Amara prema

CHAPTER-5 Pāpa (Sin)

innaikku vijayadashami da, kovil la pooja thiruvila la irukkum. nee pokala? his friend deva asked with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. Ari was lying in his room seemingly staring at nothing. he had become increasingly quiet over the last few days, and it was more than just apparent to his friends. they had tried asking him about it multiple times, but when he refused to answer them they resorted to ways to cheer him up. but he remained detached. konja naala bhakti mayama irundha, ippa enna aachu, Deva asked. Ari turned to his side, away from him. dei vaada, summa edho kadhal sedhanja devadas maathiri suthikkitu, he told him. This caught Ari's attention. naa kadhalikkare nu sonney na? he snapped. illa, oru udhakarnam sonney da, deva retreated. seri vaa, polaam, he said getting onto his feet. yenga? Deva asked. kovil kku, he replied straightening his hair. illa adhu naa summa pechu kku sonney, keela pasanga ella vandhurukaanga, avunga kooda summa okkandhu pesalaam nu dha kooptey, he shrugged. nee kovil kovil nu summa pecha ethittu irundhey, inimey enna aanalum namma rendu perum kovil kku poyye aaganum, Ari grabbed him off the chair and dragged him down the stairs. Deva was completely lost in context here. it was quite a wild reaction from Ari for a harmless joke. unbeknownst to Deva, Ari felt guilty of not accepting the rejection well, when he mentioned Devadas. Well surely his heart was shattered, but he hated to think that it was so apparent to the people around him. he had to prove that he was fine, despite being aware of the fact that literally "no-one" even knew he was in love in the first place. A clueless Deva was made to helplessly tag along as they rode to the temple. 

Today, Ari, unlike his usual self, stood at the far end of the crowd. he didn't care to look at the performance. he was too preoccupied throughout the most of it, staring at the sky and at his surroundings, making it quite apparent he wasn't interested. towards the very end, a little mice of curiosity began to nibble into his heart. besides, what is wrong in looking at her? when the entire crowd is staring, what is wrong in me doing the same? his heart reasoned with his mind. he slowly lifted his gaze towards the podium, casually searching for her face. the results of his first quick scan turned up negative. but he forced himself to take a good second look. But Mythrei was nowhere to be found. may be she wasn't performing today, he told himself. oh well, its a good thing then, he thought. he wouldn't have to see her and put himself through those painful memories again. The performance ended and they soon began distributing the prashadh. Arvin? the devadasi who handed him his bowl asked him. he frowned and nodded. she quickly gave him the prashadh and ran off. en peru eppadi theriyum? he yelled after her. but she had disappeared. 

he was handed a small bowl made of the fragrant Areca leaf with a scoop of the sweet at the center. his hands dug in deep to pick up a mouthful when he felt a weird texture beneath the warm swarm of sweetened rice. he frowned and looked down into the cup to see bits of cloth sticking up from his food. he plunged the upper layer into the ground, only to find a bloodied white cloth. The alarm blared in his head as he peeled the cloth away. to his horror he found his watch with its dial broken and bloodied, carefully tucked into the rags seemingly torn off from the white angavastram the devadasis wear. the straps were worn out and there were blood stains along the edges of the leather. Someone had tried to tear it off the bearer's wrist. Not his wrist, but "her" wrist. it was the watch that he had gifted Mythrei, that lay before him lifeless and mutilated. A tiny piece of paper folded multiple times, was safely tucked into the case back of the watch. he gently pulled it out only to realize that it was the sheet of paper in which he had written his article for Mythrei to read. his heart sank seeing that there were bloodied finger prints all over it. he opened it up and much to his surprise there was a fresh note on the blank side. they were written in thin red letters, presumably blood. Anbulla Ari kku. idhu ungala seruma nu enakku theriyaadhu. naa uyirodu irundhaalum illenaalum kaalampoora vendikkana andha kadavul eppayavudhu indha kadithatha unga kaiykku sethu vekkum nu nambara.  suthi irukkara iruttu enna muzhuza mulkatikkumbothum, naama onna sendhu payanitha iravukalin azhagaana ninaivukal dha nyabagam varrudhu. oru vela adhu dha nampikai ya maari enna innamum uyir vaazha vekkudho? enakku theriyaadhu. enakaaga neenga nichayama dhinamum kadhundiruppinga nu enakku theriyum. aana naa varaama irundhadhu unga mela kadhal illadhadhu naala illa nu neenga purinjukkanum. annaikku enna nadandhudhu na...the letter went on to narrate the events of that gruesome nights.