As Kanna and Kathir had already been to Chettinad Palace multiple times they were not in awe of it as much as Mullai's friends. Excitedly they rush to explore the many rooms, standing here and there, they promptly began to take selfies...
K MV: Eppopathalum selfie dhan...yennadhan pannuvangalo ambutu photos eh veichukittu...
He turns to Kanna and sees him taking selfies as well...
K: Aiyo....ivannumah?
M: Kathiru vah...oru selfie edduthukkalam...
With a grin on his face he goes to join her.
He stands next to her, and she leans in close...
Some of the strands of her flying hair fall on his shoulders and he gingerly brushes it away.
She makes so many adorable expressions, each more cuter than the previous one and he can't help, but admire her...
K MV: Azhagi....irrunthalum ivlo azhagae ah irrukae koodathu...
Mullai swipes and looks at the photos she just took..
M: Kathir...selfie edukkum pothu...camera veh pakkanom...
A crimson flush creeps on her face as she says this..
K: Marupadiyum yedu...ippo pakkuren...
And they take one again...and this time it is a flawless picture for their faces reflect the happiness they feel inside.
From the corner of the room, Anandhi looks at them in shock, a look of dawning realization on her face.
****
The Palace is stunning with its colossal pillars, hand painted tiles and a shiny terracotta roof. In the center of the wall, displayed in prominence is a huge framed photo of the family that owns the Palace.
But what really catches the eye, is the huge spacious thinnai, all rooms lead to this beautiful courtyard.
It has also been refurbished with some modern amenities. A perfect union of modern and traditional designs.
The kitchen though is preserved as it was...
Enormous brass vessels are kept piled on brick fireplaces, a huge mortar for hand pounding rice with its long pestle rests in a corner, black cauldrons hang in thick nails by their handles and a churner for churning thick buttermilk is on the other side.
The group by now has split...some alone, some in twos and threes...
Gayathri and Kanna have formed a lovely bond...she is an only child in her family and has always longed for a younger brother and is delighted to have found one in Kanna. She is laughing at Kanna as he mimes the stance of a statue nearby. Mullai looks at them fondly...
She enters the next room and it is child's room.
There is a sturdy wooden cradle in the center... The four corners are decorated with miniature elephants, their workmanship so fine and intricate, she can even see the little tusks painted a faded white.
She can imagine a rich Chettiar commissioning the carpenter to build it for his long awaited child. A few wooden toys are scattered on the shelf. The curators of the Palace have arranged it in that natural way.
This room tugs at her heart's strings.
She is so caught up in the past that she can almost hear the echo of a child crying, the sound of the mother's anklets as she rushes to pick up her child and makes soothing noises to calm him.
She can hear the mother singing an old soulful lullaby, sitting on the rocking chair at the side, the child suckling at her breast.
She takes a deep breath...she hears the pitter patter of tiny feet, their giggles and joyous laughter as they play with the toys.
And she glances at Kathir, he has this far away look on his face, and she realizes that he sees it too..
Of course he does, he always has, he is an old soul, a free spirit, a born wanderer caught up in the struggles of life.
K: Appadiyeh ingae vazhthanvugalodae ethiroli kathulae kettkuthu Mullai..
The fine hairs at the back of her neck rise up..
It is as if he can read her mind.
Are they so in sync with each other that he can know what she is thinking?
Her heart races at that thought.
He looks at her with a twinkle in his eyes..
K: Cha...anthae kalathulae vazhthirukalam... Nimmathi ya irunthirukkum...
She nods, and for some silly reason she is feeling emotional..
For the life of her, she doesn't know why.
Maybe this place has some sort of mysticism to make her soul yearn for her secret desires.
Desires, that up until that moment, she didn't know that she had.
She shakes her head, willing herself to come out of this reverie.
But a few disobedient tears seep out of the corner of her eyes and she brushes them away with the back of her hands.
An aghast Kathir comes rushing to her side...
K: Mullai...mullai...ethukudi azhuvurae?
M: Onnum illae...
K: Sollu... yennachu..vaiyr vallikuthah?
She shakes her head, a smile trying hard to appear on her lips at that standard question.
K: Amma ethachom thittunagalah?
She shakes her head again.
That's the problem...she doesn't know why she is feeling this way..
He wipes the tears away with his thumb...
And pinches her cheeks softly.
Back when they were kids he used to do it often...
Sometimes painfully and she would cry.
Today he was using the same tactics to stop her from crying.
That made her smile.
K: Vah pohalam...chocolate vaangi tharen..
She laughs..
Yet another childhood habit..
Anytime she was in distress he had a chocolate to give her..
Low marks in exams...a chocolate..
Scoldings from her mother..a chocolate..
Bleeding knees from a fall... a chocolate..
Somedays she had pretented to be sad just to get that chocolate from him..
Her smile gets a bit wider at the sweet memories..
How did they go from being best friends to barely talking?
It is indeed a sobering thought..
Whatever this is, that is brewing between them, she is scared of it.
Scared that, in an instant, things would change and they would go back to being unable to even look at each other.
This is far too valuable, far too precious to be disrupted in any way. And she knows that she would do anything to protect it.
To be continued...
