Chapter 33

Ananya’s hesitation continued and her heartbeat raised. Sabari could hear the ringtone clearly, as Ananya did not disconnect the call. He screamed and Ananya was still able to hear him, as she was almost a foot away from the mobile.

“Come on Ananya!!! Why don’t you pick up the call?”

Ananya held her mobile back closer and replied, “Don’t you know who is calling?”

“I know that it is Abilash.. What is stopping you from taking the call?”

 “Whatever and however you advise me, I don’t have the self-confidence to have a conversation with him. I might blabber and screw up the storyline. If you were here, that would give me some confidence.”

“Okay.. Okay.. If that is all you need, I will be there in another thirty minutes”

“Oh good.. But I wont take any calls from Abilash until you are here”

“Ok… I’m starting now”

Ananya began to wait and time crawled. As promised, Sabari reached home in thirty minutes. Ananya was relieved. In the next few minutes, Vasudharini’s phone rang. Ananya looked at the display and stayed silent.

Sabari asked, “Is that Abilash?”

“Ya..”

“Don’t forget my instructions”

“No.. No.. Wait.. I took your advice so far… But now, please listen to me.. Let that ring”

“But… Why?”

“We should not take the call”

“How will you talk to Abilash then?”

“I can..”. Ananya answered confidently and Vasudharini’s phone stopped ringing.

“Again… How???”

“If Vasu’s phone is not attended, who will Abilash contact next??”

When Sabari was about to answer, Ananya’s mobile rang. Sabari understood what Ananya was trying to explain.

“Your are right… “

Ananya grabbed her phone and as expected, it was Abilash who was calling her. Ananya showed the mobile display to Sabari.

“Here he is.. I know Abilash would call me if Vasu is not reachable”

 “Ok.. Now… What are you going to tell him?”

“Just wait and watch”

Ananya pressed the green button on the display and switched on the speaker. Without showing any pressure, she started to talk.

“Hi Abilash…Good Morning… How are you feeling now?”

“I’m doing a lot better now… The doctor said that I can be discharged anytime from now. He has prescribed some medication for a month.”

“I’m sure Vasu would be relieved hearing this”

“She doesn’t know this news yet”

“What do you mean? She got up early at 6 AM, freshened up herself and left to meet you. I thought she would have reached the hospital long back. Has she not reached there yet?”

“Oh.. No.. She didn’t…”

“Did you try to call her on mobile?”

“I did a couple of times.. The phone rang but she didn’t pick up the call”

“Oh really? That is surprising”

Ananya paused for couple of seconds and continued.

“Abilash!!!  Vasu was saying that she needs to go to the Thiruverkadu temple. May be she might come to the hospital from there”

“Are you sure that she said that?”

The question from Abilash gave Ananya a slight tremor.

“Ya…..Yes.. Why Abilash?”

“Vasudharini is an atheist and she doesn’t have the habit of going to temples. I’m surprised that as a close friend of her, you weren’t aware of that.”

Ananya grinned hearing that and quickly tried to come out of the situation.

“Oh ya.. I was aware of that since my college days. However, I could see a change in her after meeting me in my residence in the last few days. I assume that the tough time you both faced in your hometown gave a change to her atheist ideology. Let me tell you something. When you were getting treated in the hospital, do you know what she was did?”

“No..”

“She visited the Ganesh temple that was close to the hospital”

“Oh really? That was a transformation”

“Abilash!!! Tough times will definitely change a person either ways. I think that is what has happened inside her. So, I’m not surprised”

“So, you say that she should be in Thiruverkadu temple..right?”

“Yes.. She might have put the phone in silent”

“But, you said that she started earlier.. It is 10 AM already…”

“May be the temple is crowded today..Try reaching her in sometime. I will try calling her too”

“Ok Ananya… I feel relieved after talking to you.. By the way, did you think about our marriage arrangements?”

Ananya was put in a spot with that question and she grinned once again.

“Hmm … Yes… Abilash.. I did discuss with Vasu on this.. She didn’t want get to the marriage setup in this tough situation.”

“Oh.. Why did she say that?”

“She thinks that when both your parents are still furious about your relationship, it is not right to get married immediately. It might make them even more furious.”

“Uf… She is always like that… Not brave enough to handle the situation…Alright.. I will try to reach her in sometime.. Can you try from your end too?”

“Sure Abilash.. Will do.. Bye”

Ananya disconnected the call and looked at Sabari with a smile.

“Did I talk right Sabari?”

“Perfect Ananya… You managed it well.. What next?”

“Hmm.. Ok.. Let me do this.. “

Ananya took Vasudharini’s mobile and opened the back cover of the mobile. She unloaded the sim and the battery from it. Once done, she broke the sim card into two and turned to Sabari.

“Sabari!! Last week we bought some acid to clean the bathroom tiles…right? Where is it now?”

“I have kept it in a box under the stairs”

“Bring it on.. We will shower Vasu’s mobile with acid right away.”

Sabari smiled at her and said, “That’s brilliant… So, brain’s in the work… huh??”

“Let us debate that later… Can you get the acid fast?”

“Give me a minute… “

Sabari stood and was about to walk in the direction on the stairs. Just then, the calling bell rang.