Playboy and Dirty girl

The accident

Madhan was browsing through the matrimonial website. No one would believe if they heard Madhan was going to have an arranged marriage. He has been a playboy all his school and college life. His parents too assumed he was to bring home a girl and introduce her as their daughter-in-law. But things fell apart when at 27 he was not yet married. That was when he asked his parents to look a girl for him. When they finally decided to search for girls, no one in the vicinity was coming forth knowing the legend of Madhan. So they opted to register on a matrimonial website. His education, employment, and the family background sound good on the profile. The problems always started after the bride side started any enquiries. 

When searching for women on matrimonial Madhan preferred profiles without any pictures. He wanted the first impression he has about the girl is not her looks. His mother did not believe Madhan's reasons. She felt Madhan knew so many girls, every girl he saw felt familiar. Not seeing the picture kept the mystery and expectation of meeting a new girl last a little longer. After spending hours, Madhan liked a profile on the site. The profile Madhan chose picked belonged to a Rati Sharma. The girl was working in an IT company, a Maths major. She loved the songs of Ilayaraja, which Madhan loved too. Everything felt working out, except one. She does not want to have kids. Instead, she wants to go for adoption. Madhan was for adoption, but he also wanted a kid of his own. Madhan was thinking hard about the choices when his phone started ringing. The screen was flickering the name dirty girl. It was many years he got a call from her last. He picked it with excitement. In the excitement, he shouted, "How are you, dirty girl?". The man on the other side said of the call said, "Sir, I don't know who the girl is. She had an accident. Your name was the only number listed in favourites. So I called you." 

Madhan got some money out and started to the hospital right away after finishing the call. Walking out, he saw his mother was in the pooja room. He did not have a belief in any god, modern thoughts and all. He started his car, took it out of the parking. For some reason, he stopped went back in and stopped at the pooja room. His mother was surprised to see him in the pooja room. She saw a hint of sadness in his face. What he hid well were the tears that were rolling out.

The Introduction (Many years go)

Madhan hated the town. Nothing wrong perse with the place. His father's job made them shift towns very often. It was easy for his parents. But for Madhan it means leaving all his friends behind. New place, new starts and new friendships were not that easy. One evening, when he was alone staring out of the window of his room. That was when he saw her first. The small 3 ft girl, climbing the wall. She was trying to pluck out fresh mangoes on the tree. Madhan was awed seeing her climbing that tall wall without any fear. The walls were all slippery due to the rain the previous day. Her white uniform turned all dirty from climbing the walls. Suddenly the girl jumped from the long wall. Madhan did not understand why. Only when he saw the owner of the mango tree chasing the girl, he found that the girl was thieving the mangoes. The girl ran into Madhan's house to hide. She saw Madhan and signalled not to tell anyone about her hiding space. After the owner left, the girl ordered Madhan to bring some salt and chilli powder. They both had those raw mangoes together. Madhan had a new friend.

Madhan's father works as a policeman. Which every city they travelled they stayed in official police quarters. The girl he met the day before was a daughter of policeman as well. Madhan was planning to tell her not to steal when they meet the next time. The day came sooner than Madhan expected, she came to Madhan's home the next evening, this time with some guavas. He knew she stole them from next door on looking at her dirty dress. Madhan was ready to confront her. The moment she ordered him to bring some salt, he just walked into the kitchen to follow her order. This has become a custom for Madhan and the girl. There were a few reasons for it. The mother of the girl will get angry if she sees the stolen fruit in her hand. Secondly, the girl too needed a friend.

As the custom goes, that evening, the girl reached Madhan's home. Madhan was watching a movie on the TV, Geethanjali of Nagarjuna. She sat next to Madhan, and they were watching the movie together when a song started. Immediately his mother came running switched off the TV and asked them to step out and play. They both stepped out of the room to the play area. Madhan did not understand why his mother asked to go out suddenly. The girl noticed Madhan was lost in his thoughts. 

"What are you thinking about?"

"I wanted to watch the movie but don't know why my mother asked u to go out?" 

"Because it had a kiss scene". 

Madhan did not know what a kiss scene was? He asked the girl. She did not know how to explain. So, the girl kissed him straight on the lips to show him. That was when he named her the Dirty Girl.

The fallout

Madhan and the Dirty Girl are now in their teens. Madhan transformed to be a different boy in the teens. He was surrounded by girls all the time.  Very soon, he came to be known as the playboy of the school. The Dirty girl was in a different class and had very less time now to interact with Madhan at school. She, however, continued to be friends with him at home. They now spent their time studying together. She taught him mathematics even though he was senior to her. He was weak in mathematics. He taught her physics. What he never learnt was the chemistry that she was trying to build between them. 

They discussed everything going on in their lives with each other. But never the topic of girls. They loved chatting away about movies a lot. They both are fans of K.Viswanath's movies, Ilayaraja's music. Both liked Kamal Hasan movies. But for different reasons. She liked the expressions he could present just with his eyes. Madhan liked the expressions Kamal generated in teens using his lips. That evening they both started to watch a Kamal movie. A scene from the movie made Madhan uncomfortable. Kamal was about to show his capabilities that Madhan liked so much, a kiss scene. He slowly took the heroine's face into his hands. The mouth of Madhan opened in anticipation. The dirty girl's lips dried due to the heat. The scene finished in seconds, but it felt like forever for Madhan and the girl. They both could not face each other or speak for a few seconds. The tension in the room was so thick it could be cut with a knife. They were shocked to reality when Madhan's mother walked in and asked if they wanted something. The girl felt all kinds of confusion from what happened in the last few minutes. She started to leave, Madhan followed her as a courtesy. On reaching the door, she turned to say bye to Madhan. Madhan, who was walking behind, did not notice, and they hit each other. The girl was too fall, and Madhan held her waist to stop the fall. He slowly pulled her back to make her stand on her two feet when their eyes met. The dry lips of the girl wanted a little something from getting dry any further. She took the help of Madhan's lips. Once the lips touched, the Madhan's hands lost control. The girl fell on the floor with a thud. She got up and ran home ignoring the pain, both physical and mental.

The world of the dirty girl changed completely from that day. She felt Madhan too felt the same. The visits to Madhan's home juggled between high anticipation and awkward smiles. She was not able to gauge what was going in Madhan's world. She could hardly face him anymore. One of those days in the school the girls were having a break and chatting in the school. A girl Radha came to the dirty girl and asked if she can take her to Madhan's house. She felt the request was uncommon. 

"Why do you want to go to Madhan's house?"

"We are in love with each other"

"Is it true?" asked the dirty girl.

"Yes, Madhan even told me I am his first kiss. See this letter."

"If that was the case, why do you need me. Ask Madhan to take you to his home." said the dirty girl in an angry tone. 

Post that she stopped going to Madhan's house. A few times Madhan tried to talk to her, but she ignored him. Slowly the gap between them grew till one day the girl left the town. She went to say goodbye to Madhan that day. But, Madhan was not there for her, and her heart was broken.

The reunion that was not

Many years later Madhan was in Chennai for an interview. He was worried as he was looking forward to moving to Chennai. The earlier job he had was in Mumbai, and he was looking for a job, close to home. He took a few steps into the office premises, and a girl came running and kissed him on the lips. Everyone who came for the interview was shocked seeing this. Few men whistled, and few women were giggling. After the initial shock, Madhan pushed the girl off. The girl turned and ran away before Madhan could know who the girl was. 

He went and took his seat in the waiting room, waiting for his turn. All his thoughts were about who is the girl. Madhan's concentration was disturbed. He was trying hard to bring his attention back to the interview. It was proving to be not easy. His turn for the interview had come, and his good fortune he did very well. It was lunchtime already, so he decided to have lunch in the company canteen before heading back home. It could be his daily meal place soon. As he sat down with his plate, he noticed the girl. 

"Hey, dirty girl. What are you doing here?"

"'This is the place where I work."

Only then he noticed the dress. It was she who kissed him that morning. He was pleasantly happy finding her here. He felt very, very lucky to get back with her. 

"There was a guy who was harassing me to love him. Even after telling him, I have a boyfriend he did not let me be. Today, my fortune, I found you walking in. He will never bother me anymore."

He was happy that she considered him to be a boyfriend. But nothing could prepare him for what was coming next.

"I came with another guy one day. But I could not kiss him. That guy would have taken advantage. With you, I don't have to worry. You know there is nothing between us."

Nothing between us, how can she say that. Madhan spent the rest of the lunch in absolute silence. That evening he got the call he was looking forward to. He got selected, but he did not take the job.

Will, they/won't they

Madhan reached the hospital and ran into the emergency ward. The nurse told they moved the patent into a private room after the surgery. He went into the room searching for the dirty girl. As he walked in, he noticed she had injuries all over her body. He could not control his tears after seeing her in that state. He was there waiting for her to wake up. He did not blink an eye all-day watching her. Around 8 PM he saw some twitching and her eyes started to tear up. Her tears made him sadder, but he was hoping she will wake up any minute. But she did not. He went closer to her to wipe off the tears. When he went closer to her face, she held him tight and kissed him on the lips. Madhan called the doctor telling she moved before the doctor could arrive, she was unconscious. 

Madhan stayed in the hospital mot taking his attention off her for a few days. Suddenly one evening she woke up. He was elated seeing her up. He hugged her with tears rolling on his cheek. She looked puzzled. She had no clue what was going on. 

She asked him, "Why is he here?"

Two days of waiting and the anticipation, Madhan was disappointed with the question. But the query was not strange considering the last they met was around five years ago. So he started to explain.

"I got a call from a stranger about your accident two days ago. I was worried about you and came to the hospital to support you."

"Did you tell my parents?"

"They called a few times on WhatsApp. I told you are fine recovering. "

"Why did you do that. My parents are in the US, and they will be worrying." 

"I did not know how to handle when they were calling. If it was only a few hours, I could manage. It was two days I did not know how not to tell them."

She knows he was right. But she does not want her parents worried. She immediately called them and told she was okay. Madhan stepped out of the room to go to have a coffee. She finished her call with the parents. She now started to think why did Madhan wait for her in the hospital that long. Does he have some feelings for her? I kissed him so many time before today. He did not care for any of them why does he have any feelings now. The mind was fluctuating between the extremes. She has been waiting for him long. She decided she will not let go of this opportunity anymore. As soon as he comes back, she decided she will ask him. Her wait was making the clock moving very slow. Madhan walked into her room after what felt like forever. He walked in and handed her some popcorn to bite on. Till now she was confident and ready, once she saw Madhan the confidence was falling short. She, however, cannot wait anymore and decided to ask.

"Why were you waiting here?"

The anticipation of this many years or the medication she does not know. The words came out all wrong from her. 

"Don't you want me here? I can go.", he replied.

"I did not mean that way."

"I don't know. I heard you are in trouble. My mind stopped thinking, and two days later, we are here."

"I was expecting something more.", she said in anticipation of him opening up.

"What more was there?" said Madhan trying to act smart.

"Nothing", said her disappointed.

"By the way, why do you have my number as your favourite?", asked Madhan.

She knew exactly why. She knew from when they were ten years old and when she had her first kiss. But she was not going to confess first.

"I don't know." 

"Strange. But good that my number was there. What if the call went to parents. They would have panicked."

"I don't want to think about that anymore. Let us talk about something else."

"Okay. What do you suggest?"

"Are you married? Are you with any girl?". She was not ready for any answer but a "No". But it was Madhan, playboy in school. How can she expect something like that? She was hoping against hope. But to her surprise, she got the exact answer she was looking for.

"No. No women in my life now.", replied Madhan.

She was ecstatic with the answer. Now she started to get made playful.

"A playboy Madhan has no girl, and I should believe"

"Playboy!!! That ruined me. I had no clue how to talk to girls. I treated them as any of my friends. Everyone felt I had feelings for them, but no one was sure. Slowly they saw I was not coming forth and they moved on." said Madhan.

She started to laugh hysterically. Madhan, to divert her asked about what was going on with her. Who was she seeing, etc?

"I am seeing you."

"Ha, ha, bad joke. Tell me what was going on with you."

"Nothing much is going on."

"By the way, why did you suddenly stop coming to my house."

She remembered the girl Radha and how Madhan lied and kissed her. Her anger from the day was back.

"Don't you know?" she asked in an angry tone.

"I thought you were getting old and your parents stopped you from visiting me. "

"No. It was not that. It was Radha."

"Who was Radha?"

"Radha, your first kiss. She told everyone you both are in love."

"I don't remember any Radha. I never had any first kiss."

How can he say he doesn't remember his first kiss. I kissed him so many times before today.

"I don't know what went between you. I decided to go away to give you guys space."

"Stupid, you could have asked me first", said Madhan.

"You tell me this why did you not take the job. I know you are selected."

Madhan knew why. He had feelings for her. She told him that day when she kissed him that she has no feelings for him. She could not stay around her when she has no feelings for him. But he cannot tell her that.

"I got a better opportunity so, I took it", he lied to her.

She knows it was a lie. Madhan was in the same job for a few more years. She was following his every move. She could not let her feeling for him go away. But why did he lie? Does he have feelings for her too? Her hopes suddenly started to take off. That was when there was some ding on his phone. Madhan was looking at the phone and was trying to hide his screen from her.

"Is that some secret message? Did you lie about no girl in your life?" she asked playfully. She was not ready for the answer he was about to give. 

"It is a little embarrassing. I sent a request for a match on the matrimonial site. The message was from the girl. It looks like written by the girl's parents. They want us to meet."

"How do you know it was not from the girl."

"The way the worded politely and how they want us to meet in temple. It was clear it was not the girl."

Now she started to worry. What if Madhan falls for her and marries her. Before her hopes could take off flight, they are coming crashing down. How to tell him she has feelings for him without knowing how he reacts. A few minutes ago he gave her hope, now this. She was ready to get rejected as well if she does not, there was no hope left. He started looking for girls to get married. She needs to pour her heart out to him if she wants any chance. But she needs a little time to gather her thoughts. Meanwhile, she asked him to show the girl's profile. He started to show the girl's online profile excitedly and told her why she liked the Ritu so much. That was when she noted the excitement in Madhan's face. She had nothing else to tell him that day but ask him to go and meet the girl. 

A week later, Madhan went to meet the girl in the temple. He was anxious and tense for the first meeting with Ritu. He was looking for something to calm him down. To his good fortune, he saw "The Dirty Girl" in the temple. Madhan relaxed a bit seeing her. He went to her and said, "Thank you for coming." 

"I know you were tense. I expected you were going to be when I saw your reaction to the girl's online profile. "

"Good that you understood. You stay with me. We will tell the girl something about why you are here. ", said Madhan.

"By the way, what are you going to say to the girl."

"I don't know. Introduce myself to her, and then see what she has to say and what questions she has for me."

"Let me help you. Tell her this."

"Hi, I am Madhan. I am a decent guy. Many considered me a playboy in school and college. I was not, which I too came to know very late. Now I was not able to talk to someone I know because they had the wrong impression about me. I got too cautious and was not able to talk to any new woman. Today too, I am very scared to meet you. But one thing is for sure you were the one I was looking for many, many years. I just hope I confessed my love to you long ago we could have had many, many memories already. Let us not delay this anymore and create memories right away, starting with this one."

"That was wonderful. But I am confused now. I don't know if I want to marry her or not."

"What do you mean?"

"I thought all these days, I was not able to commit to any girl because I was not trying. But after seeing you, I realised I am in love with you. I don't know what do you feel. But I thought I want to tell you once before I do anything else. All my worry for today was that I did not get a chance to speak to you before meeting the girl. My fortune that you came here."

She was finally happy that he confessed to his love. She kissed him one more time right there in the temple. Madhan could not believe his luck. The poojari came shouting this is a temple you cannot do these things here and threw them out. Madhan came out held her hand and kept looking into her eyes. She could see his face was glowing like a hundred suns. Suddenly his face turned to worry. 

"The girl, Ritu Sharma. I have to go back and tell her and say my sorry." 

"You don't need to say sorry to her?"

"What do you mean?"

"What is my father's name?"

"Rama Sharma. What has that got to do with her Ritu?" said Madhan. He started to think about a way to go back into the temple. He did not notice "The Dirty girl" was laughing her heart out. That's when it hit Ritu Sharma is the "The Dirty Girl". That was when he held her close and kissed her. 

Madhan and the dirty girl were ecstatic. Madhan asked Ritu if what she told in the temple, was her feelings. She nodded a "Yes". 

"You were right by the way. We lost time in making so many memories. Today I could finally have my first kiss."

"She hit him on the head. Idiot, we had our first kiss when we were ten. This is our fourth kiss."

"This could be your fourth kiss. All those times you kissed me. I was not even expecting them. That was why I stored your name "The Dirty Girl". That was also the reason I forgot your name completely. That way this was my real first kiss."

"I kiss you, you kiss me. It is the same when the four lips are involved."

"Oh, my dirty girl."

They walk away from there the happiest couple were chatting on. 

"What if I have not told you about the love but met you as a prospective groom?", asked Madhan.

"I would be yours anyway."

"Seriously?"

"Yes, I would be happy anyway. I love you, no matter what. But as you confessed your love to me it was not just I am yours, you are mine too. That makes the next part of life very, very special." 

Madhan had tears rolling in her eyes. Ritu was only disappointed for one thing, why hadn't this accident happened years ago. 

P.S.: Ritu and Madhan were going in the car. Ritu said, don't you have any shame, I kissed you four times and you only once. Madhan said the kisses are to the cute one, not to the dirty one. She hit him softly on the cheek. "By the way, it was not four kisses but five. Once when watching Nagarjuna movie, once Kamal movie, once in your office."

"The last in the temple. That was all there were no more " interjected Ritu.

"I got a kiss when you got up from sleep in the hospital."

"I was not aware of that."

"That is why you are a dirty girl," said Madhan.

Ritu started to shout and hit him. Madhan said, "My dirty girl".