"Vennela wake up" Amar woke her up at four in the morning.
He never entered her room without permission in their four weeks of marriage."What happened? Are you alright?" She touched his forehead to check his temperature.
"I'm fine. It's grandma. She injured her right arm yesterday. I have to go. I may have to stay there for a few days." Amar was visibly tensed for his grandmother.
"Give me five minutes. I'll pack my clothes," said Vennela, opening her travel bag.
"No. You don't have to come. It's a small village in the East Godavari district. You may not feel comfortable. Besides, your aunt and uncle will be visiting you today before going back to Bangalore. They will be hurt if you don't meet them," said Amar. Prakash and Nanditha left as soon as the wedding was over, to search for Lasya. They found her in Delhi, married to her boyfriend. After a lot of discussions with her and her husband, it was decided that the couple would stay in Delhi and Lasya would resume her position in the company.
"They didn't care about my feelings. Did they? Grandma did. I am coming with you." She packed her bag.
Amar knew it was no good arguing with her. He let her come along. They reached the village in a few hours. Janaki's house was a two-storey building with a large variety of plants in the garden surrounded by a tall compound wall. Vennela's mood lifted as soon as she entered the house. It had everything a perfect Indian home was supposed to have.
"Where's grandma?" Amar asked a servant.
"I'm here." Janaki answered from the kitchen.
Vennela ran inside and hugged her. Janaki's right elbow was bandaged. "Are you alright grandma? How did this happen? What did the doctor say?"
"Relax Vennela. This is nothing. I tripped and fell. Just a small injury," said Janaki.
"What is this darling? Why are you here, in the kitchen? You are growing old. You are supposed to take rest. Let the servants cook." Amar held Janaki's hand and gently led her out.
"Watch who you are calling old. I'm just seventy. Much younger and stronger than you." Janaki replied.
"No doubt about that. But now that I'm here, I won't let you work. I'll supervise all the cooking" said Amar, examining Janaki's medicines.
"No. I'll cook healthy food for grandma. I have experience in taking care of patients." Vennela was massaging Janaki's feet.
"Hey, it's my right. She's my darling grandma." Amar argued with her.
"And I'm her beloved granddaughter" said Vennela.
"Children, why don't you work together?" Janaki suggested.
"No. Let's have a competition. Let us present our respective dishes to grandma at dinner. She'll decide who the winner is." Amar announced.
Vennela agreed. "Right. I'll cook poha. It's healthy and fat free."
Amar laughed. "Poha? Poha is for beginners like you. I'm an expert. I'll cook Shahi Paneer."
"But there is no Paneer in the kitchen," said Janaki. It was Vennela's turn to laugh.
"So, what? I'll buy it from a store. I'll take grandpa's old bike. I'll be back in half an hour." Amar took the keys and waved at them.
"He loves bikes. Just like his grandfather," said Janaki, pointing at a photo frame of her and her late husband along with two children, a girl and a boy.
"You both look so good as a pair. Is this Radhika amma? She looks so cute. Who is this boy?" Vennela asked pointing at the boy.
"My son. Both my husband and my son worked for the Indian Army. They died in the war on the same day" said Janaki. Vennela's eyes were moist. She hugged Janaki. "I'm so sorry grandma." Janaki patted her.
It started raining heavily. Vennela was worried for Amar who didn't take raincoat with him. Few moments later she received Amar's call. "Hello Vennela..."
She couldn't hear his voice properly due to the rain and poor signal. "Amar garu, can't hear you."
At that instant she heard a loud noise of a vehicle crash followed by man's scream. "Amar garu, what was that? Are you alright?"
There was no answer. "ANSWER ME. WHERE ARE YOU?" she screamed, her eyes welling up. There was no answer again and the call ended. She tried to call him repeatedly. The phone was ringing but he wasn't answering her call. She told Janaki everything. "I have to search for him."
"Take the car." Janaki ordered the driver to go with her.
She sat in the car. "He must have gone to the shop eight kilometers away from the main road. That is where we get fresh Paneer" said the driver. They reached the shop in no time.
Vennela showed a picture of Amar to the shopkeeper. "Did this man come here? He was wearing a black shirt. Which way did he go?" She asked him.
The shopkeeper refused to give her the details. "Sorry. I won't tell you. He is a world famous businessman. For all I know, you might be a kidnapper or an enemy trying to harm him. We can't reveal his details."
Vennela had no time to request him. She twisted his hand. "How about I kidnap and torture you? If you don't tell me which way he went you won't see the sunrise tomorrow."
"No. Please. I'll tell you. He was here some fifteen minutes ago. He went this way, towards the outskirts of the village." He pointed towards right.
"Amar sir loves the old temple and the bridge near the outskirts of the village. I'm sure he must have gone there" said the driver. They reached the outskirts.
"You search near the bridge. I'll go the other way. Call me if you find him." She told the driver who nodded and left.
She searched and searched and searched. "Amar garu. Where are you? Please come back." But there was no sign of him. "It's all my fault. I was being stupid. I shouldn't have--NOOOOOO." She found Amar's bike parked behind the temple with blood stains everywhere. She couldn't see Amar anywhere near the bike. It was evident that there has been an accident and judging by the amount of blood, it seemed like he was seriously injured.
"AMAR!" She knelt down beside the bike and cried.
She lost him. She lost the man who always stood by her and supported her. She lost the man who would willingly sacrifice everything just to see her smile. "Please don't go away. Come back to me." She closed her eyes bent her head low touching the ground. She never wept like that since her mother's death.
She felt someone tap her shoulder. "Looking for me?" Amar was standing behind her drenched in the rain and shirt soaked in blood.
"AMAR! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? I ALMOST DIED SEARCHING FOR YOU." She shouted at him and cupped his face at the same time. "You're bleeding. Let me take you to the hospital."
"Vennela, it's not my blood. It started raining when I reached the temple. I called you to inform that I have taken shelter here and will be late. Just then I saw an elderly man skid and fall from his bike. I helped him up and took him to the main road where I found someone who knows him." Amar explained in detail.
"YOU COULD AT LEAST HAVE CALLED ME, YOU MORON." She punched him.
"Ouch! That hurt. You're so strong." Amar grinned at being punched by his wife. "Sorry sweetheart. I was busy helping the old man."
Vennela called the driver asking him to bring the car which was parked a few streets away. They went inside the temple. It was in ruins with a beautiful idol in the centre. "Isn't the place beautiful? Built before independence. I used to come here with amma before a fire accident destroyed half of it. No one comes here now," said Amar.
They sat down. Amar was wiping the water from Vennela's face when they heard a voice, "How dare you kiss inside a sacred temple?" Four men were standing at the entrance.
"We weren't kissing. I was just wiping the water off her face." Amar explained.
"A likely excuse. You uncultured city people are contaminating our village with such deeds. You will be taken to the Panchayat" announced the man who spoke earlier.
"You are mistaken. This girl is my wife. We were just taking shelter in the tem--"
But they were in no mood to listen. They held his hand and dragged him. Vennela was furious. She hit the man with a perfect karate move.
"Amar! Stay back. Let me handle this." She shielded Amar.
She turned to the other three and kicked one of them. He yelled at the others, "Get that bi--"
Before he could complete the word, he was lying on the ground with his nose bleeding. Vennela turned to see Amar, his fist clenched. She has never seen him in a rage like this before. It was intimidating.
He beat them up. Vennela observed that his blows were not random but calculated. 'Deadly moves' she thought.
He threw them at her feet. "Apologize." He ordered them. They didn't need telling twice. "Sorry akka."
"If I see you harassing any couple or using foul language again, I'll kill you." He warned them and let them go.
"How di-did you do that? Only an expert in martial arts can pull off something like this" said Vennela.
"Well, I'm a black belt in Karate. I have quite a good knowledge of Kalaripayattu." Amar answered.
"Why didn't you tell me this? Why did you lie to me?" asked Vennela.
"When did I lie? I just hid the truth." Amar shrugged.
"But you knew I had wrong impression. So, it is equivalent to lying. Never hide anything from me" said Vennela.
"Sorry" he apologized.
"It's okay. I'm so proud of you." She gave him a friendly pat on the arm.
But he was lost in thought. There's one more thing which he has hidden from her. His heart was filled with guilt.
---***---
Vennela won the competition that night. Janaki intentionally awarded her an extra point. Amar didn't mind.
"You have to sleep with me tonight" said Amar, as they reached their room.
"WHAT!" Vennela exclaimed.
"Hey! I was talking about sleeping on the same bed as there is no couch in the room."
Vennela sighed in relief. She made a line of control with pillows, dividing the bed into two halves. "Why are you smiling?" She asked him.
"One of the most memorable days of my life. You cried for me. You called me Amar without using any suffix. Thank you so much, my moonlight." Amar winked at her.
---***---
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