Jimikki Kadhaigal

Ilangaathum Puyalkaathum

Kathir is seated against the shelf in their room and Mullai is observing him from across the room.

Kathir has been struggling to keep Pandian Stores delivery receipts in order and Mullai's loud sneeze sends a couple of them flying.

Kathir looks up with a sigh and Mullai laughs out loud. He rolls his eyes fondly and shifts around picking up the receipts.

Mullai: (exasperated) Receipt adukkradhukku evlo paadu, irunga oru nimisham.

She reaches across him and extends her arm towards a small figurine on the shelf.

Kathir moves aside in alarm and closes his eyes. Mullai gets annoyed at his behaviour and pauses mid-air.

Mullai: Enga, ungalukku oru paper weight eduthu kudukka thaan vandhen. Ippudi odhungureeha? Naa enna panneda poren.

Kathir stays still and silently waits for her to take the object and return to her position.

Mullai: Kanna thoranganga. En kaathu kooda unga mela pada koodaatha?

Kathir opens his eyes slowly and waits patiently for her to move.

Mullai starts as if to say something and shakes her head instead. Her Jimikki falls off her ear and onto his veshti.

She picks up the figurine and places it on his receipts with a huff and leaves the room.

Kathir releases a long breath and sits back comfortably. He smiles at the figurine, places the receipts under it and stretches against the wall.

Kathir Mind Voice (MV): Ava kitta vandhaale pullarichu nikkudhe. Idhula salichukittu vera pora. Mullaa (he rubs his chest and sighs). Pakkathu room la irukkuravala nenachu ippudiye perumoochu vittukittu irundha oru velaiyum aagaadhu, velaya mudi da.

He sits upright and returns to his task. All receipts in order and accounted for, he gets up and something falls off his lap.

Her Jimikki.

He stands stunned for a second and picks it with a soft look on his face.

Kathir MV: Cha, ithu poi tharaila vizhundhuruche, paathu endhirichirukka koodathu? Namma madi la irundhirukku. Namma madi la, namma veshti la ava Jimikki (he closes his eyes and takes a breath).

He holds her Jimikki in his palm and ventures into the hall looking for her. He finds her watching the street, leaning against the main entrance doorway. He sneaks up behind her and gently places the Jimikki in her hair.

Mullai whips around and is startled to find him almost pressed against her. Caught between the instinct to run towards the backyard and the urge to wrap himself in her mundhaanai, he stands still. Just as her eyes threaten to fall out and engulf him, Kathir decides that playing with her is the only safe way to continue.

Kathir: Idhenna pudhu alangaaram? Inniku poo vaangi tharala nu romba varuthamo?

Mullai: Innerathula enna poo?

Kathir: En raathiri thaan vaangi tharanumo?

Mullai gulps and realises that the man facing her is not the one she left behind in the room. She looks away to breathe despite the proximity.

Kathir follows her gaze and moves his face to lock eyes with her. He holds her gaze and whispers in a voice thick with aasai, nesam and vilayaattuthanam:

"Mullai?"

Her pupils dilate and her breath quickens. She bores into his eyes and demands in a soft, steady, breathy voice:

"Sollu Kathir"

Kathir feels a jolt of electricity course through him and his chest puffs out with a sharp intake of breath. He shuts his eyes and faces the floor. Struggling to deal with the shock wave and unable to leave her personal space, he holds on to her shoulders and takes a step back with his eyes closed.

Vague plans of teasing her about the Jimikki in her hair forgotten, he moves his right hand from her shoulder and reaches behind her. Eyes still closed, he picks up the Jimikki without fumbling, but hesitates to move his hand.

Mullai stands as if in a trance, feeling everything and processing nothing.

His Jimikki-holding palm lingers in her hair and he makes a mental note to pay more attention to her hair in the future. Filing away the urge to undo her braid, he slowly brings his hand back to her shoulder.

Kathir takes his hand close to her ear and finally opens his eyes to test his resolve. One look at her solid, warm presence and he looks away, chuckling. Shaking his head in amusement, he returns his gaze to the floor and realises how defenceless he is. He places his palm back on her shoulder and chuckles again.

Mullai is smiling by now and just as she is about to snap out of her trance, Kathir slowly traces the metal and bead droplets of her Jimikki along her shoulder and arm. He moves his other hand roughly along her other shoulder and arm in tandem.

The delicate Jimikki kisses on her left hand and the slow burn on her right hand threaten to split her body in two.

Both his hands reach her palms and he holds her palms, unwilling to let go of the sensation. He presses the Jimikki into her palms and closes her palms around it in a clasp. He covers her palms with a clasp of his own and brings them close to his face.

Mullai senses that this is going to be his last move before they step back into their regular world. While it looked like he might kiss her palms, she knew that something else was coming.

He holds her palms in a reverential clasp and rests his forehead on it for a second. He looks up and inhales deeply over the clasp as if to breathe her in and exhales heavily through his nose and mouth.

His hot breath washes over her hands and she feels tiny hairs along her arm stand up and try to reach him.

Holding her gaze, Kathir lets go of her hands with a question. As he turns around and walks with the ends of his veshti kicked up and in his hands, Mullai stares at his retreating form with his gentle words ringing in her ears:

"Un kaathu en mela pattadhu podhuma?"