knowing they were joking. "Okay, go to sleep. It is
already very late. Maha, go to your room."
Maha went to her bedroom and changed into her pajamas. She climbed into
bed and grabbed her pillow, hugging it tightly against her chest. She closed her
eyes and remembered the feeling of being in Rudra's arms. She remembered
him pulling her nose and the way he looked at her in the hallway. A small,
happy smile stayed on her face until she finally fell asleep around 3:00 AM.
On the other side of town, Rudra was not having such an easy time. He lay in
his bed, staring up at the ceiling fan as it spun around and around. Every time
he closed his eyes, he saw Maha's face and felt her small hands in his. He
tossed and turned for a long time, his mind full of thoughts he couldn't quiteexplain. Finally, as the sun was almost ready to rise, he dozed off into a light
sleep.