The Girl Who Carried the Sun

Five

Five
☢☢☢

True to her Father's expectation, Lily's stay at home became a week from the sworn two days. During that week, she managed to accompany Daniel to his village, Reiveihmai, to see Puh Khozii and Che Dune. After nearly an hour of waiting for her to finish dressing up and doing her makeup, Lily danced out of the house and hopped into the Scorpio that Daniel had bought for Lily's parents a year and a half ago as a gift. Gone were the days of the grumpy, old Maruti 800.

He looked at her face and teased her, "My, my, is this Marilyn Monroe or Aishwarya Rai? All the boys in the village will faint at the sight of you."

"Hah! Maybe I should just stay back. I think that'll be better for them."

Daniel snorted a laugh and ignited the engine. Lily's phone buzzed in her bag. Huffing at the summer heat, she sought it out of her bag and put it to her ears. "Yeah."

"I'm home. Me and Mocha are going to his village."

"Asshh. No need to come here. I'll be back in a few days," she frowned into the phone.

"Really? Don't start now."

"Yes. Yes. Just get another girl and go out then!"

"Yeah. I know. Bye," she groaned, threw a glance over at Daniel, and slighting ducking her face, cupping the device close to her mouth, she whispered into the phone, "I love you."

I love you?

Eyes narrowed and mouth agape in disbelief, Daniel turned to her. She thrust her phone back into her bag and caught him giving her a whimsical smirk.

"What?!" she laughed, kicking the car in the process.

"I love you. As if... shut up, kid," he chuckled at her.

"Shut up, you old boomer."

He reached out, giving her a pinch on her cheek.

"That was your boyfriend."

"No. That was your girlfriend."

At Reiveihmai, they parked it by the road and walked up the little distance to Puh Khozii and Che Dune's house. They found Che Dune feeding the chicks in her front yard. She jumped and clapped her hands at the sight of the children, dropping the cup of grain in her hand to the ground. She ignored it and ran to them with her arms wide open as she squealed for them.

"The people we want to see the most are here!" Puh Khozii smiled as he rose from his stool where he sat making a metal basket.

Lily ran straight into Che Dune's arms and embraced her.

"We haven't seen you too for such a long time, Lily. Whenever we came to visit your parents, you were always at your hostel," said Dune.

"How are you both?" asked Khozii as he handed them his own handmade cane stool to sit on.

"We're doing good," replied the two of them as they settled on the stools.

"Wah! Look at Daniel's hair," Che Dune said, standing hipshot as she inspected the new hairdo.

Daniel ran his fingers through his rich locks and smiled at them, as though presenting his naughty, inner child.

"It's so calm and cool here," said Lily, looking about her and seeing only green and greener things about her. "The heat in the valley is unbearable now."

"Life at the hills is the best, Lily," replied Puh Khozii, "You get fresh air and organic food. Why don't you find a boy from our village and settle here? There are so many good-looking boys here."