Love Prompts

Ramya gazed at the first streaks of dawn! The smooth flapping wings of birds sent down the chill air on her face. Feeling heavy at heart she looked at the sky for a prompt. The scattered clouds sailed across the sky. Within seconds they evolved into shapes of birds or animals and lingered for a while.  The morning sun rays travelled along the edges of those delicate shapes and gave them a silver lining.

Flocks of birds from the huge trees at Raj Bhavan flew to the marshes of Pallikaranai and other areas. Usually migrating birds flock the marshes and Ramya loved to watch them fly maintaining the V shape. Why do the birds fly in V shape?  The letter V brought in sweet memories of Valentine’s Day spent with Vel. This year she may not be here in Chennai to celebrate with Vel.  Tears blurred her eyes.

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“Do you mind joining for a coffee?”  The message popped in the internal messenger. 

“Yes.” Ramya locked her system and walked to the pantry.

Stars blinked at the dark sky and the midnight breeze chilled her nerves. After filling her cup with light coffee, Ramya looked around for a place to sit.

Most of her colleagues were having their late night dinner and it always happened when they were having long tutoring sessions.  Working in the night shift as an online tutor helped her to earn well.  In addition, everyone developed a binding toward each other and they worked like a family.

Away from the family when the whole city slept their hours, Ramya and her colleagues sat in sessions with the American students clearing their doubts in Math, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, English, Computer Science, Music and Social Studies. Ramya and her team members handled English sessions and they also marked essays for students both from school and the college.

Working with students who were believed to be 30 years in advance in all aspects of life made them feel proud.  Interacting with students who lived thousands of miles away heightened their confidence and they all knew they are in par with the international standards. At the same time when they had continuous sessions during school hours at US, they felt the stress.

Ramya sat down at the corner. In the dim light, Ramya could see the bright violet coloured wrapper of her favourite chocolate.

“Thanks.” Ramya took the chocolate from the wrapper and started to eat.

“Do you know chocolates are good for depression?” Ramya questioned Vel. He didn’t answer her immediately.

“What is the need to talk about depression?”

“I don’t know if we would ever get married.” Without answering her question, Vel pressed her hand to assure he will not fail her. “I will talk later.” Vel gulped the coffee in a single sip and left the pantry.  Vel did not want to discuss anything with her.

Most of his colleagues knew about their relationship, but he wanted to maintain their privacy. Though their parents were also educated and lived in the world that thrived in technology, they still wanted to stick on to some norms to satisfy the society.

The main reason being they belonged to different castes. Age long enmity prevailed between them and it became the main drawback in their way to acceptance.

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“We will have register marriage.”  Ramya frowned at this idea.

“No. I want to get married with the consent from our parents.” She refused this suggestion whenever Vel told her.

“Then, we will never get married.”

“Both of us are educated and we earn well. We will start on our own. No one can deny it.”

“Let things happen on its own; I am not going to force things to happen.”

Both of them decided to wait. Without any initiative from either side, days rolled on quickly.

Except telephonic conversation, they went on with their normal lives. In real life situations, it takes days to decide and stick on to a decision. Only in films and television serials twists happen suddenly and people have the guts to take a decision that may require much of confidence and stubbornness in real life. 

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“What is your plan for Valentine’s day?”

“Hm” Ramya didn’t reply immediately.

“I may not be here” Ramya answered.

“Why” Vel could not understand. “I have decided to go to Maldives. I am leaving for Maldives this coming Saturday.”

“So, you have decided not to rely on anyone.” Vel replied with a scorn.

“Leave me alone for some time. I want to relax for a while.”

“Yes. Don’t forget to call me if you need support.”

Usually on Friday nights, Ramya believed in doing rituals with candles. While studying in college, she started doing it for fun.  But that became a usual practice on Fridays.  Every Friday she would do a ritual with candles.  Though her family did not believe in all those superstitions, Ramya believed she received guidance from the prompts that candles predicted. That Friday turned out to be an unusual day. The flame didn’t burn brightly and it flickered and fizzed out.

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