60 Chachan

"Chacha..." I got out of the car and ran to our grandfather. 'Chachan' is a local Christian term for grandfather.

"Woof... " Doodu followed me.

Chachan was very happy to see us. He laughed and hugged us all. Our cousins also got hugs from him.

"Seven! No. Eight." Chachan was happy with the number of kids.

"How many times will you count?" Dad asked him.

"I will never get tired of counting. Daughter, did you vomit on the way?" He asked mom. He likes our mom and always calls her 'daughter'.

"I didn't. But someone else did." Mom answered with a happy smile.

"That's... because mom was driving the car left and right to make me vomit." Anuchi made a random excuse.

"I told them to smell a lemon. But they never listen." Jeemma complained.

"Anukutti didn't puke." Jeemma's youngest said. When she was born, she looked a lot like Anuchi. So everyone started referring to her as 'Little Anu'. Then it became Anukutti. As for her actual name, I don't know.

"Good girl. Your other grandfather and grandmother in heaven would be very happy to see you all growing up so well." Chachan said.

He wasn't our biological grandfather. He was the neighbour who adopted dad and Jeemma after our biological grandparents passed away. Our actual grandmother passed away a few months after giving birth to dad. Four years later, our actual grandfather also passed away. After the funeral, the relatives left in a hurry because they were worried about the kids' responsibility falling on their heads. With no other choice, chachan took Jeemma and dad to his own house. At that time, they were so poor that they could barely manage three meals a day. But chachan, his wife and their four kids treated Jeemma and dad as members of their own family.

"It's getting late. Come let's have lunch." Chachan invited us inside. He completely ignored Jeemma and uncle Jijo.

I wasn't surprised. I will explain it later.

We had lunch together. It was a small house. The dining table was also small. So it was a bit crowded. But no one had any complaints. Chachan had had his lunch already. So he just sat there and watched us eat.

After lunch, the kids went to play outside. There were three kittens and a neighbour girl to play with them. I didn't go with them. I climbed onto chachan's lap and sat there comfortably.

"Achu, don't you want to play with them?" Chachan asked.

"Huh? No. I want to be with Chachan." I replied with a sweet smile.

"Really? Achu loves me the most. Ummmaahh..." He was delighted and I got a long kiss.

He was happy. I was happy.

If I ever get into trouble with mom or dad, I can go to Jeemma for help. My parents wouldn't dare to go against her. In everyone's eyes, Jeemma is the ultimate power. But I knew the truth. Jeemma and dad were afraid of disappointing chachan. So if I had the backing of chachan, then I can do anything. Fortunately, the other kids were dumb and never realized it.

"I think he is just tired from the journey," Jeemma said. She wasn't happy. She clearly was worried that I might end up becoming chachan's favourite instead of one of her own.

"Are you?" Chachan asked.

"No. I will play with them tomorrow. Today, I want to play with chachan."

"Really? Then will you play with me again tomorrow?" He was a bit greedy.

".... I will play again tomorrow's tomorrow."

"Such a good boy! Listen, when I die in the future, you can have this ring." He was happy and offered me the ring on his finger.

"Thank you. Can you give it to me now?" I asked him for the ring. I had a good reason.  Because whenever chachan felt a lot of love for any of his grandkids, he would make the same promise. In the end, it was just a hollow promise.

"No. I can't, it's stuck on my finger. I also don't feel lonely when I have it. So I can't give it now. You can cut and take it when I die." It was his wedding ring. Though his wife had died, he held on to the ring.

"Ok. I will come with a knife when you die." I agreed to the deal.

"Not knife. You will need a plier to cut the ring." He corrected me.

"No no. I am cutting the finger. Not the ring." I corrected him.

"What? Why would you cut my finger?" He was baffled.

"Because I don't want to cut the good ring."

"You would rather cut my finger instead of the ring?"

"But you would be dead. So I can cut the finger and it won't hurt." I explained my logic.

"..." Chachan stared at me. My reasoning was logical and he had no good argument.

"What do you value more? Your finger after death or the precious ring that grandma put on you?" I asked.

"That... Ring." Chachan agreed.

"So which one should I cut? Finger or the ring?" I asked.

"I think... finger." chachan agreed.

"Now, if you are going to lose a finger after death, then why not cut it now?" I asked.

"Achu..." mom warned me.

"Chacha please don't listen to him or Anu. Those two can convince you to sell your house to buy ice cream for them." Jeemma warned chachan.

"Little rascal! When you were smaller, we were all worried that you were late to start talking. Now you are talking so good and almost made me cut off my own finger." Chachan was happy.

I just smiled.

"Achu, dear, listen. This ring is a promise between me and my late wife. As long as I have it, I won't feel lonely. She also won't feel lonely in heaven when she sees me wearing it." Chachan explained why he doesn't want to take off the ring.

"She won't be lonely even without the ring," I assured him.

"Why? Because the angels would play with her?" He asked.

"No. My other grandpa would play with her."

"... GET OUT OF MY HOUSE." Chachan kicked me out.

____________________________________

Dear friends,

Sorry for the delay. I was busy with some stuff.

I didn't pass the exam that I had appeared in. I got really good marks in the interview. But the marks I got in the written exam were low. So I didn't get that job. After I got the result, I applied for a teaching job. I got it. So, I have started teaching at an institute nearby.

Another really interesting update is that the arranged marriage proposal got cancelled.

Recently, our families decided to go forward with the marriage. So they wanted us to talk to each other. I too wanted to know her a bit more before proceeding with the marriage. So we started calling. We talked a bit. While talking about my hobbies, I told her about the novels I am writing and gave her the link to this novel.

She read the first 6 chapters of this novel. Then she felt it was too 'vulgar'. I didn't agree with that. So we finally agreed that we have completely different views. Then she told me that she didn't want to continue with the marriage because of this issue. (Don't misunderstand. She is a very good girl.)

I am not sad. But a bit disappointed. I'm a bit relieved too.

Anyway, my novel is doing wonders. My mother doesn't want me to show this novel to any other girl. But my siblings say that I should show it to all the proposals to see who would be the one who could see what I see. (None of them has read it. I am still keeping it a secret.)

Now we have started looking for new proposals. Please remember me in your prayers.

Thank you.