Reshma takes a one week leave from work to visit her uncle's family in Chennai at her mother's insistence. During the bus journey, she gets multiple phone calls from Joseph which she ignores. When she reaches Chennai, she is surprised to see Andrew, who was supposedly in Kerala. He carries her luggage and they take an auto to her uncle's house. However, it is revealed that Andrew had never actually left for Kerala. Reshma becomes furious at Andrew for lying and threatens to kill him for misleading her.

1. THOSE THREE WORDS -Part 1
Saturday4:00pm
“Ma.. why dou want me to take one weekleave unnecesserilyma“,Ienquiredmamom..
“Reshma..Howcan you sayits unnecessery??Uve spent3 yearsinur uncle’splace andnow theywant
u to come there for just1 weekasu ll move outof thiscitysoon“,momconsoledme..
“No ma..from upcomingmonthsIhave to take leave formyengagement..marriage..before those
holidays..thiswill be unnecessaryolyma”
“Don’t talklike this..if theydon’tgive leave forthese importantreasons.udontevenwanttowork
there“,momshouted.
Before i couldopenma mouth..TringTring..Ma mobile stoppedme..Itflashedwiththe name Joseph..
ya obviouslymyfiance..nono..yetto be my fiance..Ohgod..yis he callingme now wheni am talkingto
ma mom somethinimportant.Icutthe call..
“But ma.. I am the Lecturer..mystudentscarrierwill be spoiledif Icontinuouslytake leavelikethisma“,
I try to console mamom..but itsof nouse..how come she will know aboutmyprobleminuncle’s
home..
“Reshma..HissonAndrewwenttokeralafor hisjob..Theyare alreadyingrief..HisdaughterSwapna
wantto see u eagerly..If ugo there theywill be happyforatleastone week..trytounderstand”
“ok ma..ill go justfor u“,I finalised..how come she knowsthatmhappy forsomethinelse..
“good girl“,momkissedmaforeheadnwentforpackingitemsforone week.
I wentupstairstopack my ownitemsfor12 hours journey..mobile..mp3..books..dress..snacks..etc..
etc..
Tring..Tring..Againma mobile flashedJoseph..thistimeIattended..
“Hello”
“Y dou say Hello..whenuknowitsme?“,he questioned.
“Its obvious..everyonewill tellhelloimmediatelyafterpickingthe call”
“Helloisthe girl name and that too she isGraham Bell’sgirl friend.Idontwantto be calledlike thatbyu
anymore dear”
“Oh god!!justto informthisu calledme eh??”
“Y? shud i get anyreasonto call u r wat?”
“ufff!!!see Ihave manyworksto do rightnow..so ill call uback later”
“So if u call me back howshudI call u?”
“Ur wish”
“So howhave u savedmy numberinur mobile?”
“Couldu plscall me aftersometime?”
“aftersometime means?Tell me the timingdear”
“25.61“, I almostshouted..
“Oh..come on.!!What otherworku ve otherthan talking tome?”
“See I have so manyworksrightnow..Ill tell uthe reasonlater..so bye“,Isaid n cut the call..
5:00pm
Afterone hour…I almostpackedeverything..
“Reshmaaaa“..Mom shoutedfromtopof the voice..

2. “yesma.. am coming”
“Have u tookeverythin??”
“yesmom..everythinisready..one bagandone handbag”
“Andtake this2 bags also“,mom showedme 2 bigbags..
“Ma… what all these stuffs??”
“sweets..biscuits..pickles..murukku..seedai..adhirasam…”
“Ma.. what for all these itemsma??”
“For my brother..He likesanythingwhichmade byme”
“Happa..this brothernsisterrelationisalwayseverlasting..ma..uve to show ur love n kindness
throughme oly eh??Icant carry thismany bagson my ownma..and m not the porterbetweenu2.. u
bettergetthisto himwhenu r goingto see him..now leave me pls..“,Ialmostpleaded..
“see..Itsdad whoisgonna carry these tou till Thirunelveli busstopandfromChennai CMBT, uncle will
come and getit fromu.. inbetweenbuswill carry..whatbothersuin between?”
“hmmm..if uncle didntcome tobus stop?”
“He will come..Justmake acall to him..He will come..”
“ok ma..Bye..“,BysayinthisIcame out of home n dad tookall those luggagesandkeptinside the car.
we reachedthirunelveli busstopin15 mins..
Tring..Tring..againthe same soul..Ohgod!!ishe reallyadoctor r wat..!!Dont he have any patientto
take care of them..Alwayscallingme..Ishouldntve givenmynumbertohim..Dadjust beside me..Icut
the call..
“Reshma.Buswill arrive at 6.00.. more 45 minsisthere..sodou want anythintodrink?“,dad asked
“Yes pa..I want Mazza..”,dad went
Againcall came fromJoseph..
Oh!!god..thistime what storyhe is gonnasay..about graham Bell orHello..butbythe way how should
I call himafter pickingthe call..While Iwasimaginingall thesestuffs..Hiscall ended..Meanwhilemy
dad arrivedwithmyfavourite mazza..
6:00pm
afterhalf an hour..Bus arrived..Iboardedthe bus..dadkeptall the luggagesnearmyplace and toldme
all those placesandremindedme togetall those luggagesbefore gettindown..well thisisnotmyfirst
journeytochennai..sothere isnofear inme..i get settledinmyplace..Busstartedto move..Ibidbye
to my dad..ThenI tookmy I-podto hearsongs.. before Icouldhearmy favourite song..Ihearedmy
ringtone..Thistime itsmymom..
“Hello..”
“where are you?have u got settledinyourplace?whoisbeside u?anyproblem?”
“Ma.. whichquestionshouldIanswerfirst?”
“hmm….Tell..”
“I am safe ma.. andthisis notmy firstjourneytoo..yu so worried..ill call uonce i reach CMBT.”
“ok..Take care dear“,momsaid andcut the call..
wheni cut the call..Isaw 2 messagesinmymobile..yesitsJoseph..anditsays.“y r u not pickingupmy
call?”
whenI aboutto replyIrecievedthe call fromhim..i attended..thistime i didntevensayanything..
“U there?”

3. “yeah..tell me..”
“y u didntattendmycall?”
“Dad was nearby”
“You couldhave messagedme atleast?”
“I didntsee the messages”
“ok..so where are you?”
“Am inbus towardschennai”
“WHAT??????”
“yeah..”
“What bringsyouthere?”
“My uncle andaunt andmy sweetcousinSwapna”
“Oh..But y didntu informme abt this?”
“eveni am informedjustfewhoursbackandthats because Iwas busypackingand couldnteventalkto
u properly”
“Oh!!fine dear..noprobs..”
“Hmmm..”
“So watsup?”
“Nothing..Iwantto call my uncle andmy parentsonce I reach CMBT.. so I needcharge inmy mobile..
hope u can understand.”
“oh!!ok.. Atwat time u ll reachCMBT.. tell propertimingplease..no25:61“, he almostlaughedover
there..
“Hmmm..morning8 o clock..”
“Ok..fine dear..Take care..sweetdreams..”
“ok..good night“,Icut the call..
Well..whyamI not talkingtohimproperly??Ihave enoughcharge inmy mobile andIcan talk to him
more than 2 hours.buty am I not?? Thoughhe is inBanglore andits STD call..call chargesdoesnt
matterfor me as he usedtocall me everytime..ThoughIcut the call several times..He issosweettocall
me back.. But y am I irritatinghimalot..??Oh!!god!!please helpme..Isleptassuchby hearingsongs..
nextday8:00am
I got downand the conductorhelpedme togetthose luggages..Icalledmymomand informedthtI
reachedsafely..nextIcalledmyuncle..
“Uncle..I am in CMBT.. whenull come to pick me up?”
“10 minsReshma..”
“ok..uncle..come soon..bye“,Icut the call
NowI thoughtof callingJoseph..Icalledhim..Thistime Ithoughtof callinghimJo..He pickedinthe very
firstring.
“Jo”
“Hey dear..Isit u?.callingme Jo??”
“yeah..Justto informuthat i reachedCMBT”
“Oh..u gave me a pleasentsurprise bycallingme Jo..soyouwill geta pleasantsurprise fromme too”
“what wasit?“,wheni wasaskingsomeone touchedme frombehind
whenI turnedback..I wasin Bigshock..

4. WhenI turnedback. I sawAndrew..
“Its surprise…“,Joshoutedfromthe otherside..
I was infull shockto see himhere..whatishe doinghere?Momtoldthat he wenttokerala..ythe hell
he is standingjustbefore me?Oh!!god..The personwhoIthoughtnot to see inmy life time..Is
standingjustclose tome..
“Dear. u there?..watsup?“,Joboughtme to the reality..
“Uncle has come..I will call uback later“,I saidn cut the call.
Andrewsmiledatme..
“what r u doinghere?“,Iasked
“Hellomadam..thisisour city..I shouldaskthisquestiontou”
“Mom said that u wenttokerala”
“yeah..sowat?”
“But u r here?”
“todayis sunday“,Ohgod!!!HowdidI forgetthattoday issunday??I shouldHave startedtomorrow..!!
“Oh!!ok.. Where isuncle?”
“He have several workstodorather than comingto CMBT”
“Oh!!god! see I cant carry all these luggagessou bettergive the car key..Iwill waitinthe car.. U carry
all these ncome“,I stretchedmyhand to getthe keyfromhim..
“Is these luggagesall belongstou?”
“yeah”
“whatsthr inside?”
“murukku..sedai..pickle..“,assoonas he heardthe name sedai..
“WAT!!!!sedai eh..“,he almostthrownhisbag onmy face and he benddownto openthe bag…
“Hey..Y cant u eatall those inur house..nIam alreadytireddue tolongjourney”
“so what?”
“so give the car key..“,againi stretchedmahand
“Whendidi say tht i came by car?”
“Then?”
“Dad took the car forsome purpose”
“so..how we r going?”
“walk”
“What?”
“yeah..walk”
“and all these luggages?”
“You have to carry.. u olyboughtfromthr na?”
“Hello..myluggage isjust2 bags..other2 bag is forur dad.. sou have to carry”
“I can carry onlyone”
“Oh!!!god..Uncle y didu sendur son..He is irritatingme a lot..Ishouldcall himnow“, whenI aboutto
take my mobile..
“Ok..ok..as u r crying..m carryin2 bags..u carry urs“, he put hisback pack on hisback and carried2
bags with2 hands..
“I cant carry anyhow..Bettercall anauto”

5. “Hellomadam..autowontbe available insidethe CMBTbus stop..anyhow we have togo out to getan
auto..so start to walk“,he saidn startedto walk..Itook mybag and startedto walkbehindhim..I
almostcursedmy momfor sendingthese luggages..wellhe iscarryinthose both.buti couldnteven
carry mine..sosad.... Andrewalmostwentfarawayfromme..How these boysr carryinso easily..I
couldntevencarryone bag.. buthe justtookthose two bagsas if its 2 airballoons..after10 minsI just
placedthe bag downn sawmy pinkhand..Andrew turnedback..
“whatsup?..not even10 stepsu took..so soontiredeh?”
10 stepseh..I justturnedback to checkwhetheritsreally10steps..itsalmost100 steps..he dontknow
mathsr wat..veryidiotic..
“Is itcalled10 steps?”
“well!!maybe itsfor me!!!“,he almostgrinned.
I couldntcontrol myanger..but itsnot the time to shout..letme reachhome safelyneatsomething..I
donthave energyto shoutat him..Istarredat him..
“Ok..Ok..come soon..“,he saidn againstartedto walkwiththose 2 air balloons.
afterhalf an hour I reachedthe autostand..he almostreachedbefore 10minsandwaitingforme..Idiot
y cant he come and getmy bag..
“ok..come..getintothe auto“,he said.Istarred n got intoit..
I wentn sat nearwindowside..he keptall those luggagesnearme nwentn sat nearauto driver..auto
startedto move..Ithoughtof callingmymomto shoutat her..but still noenergy..mystomachasked
for something..
“stop stop“,Andrewsaidtothe driver..
“Y r u stopping??Ourplace didntcome yet.”,Isaid
“I know..”
“Theny didu stop?”
“To get cool drinks”
“No..thanks“,Thoughmy tummyneedssomethingIdontwantto get itfrom him..
“WhendidI say that itsfor u?“, he saidn wentto the shopto get cool drinks..
I cant do anythingotherthanstaringat him..
Afterfewminutes..he came outwithmazzabottle’sneckinside hismouth..myfavourite mazza..Hesat
nearauto drivern said
“Lets go”
“Have it“,he turnedbackn gave me the good day biscuit.
“No need”
“Its ok..U can pay me back once u get ur salary”
I lookedathim..
“Ok..Ok..if u cant payeven5 rupees..noprobs..I have helpedmanypoorpeople..Letme take thisalso
one amongthem“,he toldverycasually..
anyhowhe wontturn frontuntill i getit fromhim..I grabbeditfromhim..n startedto eat..
“Thats good“,he laughedandturned.
after15 minuteswe reachour place..Iopenedthe gate..
“Hello..madam..whowill take theseluggagesinside?“,he shouted..now thatIhave reachedmysafer
zone..Isaid“U oly”

6. I enteredthe gate..Isawuncle’scar inside the carshedn turnedtowardshimwithquestioninmyeyes..
“He mighthave come afterhiswork“,he saidn wenttotake myluggages..
Auntycame out withaarthi thattu..
“Reshma..atlastu came eh?..so sweetof umy dear“,she saidn kissedmyforehead..whenshe about
to blessme..
“Andrew…My dear..whendiducome fromkerala??“,Auntleftme nwentto hug hisson..
WHAT!!!!!!!!!..Iturnedtowardsthemandblinked…
Whats next…waittill nextpost..
Those Three WordsPart-2
“Aunty..Where isuncle?“,Ialmostshouted..
“Reshma..Iam here..“,Uncle saidfrominside..
“Uncle y u didntcome to pick me up?“,I almostrushedtowardsinside..
“What? I didntcome eh?wheni am half the wayto CMBT.. Andrew calledme nsaidthat he ll bring u
and u ppl r on the way and soI returnedback“,as soon as uncle completedhisstatement..Isearched
for Andrewtoblasthimto the core..
“Aunty…where isur son?Just imagine uve olyone daughteranymore..cause i am gonnakill urson
rightnow“,I shoutedn searchedforhim..He wentinside hisroomnlockedinside it..
“U betteropenthe door..else i will breakthe doorandcome inside“,Iwasbangingthe doorheavilyand
shoutinglike ahell..He suddenlyopenedthe doorwhenIabouttoenterintohisroom..He rushedout
of hisroomand wentinside the kitchenandhide himself behindaunty..
“Ma.. save me ma..she is gonnakill me ma..I am the onlyson foru.. thenu wontve any soul to burryu
ma. save me..save me.”,he gotaunty’sshoulderandmade himself safebehindaunty’sback..
“Auntyu move awayaunty..I am damnanger towardsur son..I am gonnakill him“,meanwhile I
searchedforsome itemtothrow on him..Isaw a basketfull of onion..vegetables.. eggs..Itookthatto
throwon him..
“What’s wronghere?Whathappenedmydearson?“,auntyaskedin a polite mannertohisson
“Auntydontcall himdear..he isan idiot..ydo u give birthto thisidioticson”
“What he did Reshma?whatmakesuto kill him?“,auntyalmostlaughedonseeingmypositiontothrow
vegetablesonhim..
“What he did eh?whathe didntdo?ur soncheatedme”
“What I cheatedu??whendidi cheatu?“, Andrew askedasif he didntdo anythin
“Idiot..Didu tell me thatyou came from keralanow oly?”
“I rather toldu tht I came from home oly“,He put histongue out.
“WAT!! ok..whenIaskedwhyr u here?Y dontu tell me u came from kerala?”
“Hello..Diduask me where I come from?U askedme y r u here?I justsaidtoday issunday..U shouldve
realizedit.”
“Usuallysaturdayitself ull come to home na..so I thoughtu came from home topick me up”
“Thats not mymistake..Iansweredurquestion..thtsall”
“Ok..whenI askedwhere isuncle?atleastthenushudve toldme tht u didntcome fromhome na?”

7. “Hello..U askedwhere isuncle?Isaidhe have so manyworksrather thancomingto CMBT.. how doI
knowtht u calledhimtopicku up? U shouldhave askedme clearly..Itstotallyurmistake“,He said
casuallyasif nothingbothershim.. Ithrowedone oniononhim..He missedit..
“ok. WhenI askedforcar key?whydidu say thatu didntcome by car?”
“Yeah..I didntcome by car.. I came by bus..”
“Oh!!god.. fine..thenYdidu askedme to carry my luggage?asif u came to pickme up?”
“Hello..Itsuwho askedme to carry ur luggage firstas if I came to picku up..Out of pittyI helpedu
carryin 2 bags..U shouldthankme..ratherthan throwingnspoilingvegetableslike this“,againhe puthis
tongue out..i throwedtomatoon hisface.. againhe missedit..
“Ok..atleastthenu shouldhave toldme thatu didntcome to pick me up na? dontu everrealize thatI
am waitingforuncle topick me up?”
“Why are u alwaysaskingme whetherIrealziedornot?Dont u ve brain?will anyguywill come withbag
to pickup anybody??Dontu realize that?“,olythenIrealizedhe hada bag onhis back..
“Oh..ya.. I didntrealizedit..ButthenUshouldhave realizedmysituation..dontlie”
“see..evenafterknowingthatIcame afterlongjourney..umade me to carry ur bags..so itsu who
cheatedme..notme..sogive thatbasket..Ill throw vegetablesonu“,whenhe try to take vegetables
fromme..I throwone more oniononhim..Thistime itexactlytoucheshishead..
“Ahhhh!!!…hey..itspainingstupid..leave me..”He came out of kitchenandrushedtowardsbedroom
“Idiot..Ok..one more lastquestion..lastbutnotthe least..Whendiducall uncle to say that we r on the
wayto home and he no needtocome?”
“so thiswill be the lastquestion?”
“Yeah”
“WhenI wentto drinkcool drinks“,He winkednran away fromme towardsbalcony..
“What!! so howdidu knowthat uncle ison the wayto pickme up?”
“Hello..usaidlastquestion..nomore question..sonomore answerfromme“,againhe winked..
“Stupid.. U cheatedme…Ucheatedme..“,i throwedseveral onionsonhim..he missedfew..he catched
few..fewhitonhisbody..
“U olycheatedme..notme“,he almostdraggedthe basketfromme and wenttowardsentrance..
“Oh..!!god..whois fightingwithmybrotherwhenIamnot inhome?“,Swapnacame inside by
shouting..Iwasbusythrowingvegetablesonhim..
“Anni..Whendiducome?“,She shoutedoutof enthu..ImmediatelyIleftthe basketdownnran
towardsSwapna..I huggedher..Icouldntcontrol mytears..
“Anni..Whatswrong?”
“Ur brothercheatedme Swapna..Ur brothercheatedme..“,Imade her shoulderwetbymytears..as
soonas aunty sawme crying.She came runningfromkitchen..
“Hey idiot..Whatudid toher? see..she iscryin..“,auntyhitonhishead..
“ma.. I wasjustkiddingma..“,Andrewbecame sadafterseeingme crying..
“Get herinside roomSwapna.”,auntyorderedSwapna..We bothgotback to our room..But mymind
wentback to 5 years..
How dotheyknowI am crying forthe word“ANNI”pronouncedbySwapna..
How dotheyknowI am crying forthe cheatingmade forme since 5 years..

8. 5 YearsBack..
At Thirunelveli..Inmyhome..evening5pm
“What r u talking??Whatswrongif she go n stayin mybrother’shouse?“,momwasaskinmy dadabout
my higherstudiesinChennai.
“Do u thinkitsgood to leta girl childto stayin some other’shouse?“,Dadasked
“Is my brothersomebodyforu?”
“Not like tht..Butour olydaughter..Icant stay withoutseeingmydaughterevenforone day”
“As if I can stay..But thisis herfuture..Heraimis to become lecturerandworkinour city..If she
becomeslectureritshappyforusolyna??“, momtriedto console dad
“What if somethinghappentoherinchennai?”
“Whats gonnahappento her?my brotheristhere to lookafterher.evenwe cango to see herwhenever
we want”
“But ur brother’ssonwill be thr..It wontsoundsgood..whatotherswill talkabtus?”
“oh!!god.. Isthisur problem??He isdoinghissecondyearB.E in Banglore..sohe wontbe there in
house at all..andmy brotherhave hisdaughteralso..Evenshe isgonnado B.Comin same college..soy
do u wannaworryabout it?”
Dad thoughtfor a while andsaidok..Iwasso happyas soonas I heardthe goodnewsfromdad..
“Reshma..Packeverything..whateveru wantforone week..“,Ineverpackedmyclothsbefore..
meanwhileshe calledmyuncle andreprtedaboutourarrival inthe nextmorining..
“Ma.. what all shouldItake?“,I enquiredmom
“Take..7 setof dressesalone..laterwhateveruneed..me anddadwill bringitforu“, mom helpedme
to pack my dressesinmybag..I tookmy favourite greenandredcolorhalf saree to wearit..Dad and
momboth came withme to dropme tomy uncle’shouse..Dadtookmybag and I was free enoughto
walkwithoutcarryinanything..We all boardedbusat8pm in Thirunelveli busdepot..Itookmywindow
seat..Mom sat beside me..dadsatjustopposite tour seat..I gazedthroughwindow..
Firsttime inmy life time..Icame outof home tonew city..These manydaysthe three placesIknew
were school..house..church..Ididntevengooutwithmyfriends..Dadneverallowedme togolike
that..But thistime he allowedme tostayin uncle’shome..Themainreasonbehindishe wantmyaim to
become true andhe wanthisdaughterto teach poorpeople andhe wantto give education,whichhe
doesntgetwhenhe wassmall due to hispoverty,tohisowncity throughhisdaughter..He alwaysask
me to give educationtopoorpeople atfree of cost..I thoughtof my dadand I made myself strongto
face the newenvironment.FirsttimeIam crossingmycity..Neverknew how the new citylook..How
the people will talk..AsIwasthinkingall these thingsIsleptoff assuch..Mom woke me at early
morning6..
“Ma.. where r we now?“,I askedmy mom..
“We r nearingCMBT.. so getup n refreshurself..“,Momgave combto comb my longhair..Thenolyi
remembered..Oh…god..hereaftwhowilltake care of my hair..I dunnoto maintainmyhair..whowill
comb myhair..I couldntcontrol my tears..now olyI thoughtof missingmyparents..Icriedall through
the way..mom consoledme..

9. “See mydaughteris crying..Icouldntsee tht..Let hercome back to thirunelveliitself“,dadtoldmy
momby wipingmytears
“Reshma..If u cry.. thendadcouldntletu stay here..sobetterstopcrying“,as soonas I heardmy moms
word..I stoppedmycrying..we gotdownfrom busand getintoan auto..Mom sat beside me and
startedto advise me..
“Reshma..ur gonnastay inuncle’shome for3 years soits ur responsibilitytobe goodintheirhome..
donttorture anyone..Ishouldnthearanycomplainfromuncle oraunt..If it happens,thenuraimbition
will be stopped..UknowalreadyhowIbeggeddadto allow uto stay inuncle’shome..sobehave
yourself..“,Momwentonadvise..Mymindaskedme how amI gonna manage thr??
“Reshma..Dontworry..nothingwill worryu..If anythingwrongcall me..Iwill come immediatelytosee
my sweetdaughter..“,Dadconsoledme andsoI huggedmydad n keptmy headon hischest..Auto
stoppedbefore uncle’shouse..We three gotdownngot the luggage down..Isaw the home..Itwas
goodand thr was a verybigverandabefore immediatelyafterthe frontgate..Icouldsee the beautiful
gardeninfront of theirhouse..Isaw somany varietyof rosesintheirgarden..Beautifullawnsmade a
greencarpetfor us..I have seenuncle andauntyalready..ButI neversaw hischildren..soIwas thinking
whowas the one whogonna do B.Comalongwithme..Withseveral thoughts..Igazedall the plantsin
the garden..Meanwhile auntycame outandwelcomedus..
“Aunty..whowill dogardeninghere?“,Iaskedoutof enthu
“My sonwill do..Butas he isnot here..Uncle will do“,auntyface showsthatshe ismissinghersona
lot..
“EvenI like todo gardening aunty..Ill helpuncle hereaft“,Isaid..aunt’sface became brightnshe kissed
my forehead..Ifeltasif Igot some boostthroughthat kiss..all myfear wentoff andso I startedto roam
inaunt’shouse.
I wentinside andsawall the rooms..Firsttime Ienteredmyaunt’shouse..momanddadsat infronthall
and discussingsomethinwithuncleandaunt..Itsalmostlike myhome exceptone more bedroom..I
likedit..3stepsto get intoenterance..A small balconywhichhasawoodenchairand a table in which
one can sit andrelax..Isaw a specson the table and few newspapers..soIthoughtitwouldbe uncle’s
place..A hall whichhas 2 sofas..A tvin the corner of the room..A beautiful cupboardwhichhassomany
shields..Itmightbe forsports..towardsrightkitchen..towardsleft2bedrooms..2 bathroomone is
attached..one isoutside forvisitorsmaybe..thentoclimbupstairsone hasto come out to balconyto
climbup..I came out to see the upstairstoo..There alsothe same..I gazedeverythingncame down..
everythinwasneatntidy..
“Aunty..Where isswapna?“,Iaskedaunt as i was eagerto see mycousinwhois gonnabe withme for
next3 yearsof college lifeandthttoo inthisnew environment..
“She wentto herfriend’sbirthdaypartyma..she ison the way..will reachinno time“,assoonas aunt
said..I heardsomebodyopeningthe frontdoor..
I peepedouttosee whoit is..Assoonas I saw that personIwas ingreat shock..
Those Three Words-Part3
I was shockedtosee a girl wearinga tightblue jeananda red sleevlesst-shirtwhichhadatext“ItsPlay
Time”..She hadstraighthair whichjusttoucheshershoulder..There isnooil inherhair..It wasflying

10. like national flag..nobindhi..Oh!!god!!Ami gonnabe withherfor next 3 years..She came running
inside..AssoonasI sawher..Ma heart stoppedtobeat..Istartedtosweat..She stare at me and went
inside tokitchenntalkedsomethingwithaunt..Iheardfew wordslike..Whoisshe?village girl..half
saree..Icouldclearlyidentifyshe iscommentingonme andmy outlook..Iwasthinkingwhetherall
chennai girlswill be likethisoly??Yisshe wearinglike cinemaheroins..how ami gonna live inthis
strange city..Tht too incollege..If all girlscome likethiswhatwill Ido??Aftersometime auntandthtgirl
came outside kitchen..
“Reshma..She ismy brother’sdaughter..Angel..Angel..She’sReshma“,auntygave introtoher..She
stretchedherrighthand..Firsttime I gave handslike thtto some stranger..Buti was happyinside tht
she isnot Swapna..But whatif Swapnaalsowear suchkindof dresses..Thistime Ifeltguiltytomeet
Swapna..Angel gave me anerd look..
“Evenshe’sgonnajoinalongwithu“,assoonas auntsaidthe dialogue maheartbrokenintopieces..I
wentandsat near dad..I caught dad’shand..Angel came andsat near uncle’srigthside andauntalso
sat nearuncle’slefside..Theywere busytalkingaboutcollegereopeningday..how we ll go..Suddenlyi
hearda voice neargate..
“Ok..bye bye..Take care..see u later“,Someone bidingbye tosomeone
“I thinkswapnahas come“,auntysaidand wentoutto welcome Swapna.Iwasverynervoustosee
Swapna..Howshe ll be if she see me firsttime..soI thoughttohide myself somewhere inside..Igot up
and wentinside bathroom..lockedinsideit..Iwasthinkinghow tomeetSwapnaforfirsttime..whatif
she feel same asAngel..Icouldntface her..Meanwhile Icanhearaunty’svoice fromhall..
“where isReshma?“,auntyaskedtointrome to her..
“She wentinside..she ll be back“,momsaid..YesI shouldgoout anyhow..whatami gonnado..
Afterfewminutes.
“Reshma..AsI made u to waitfor me..u r makingme to waitfor u eh??whenull come outto showur
beautiful face?“,Swpanabangedthe door fromoutside..
Is Swapnatalkingtome?Is she sayinmyface beautiful?withlotof thoughts..Iopenedthe door..Iwas
surprisedtosee Swpana..IsthisSwapna..She waswearingapinkcolor chudy..withmediumhairwhich
was platedandwearingjasmine flower..Assoonasshe saw me..she huggedme
“Welcome tomy home Reshma..Youare more beautiful indirectthanur photo“,she saidand gave me
dairymilkchocolate..
I was sohappy withSwapna’sbehaviour..buthasshe seenme before?
“Thank u..Where didu see me?“,I asked..
“Come..Letsgo to our room..Ma.. m takingReshmato ma room..I will tell uthere..Angelru
coming?“,she askedAngel bydraggingme toher roomby wrappingherarms aroundmy neck..Igazed
herlike a kid..
“Yeah..Ill come aftereatingsomething“,Angel said..ok..she tookme outtobalconyand climbed
upstairs..She showedme the firstbedroomandsaid
“Thisis our roomheraft“,It has one bedon which2 can sleep..inthe rightcornerthere wasa computer
witha chair..there was a windowthroughwhichwe cansee all natural scenes..itsbrightandbreezy..it
has a cupboardin whichseveral booksandcosmeticswere neatlyarranged..A bureauinleftcorner..
“Oh… thanku“, I saidout of fear..
“oh..come on..no more thanks betweenunme anymore..sodo u like thisroom?”

11. “Yeah.I like it..Itsalmostlike myroomin thirunelveli”
“Oh..thts nice..“,she saidandopenedone side of the bureauandshowedme all herdresses..she
showedme anemptyrack towardsright side of herbureauand told“Hereaftu can arrange ur dressin
thisarea” , and smiledatme..Ismiledinreturn..
“nowu want to knowwhere Isaw u right?”
“Yeah”
“Come and sitin thischair“,she askedme to sit onthe chairplacedbefore system..Isat..She switched
on the systemandshowedmypictureswhichItookduringour house warmingceremony
“How u got these pictures?”
“Dad took itwhenhe was there andhe u alwaysusedto say abtu oly..tht u r so silent..uneverhurt
anyone..ualwayswearhalf saree whichreallyfitsuandya I too like uthe wayu wearur half saree..It
was perfect..Udo teachme howto wearit..ok“, I wasso ahppyto hear Swapna’scomment
“Yeah..sure ill doteach u“, I said..meanwhile someoneenteredourroom..yaitsAngel
“Hi Swapna.Howwas the birthdayparty?”
“Yeah..Its toogood..enjoyednicely”
“So What u ppl doinghere?“,she askedandpeepedintomonitor..
“You alwayswearhalf saree olyeh?“,she askedme bykeepingherface as if someone touchedherface
withtongue
“Yeah“,I said withpanic..
“She looksgoodin half saree na?“,Swapnaaskedinenthu
“U like herhalf saree?“,she askedSwapnawiththe same face
“Yeah..y not?U dont like?”
“Oh..Swapna..Have u everseenanygirl inchennai wearinghalf saree?we rgonnajoinincollege
shortly..thttoo inLoyolaCollege..None of the coll girlswillwearhalf saree..If she come inhalf saree
surelythose boysincollege will ragher..Dontu know tht?and she exactlylooklike avillage girl“,as
angel startedto say..I couldntbearhertalkingandso I came runningdowntosee ma parents..Iwipped
ma tearsnear the stepsand enteredhall..Isaw themtalkingstill..
“Reshma..whathappenedualone comingdown?where rtheyboth?“,auntaskedme
“Theyr talkingaunty..Icame to see momn dad“,I saidn wentn sat neardad..
“Ok Reshma..We r gonna start to Thirunelveli..Soushouldtake care of yourself here..“,momsaidn
triedto getup.
“what todayitself eh?Ma.y cant u stay atleasttonight?“,Iaskedoutof panic.
“Dad has business..whowill take care of home there.?We have togo anyhow..monthlyonce we ll
come n see u“, momsaidto console me..thistime Icouldntcontrol mytears, i criedand huggedma dad
n mom..Bothof themaboutto leave..
“Swapna..Come down..auntn uncle gonnaleave“,auntycalledSwapna..
All 5 of us came out of hall and stoodnear balcony..auntysaidtoma mom..“Dont worry..we will take
care of ur daughter”
“Swapnaaaaaaaa“,thistime uncle shouted..
“M comingpa…“, Swapna..climbeddownthe steps..
I stoppedmycryingn lookedather withopenedmouth..

12. Those Three Words-Part4
She came withmylightgreenskirtn blouse whichhasgoldencolorborderinit..andpinkcolorhalf
saree..Iwas surprisedtosee Swapnainmyhalf saree whicheligiblyfitsherasif itsstitchedforher..she
wore matchingearings..chain..bangles..notolyme..all 5were surprised..
“Swapnadear..u lookinggoodinthisdressma“, auntysaidn huggedherdaughtern kissedher
forehead..
Swapnacame nearmy momn said,”aunty,Idonthave anysister..thoughmhappyoutside..Ialwaysfeel
lonelyinside..Ialwayslongfora sistertoshare myfeelingsneverything..Icantshare everythingwith
my brother..nowthtI have ur daughterfor me for next3 years..I am happythat she iswithme..Inever
letherdownat anysituation..fromtodayonwardsshe ismysister..Ill take care of her..sou dont worry
aunty..u can go home peacefully..plsdontcry“,aftershe said..mamom huggedher..madad blessed
hern me..
she came nearto me and said,”heyhereaftushudntcrylike this..whateveritmaybe share withme..ill
be alwaysthr withu..“,she saidnso i huggedhern shedtears..but thistime itsforhappiness..notoly
me..all 6 criedoutof happiness..ThenSwapnaputherarms aroundme..we bothjoinedtogethernbid
bye to my parentsnearthe gate..I starredat themuntill theycrossthatstreet..afttht i lookedat
Swapna..she smiledatme n I gave herthe same inreturn..Now Ifeltasif this home ismine..we
returnedtogethernnowI wrappedmaarms aroundher n wentinside..
“howcome mydressis fittinguperfectly?“,Iaskedoutof surprise..
“Yeah..me too dunnoI tot of wearingthisolyto make u comfortable withme butthisexactlyfits me..
so nice”
“Yeah..itsgood foru actually..sou have it withu“,Isaid..
“Thank u“, she smiled..
“Where isAngel?”
“She wentoff”
“u scoldedher?”
“No..I juststartedto wear ur half saree immediatelyuwent..she juststarredatme n wentoff without
sayinanyone i guess”
“oh..where isshe stayin?”
“Nextstreetoly”
“oh..Is she good?”
“yeah..she isgood..but she islittle frankintype..Idontfeel like sharingeverythinwithher..she is
somewhatmodern.”,we talkednreachedourroom..
“oh..“,Ithoughtfora while nstartedtounpack mybag n arranged mydressin herbureau..Swapnaalso
helpedtodoit..
“Whendoescollege open?“,Iasked
“june 26th.. 2 more daysto go“,Swapnasaid..
“Swapna..come downfordinner“,Auntycalled
“Reshma..momstartedto shout..if we didntreportin5 mins..thenshe will call outentire city..so
bettercome..we can unpackthisaft dinner”
“Ok“, I saidn bothof us wentdowntohave dinner..Auntywasarrangingeverythingonthe dinning

13. table fromkitchen..
“Auntydo we have anyfamilyprayerhere?“,Iasked..
“No“,Auntysaidin a confusedtone.
“Usuallywe will eatafterfamilyprayerolyaunty”
“Oh..what u ll do inprayer?“,Swapnaasked..
“We ll tell rosary..singsong..thenreadingthe Bible..dadwillexplainthe verse..thenwe ll completewith
prayer“,Isaid.
“Ok..thenletsdo thtalso here..“,Swapnasaid..theyclosedeverythinindinningtable nsatdownby
stretchingdownthe mat..I wentupto bringthe Bible nsongbook..Meanwhile everybodywere ready..I
sat downn coveredmaheadwithhalf saree n auntyn Swapnadidso.. I tookrosary n putkneel down..
everybodyfollwedme..we didrosary..Iteachedthemhow todo..Uncle was starringat me indifferent
way..we completednIthoughtthemto singthe song n the Bible wasreadby me..atlastI prayedfor
uncle..aunty..Swapna..nforthe home..uncle’shealth..whenIprayedforuncle’shealthIheard
someone crying..Ijustcontinuedwithoutopeningmyeyes..everythinggotoverby45 mins..whenI
aboutto get up..uncle caughtmy hand said,”Ifeel asif todaysome newthinghashappenedinside me
ma dear..ushudhave come to our home before itself..Ireallyproudof umychild”
“ayyo..uncle..Iam justdoingwhatmy dad taughtme“,Iconsoled uncle..alongwithme auntynSwapna
alsoconsoledhim..we satas suchon mat withoututteringanywords..afterfew mins..unclesaid.
“ok..letshave dinnernow“,sowe all got up n sat on dinningtable totake dinner..Itookfoodandsat
downon the floorto eat..
“Hey y didu go thr?“,Swapnaaskedme.
“I neverusedtosit onthe table neat inhome..If I go outside noproblem..butinhouse.we have togive
respectto the food..nma dad usedto say thtolyif we sitdownn eat we wudbe able to benddownn
eat if we continue eatinindinningtable one daywe cantevenbendnu..sobetterIll sitdown“,asIsaid
everybodycame downnsat onthe floor..nobodycanable toeat properly..whenunclebenddownto
eat he couldntreachthe food..evenSwapnawasnotable to bend..thenolytheyrealizedtheirbody
position..all 3wentback as theywrtryingto benddown..somehow theystrugglednfinishedtheir
dinnerIfinishednwaitedforthemtocomplete..astheyfinished..Ihelpedtoreplace the vessels on
dinningtable..nwashedthe platesinthe sinknkeptitinthe respective place..WhenIwaswashing
vesselsinside..Ihearda heavyscreamoutside the kitchen..Irushedtosee whatswrong??
Those Three words-Part 5
Reshmacame rushingtowardshall to see whatswrong..auntyhadfell downwhenshe tryto getup..I
wentrunningtoliftaunty..meanwhile uncleliftedhernmade herto siton sofa..herrightleggot some
sprainn auntycouldntmove itself..Uncle rantowardsbedroomboughtfirstaidbox nhe applied
ointmentandmassagedherrightlegwhile massaginguncle shedtearsonaunty’sleg..auntyshouted
due to pain..thenshe became normal..Iasked..
“R u ok aunty?”
“yeah..butcouldntmove.”
“I liftu to ourroom“, uncle said n he justliftedauntynwentinside..Swapnajustgazedatthemn
suddenlyshe shedtearsnhuggedme..Iwasblinkingbythinkingwhatswrong..afterfew minutes..I

14. asked
“Whats wrongSwapna?..yr u crying?“,I askedinconfusedtone
“Reshma..dadnevertouchesanybody’sleg..he dontevencryif anythingwronghappentoanyone..so
manytimesma momfacedthisproblem..butdadneverusedtoreact like this..buttodayhe shedhis
tears..he liftedmamom..thisisthe firsttime i saw dad liftingmom.. Iamso happyReshma“,she saidn
againhuggedme..
“Ok..everythingwill be alright..come letsgotosleep“,we came outof entrance nlockedthe door n we
climbedupstairs..
Firsttime sleepinginsomeone’sbed..she tookthe bedsheetngave me..Isleptonthe right side facing
window..she sleptleftside..facingme…Isleptassuchas I wastoo tireddue to journey..
NextMorning
I woke upat 5 am.. I switchedonthe light..
“Hey..whois tht?“,Swapnamurmurmedandwippedhereyes
“Its me..Reshma..“,Isaid
“What u r doinginthismidnightya?”
“What midnighteh??its5am inthe morning”
“Its midnightolyforme..whatur doingnow by switchingonthe light?”
“I want use bathroom..Ifound2 bathroomindownstairsandoutside..sodoi needtoclimbdownto
use bathroom?”
“No..there isone more in upstairsinmy brother’sroom..thtidiottookthtroom n gave thisroom to
me..u can use tht if u want”
“ok..is there anysoap?”
“Yeah..my brothersisthere..ucan use it”
“ok..thank u”
“ok..good nyt”
“itsmorning“,Isaidbutno replyfromher..I switchedoff the lightnwenttootherroom..It was same as
Swapna’sroomexceptof one bathroomattached..shelvesrfull of dustas nobodyuseditfor somany
days..I openedthe bathroomevenitwassmelly..Ibrushedmateethnwashedmaface n came to
Swpana’sroom..she isstill sleeping..thistime Idontwantto disturbhersleep.soItookthe bible n
wentto herbrother’sroomn prayed..afterthtI came down..sunshowedthe rays..Isaw newspapers
and milklyingdownbeforefrontgate.Itooktht n openedthe doorn wentinside..Iboiledmilk..placed
paperin the balconytable..tookbroomtosweepthe pathwaynoutside..whenIabouttocomplete..I
heardsomeone openingthe door..Isawaunty comingoutwithhalf closedeyes..
“Good morningaunty“,Isaidbysweepingoutside..
“Hey… whatr u doing??“,Auntycame rushingtowardsme npluckedthe broomfromma hand..
“What aunty?.I was sweeping..what’swrongintht?”
“We have appointedperson fortht..she ll come by6 n do..uneednotdothisma”
“Aunty..ourplace..we olyhave to keepitclean..how muchu r givingforher?”
“600 permonth”
“Aunty..if we dothiswork byourself..ourwaste waterinside ourbodywill gooutthroughsweat..600
ruppeesalsosaved..withoutknowingthismanywill sitidle inhome andkeepservantforeverything..
washing..sweeping..cleaning..foreverythingservants..thenytheywanttolive..forthemalsotheywill

15. give money..aftfewdaystheirbodywill becomeobesewithlotsof probleminsideit..andtheywill pay
moneyfordoctor also..doctorwill askthemto do exercise..forthistheywillgotogym..theydont even
knowthat eventheirhome have somanygymmachines..sowe candoby ourself aunty”
“hmmm“,auntygave a deepsighntouchedma headn wentinside..Isweptfullynsplashedwaternput
rangoli n came inside..Isawuncle readingpaperinthe balcony
“Good mng uncle”
“Good mng ma“,Uncle smiled>i wentinside
“U olyboiledmilkalso?“,Auntyasked
“Yeah aunty..Iusuallygetupat 5.. so todayalsoI got up..so I didtht..”
“Thank u ma..Coffee ready..Ill gonwake upSwapnan come“,she gave me acup of coffee andwentto
upstairswithanothercoffee..
“Ok .. aunty“,i said andtook one more coffee ngave to uncle..he gotit fromme n drank..meanwhile
auntycame downn said
“Reshma..U n Swapnago for shoppingtoday..she wantsome dresses..utoobuysome dress..dayaft
tomour coll opensna”
“I dont wantany dressaunty..Ihave enough of my cloths..Ill justaccompanyher”
“ok ma“, she saidn wentinside..
Afterfewhours..
“Ma.. M ready.I want moneyforshoppingma..”,Swapnaaskedformoney..auntcame fromherroom n
gave some moneytoSwapna..
Back to home aftershopping
“What d.. u justboughtone dress??“,Auntaskedoutof surprise..
“Yeah ma.”
“Y so?and u gave me half moneyback..uneverdotht..”
“yeahma.. Reshmatoldtht..we shudspendmoneyolyforour needs..notforunnecessaryneeds..I
alreadyhave somany dresses..soboughtjustone dressforfirstdayof college alone“,she saidnso
auntysmiledatme..
College ReopeningDay
“Aunty..Uncle..Blessme..”,Itouchedbothof theirfeet..Swapnadidthe same
“May godblessu ma child“,bothsaid..We wenttocollege..firstdaywe hadorientationregarding
campus..our subjects..Itwentongood..3 days of college wentassuch..Angel came withus..Butdidnt
eventalka wordto us..she wentas such withhernew boyfriends..me nSwapnagot same section..I
was sohappy..
Saturdaymorning5.30am
“Aunty..Todayu got up soearly??watspl?“,Iaskedoutof surprise..
“Today myson iscomingfrom Banglore soolyma..“,auntysaidbylotsof smile onherface..
“As if he is comingafterlonggap..everyweekendhe iscoming..thenwhat..“,Swapnashoutedfrom
kitchen
“Hey Swapna..utoo got upearlytoday?“,Iaskedinsurprise tone..
“Yeah..dailyu r switchingonthe lightat 5 am.. so I couldntsleepfurther..todayItriedtosleep..but
couldntgetback..so got up early”
“She is tellingliema..she iswaitingforherbrotheroly“,auntygave a smile ather n wenttokitchen..

16. “I am not waitingforur idioticson..whobotherswhetherhe iscomingornot..u olyhave to carry ur son
on ur headn roam..he isjustcomingfrom banglore..butshe ispreparingall kindof foodasif he is
comingfromprision..he wudve ate all itemsthere nenjoyedwell..have ueverpreparedanythingfor
me??Alwayshersonoly..lethimcome..Ill kill him..overchellamforhimReshma..“,Swapnashouted
“Ok..ok..cool downSwapna..Auntytodayholidayna..soIam goingtochurch aunty..Ill be back at
8am“,I told
“Reshma..waitevenIll come withu..thenolymymomwill know thtI am not waitingforthtidiotic
soul“,She saidnwentupstairsto change her dress..
After10 minsshe came downn we both startedto church bywalk..
On the wayto church
“Usuallyat wat time masswill be conductedinurchurch?“,Iasked.
“6.15am“,she saidby lookingdownthe street..
“Oh..how longitll take to reach church?”
“15 minutes“,she repliedwithoutanyinterest..
“So we can reach on time na?”
“hmmm“,she repliedbythinkingsomethingelse..
“Hey Swapna..whathappened?urthinkingsomethinitseems?urreal enthuismissingtoday?“,Iasked
out of panic..
“Yeah..ReallyIam missingmybrothera lot..we alwaysfightalot..whenhe go out forhishigher
studies..Ireallymissedhim..Ioftencall himneveninphone we ll fight..now ththe iscomingbut I
came withoutmeetinhim”
“Oh..at wattime he is coming?”
“He wudve reachedby now..6 to 6.15am he ll reachour home”
“Oh..if u want to go..u go.. Ill goby myself”
“No..I am missinghimeverydayna..Lethimmissme for2 hrs..Ill meethimaftertht”
“hmmm”
Aftermassat 8am
we bothcame out..WhenI was wearingmyslipper
“Reshma..come soon..Itstime..letsmove fast“,shedraggedmyhand
“Why..why..thismuch rush?letme put ma slipperfirst“,Itoldbywearingmyslipperlittle fast
“too hungryReshma..”
“too hungryor too enthutomeetur brother“,Iwinkedather..
“hmm..u too understoodeh.understoodna..come..“,She almostdraggedme tohome..
within10 minswe reached..Whenwe openedthe frontgate Isaw someone sittingonthe stepsnear
entrance..
“Swapna..Ur brotheralso misseduitseems..he iswaitingforuoutside“,Ismiledather..she toosmiled
at me inreturn..
we bothreachedthe steps..before Icouldopenmymouth
“Hey anna..howr u da? u missedme eh?so olywaitingforme outside eh?“,Swapnaaskedntouched
hisshoulder..he lookedatme verydeeply..withoutansweringSwapna..
“U r Reshmaeh?“,He askedinsomewhatharshmanner..bothof ourface became dull..Iblinked
“I askedu oly.”,He increasedhisvoicenalmostshouted..

17. “Yeah..whatswrong?“,Swapnasaidinconfusedtone
“I didntask u Swapna..ugo inside..Ill talktoulater“,He answeredherwithoutlookingatherbut me..
Swapnawentinside withoututteringanyword..
“I askedu somethin..butthere isnoreplyfromustill..Ru Reshma?”
“Yeah“,Isaidwithlotsof fear
“Oh..So u r thtculpriteh?“,The wordculprittearmy heartintoseveral pieces…Iblinkedathimwithout
any movement..
“Put kneel downfirst..”,hesaidbypointingoutthe laststep..Icouldhearmy heartbeatoutof fear..
“I saidput kneel down“,He increasedhisvoiceagain..Ididimmediatelyasthistime Swapnawasnot
there to save me..
“How dare u?“, eachn everywordwasspelledverysharplyntightmanner..afterhearingthtword..My
eyesbecame wetntearsoccupiedmyentire eyes..
“Dont act withur tears..I reachedhere by6.15 andI saw my momsweepingbalcony..Iaskedyr u
sweepingma?whathappenedtoservant..she saidReshma..ThenIwenttotake bath I saw all my
thingswr cleanednreplaced..whenIaskedmom.She saidReshma..ThenIwenttotake bath..I saw my
soap usedbysomeone..whenIaskedmymomshe saidReshma..thenwhenIaboutto eat..My mom
askedme to sitdown..whenIaskedthe reasonshe said Reshma..Reshma..Reshma..Reshma..
Reshma..Reshma..Justone weeki wasnthere nu ve changedmyentire home tour control..Just
because myparentsr innocentur takingadvantage towardsthemeh?How dare u?”
“I….“,WhenI aboutto openmymouth
“shhhhhh..shutup..shutup..u no needtoopenur mouthnow..I wontevenallow mysissytogetinto
my room..butu wentto my roomn u ve usedmysoap also..how muchguts u ve..ah… Dontu know
howu shouldbehave inothershome?midnight5o clocku r torturingeverybodyswitchingonthe light
it seems..Isthisthe wayull reactin othershome?Cantu siton the table n eat?we have sufficientchair
inour home..ur doingas perur wishit seems..Ill kill uif udo the same anymore time..“,He starredat
me whenhe saidlike tht..
“Actually…..“,Iopenedmymouth
“I saidshut ur mouth..“,He kepthisfingeronhislips..
“Now..foldurhands n keepurfingeronur lips“,he saidbydoingit..Ididso..
“Nowhear..see itsnot ur home..itsourhome..ushouldntdragus to ur rulesn regulation..ushouldget
usedwithourrules n regulations..gotit?“,He askednsoI noddedmyheadbykeepinmyfingeronma
lipsstill..
“No.1:We will getupat our own timingsoly..ushudnttouchthe electricityboardwithoutanyone’s
permission
No.2:Shouldntuse mabathroomat anycostwithout mypermission..shouldntevenenterintomyroom
No.3:We have our ownservantto lookaftus.. sou no needtostop anyone
No.4:Use dinningtable while eating
No.5:See usn followus..dontdragus to follow u..Ok?”
“Hmmm“,Inoddedveryfast
“ok..now wipe off urtears..“,He saidnso I did..
“nowgo to ur room“,He ordered..Istoodup n ran towardsmy room
I sleptoff assuch for hourstogetherwhenIopenedmyeyesIsaw the clock..It shows..5 o clock..I

18. peepedoutside..Itwasdark..Irealizeditwas morning..Didi sleepone whole day..ohgod..!!..
Immediatelyi gotupto switchon the lightsuddenlyi rememberedall the ruleswhicheverAndrewsaid..
AgainI cried…
Morning8am
“Ma.. Where is Reshma?“Swapnaasked
“askingme..She wassleepingwithuolyna?”
“WhenI woke up..she wasntthere ma”
“What?..Then where she went?”
“Reshma..Reshma,,”,BothauntynSwapnasearchedforReshmaeverywhere aroundhome..
Where isReshma??Waittill nxtpart
Those Three words-Part 6
“Dey..Usleepingwell eh..Reshmaismissingstupid..getup“,Swapnadraggedandrew’sbedsheetn
pushedhimdownfrombed..
“Ayyo..amma..Whostht idiot?“,Andrew gotupwithoutknowinganythin.Assoonashe saw Swapnaon
the bed..
“U idiot..uneverallowme tosleepalsoproperlyeh..?“,he gotupbyshoutingnhe threw pillow onher
face..
“loosu..Reshmaismissingnow..momsearchingforherall throughthe way..whatdidu do to her?”
“Tht village girl wudve wenttotht church oly..she ll be backaft 8 am..y u ppl r worryinsomuch? I
didntdoanythinto her.“,he saidntriedto lie onbed..
“Idiot..Its10am.. still she didntcome stupid..Iwenttonearbychurch also..she isnot there..“,assoonas
he heard 10 am..
“Oh..god..today importantprograminsun tv..how didI forget to watch my favourite debate..move
away..I have to watch“,he almostpushedSwapnanwentdown
“R u mad r wat?I am sayinshe is nothere..nu r worriedabtur program eh..stupid“,she followedhim
by shouting..
“U alwayswanta reasonto fightwithme..now u got new reason..ugo ahead.I ve my ownwork..
podi“,He shoutedbacknenteredintohall..
“Andrew..“,uncle voicewasstubborn
“Dad“,He neverheardhisname from hisdad’smouth..he neverusedtotalkto him..if he want any
work..he ll justinformmomto say to him..buttht doesntmeanththe dontlike totalk.he alwayshave
a distance withhisson..firsttime hisdadcalledhim..
“go n bringReshma..else dontenterintohome“,dadsaidinstubborntone nwentinside..Auntn
SwapnabothblinkednsawAndrewwithoutanyword..
He tookhisshirtn bike key..he startedhisbike..auntnSwapnacame outside nlookedeachother..
He wenttoall nearbychurchand searchedforher till 12 0 clock..she wasntthere..He tookhismobile n
calledSwapnatoask Reshma’smobile number..aftergettinhernumber..he calledher..Itsaysswitched
off..
*********************************
Reshma’sPOV

19. 6pm In ParisSt.Antony’schurch
I was sittingall alone inchurch..Ifeltsomeone touchedme frombehind..Iturnedtosee whoit is..Yesit
isAndrew..Iwas shockedtosee Andrewinparis..He gesturedme tocome out of church n he went
outside..Istoodupn followedhimlike asmall kid..
ImmediatelyafterIstepoutof church.. Andrew slappedmyleftcheekwith hisrighthand..myface
became pink..Ikeptmyhand on mycheekn tearswere rollingdownfrommyeyes..
“What the hell ur doinghere?whenwe rsearchingforu from morninginhome?”
I was speechlesswithsuddenblow onmyface..Iwasshocked..whois he toslapme..whatrightsdo he
have to beatme..
“Do u thinkwhatrightsdo I have to slapu?.. yesI have..urparentssentu to our home to lookafteru..if
anythingwronghappenedtou..whowill answerurparents..“,Istoodlikeastatue.
“sit“,He sat onhis bike norderedme to sitbehindhim..Ilookedathim..
“Dont say thtone shudntsit onothersbike before marriage..thatthisnu..itsalreadytime..parentsr
waitingoverthere..sosit“,He saidnI sat behindhim..Idunnohow tocatchhim..I caught hisbike
handler..
Afterfewmins.He stoppedhalf waythrough..
“Get downReshma“,histone became softthistime..what!!isthisAndrew??didhe know totalksoftly
even..Iblinkedngotdownfrom bike..
“Just waitfor5 mishere..Ill parkthe bike n come“,He saidnmovedaway..I turnedbackn saw a board
says“Adyar Ice Creams”
After5 minshe came by carryinghishelmetnbike key..He smiledatme n asked
“Shall we go?“,didhe smiledatme.Ohgod!!how can he smile evenafterslappingme like this..very
bad..
“Hello..madam..maskingu oly..shall we go?”
“Hmmm..“,Inoddedmyhead
“come“,He saidn wentintoththotel..AgainIfollowedhim..The hotel wasfull of lightsnA/C..Itwas
too cool inside..Ienteredbyrubbingmypalms…
“sithere“,He showedme anemptychairn sat on the otherside..Isat opposite tohim..He ordered2
vanillaice creamsnlookedat me..untill thenIwaslookingathim..immediatelyItookoutmyeyesfrom
himn lookedsomewhere..
“madam..I saw u lookedatme..nowy actin??”
“Nothing“,Isaidoutof anger..
“I knowu r angrytowardsme..Iam firstof all sorry for slappinguReshma“,He talkedinapolite
manner.He lookedstraightintomyeyes..Iwasspeechlesswiththtsharplook..He didnttake hiseyes..
evenme lookinintohiseyesverystraight..thoughmymindaskedme tolookdown..myheartsays look
intohiseyes..
“YesterdayIscoldeduto test u whetherureallylove myparentsru justtook advantage towardsthem
to make urself comfortable inourhome..afterscoldinguIwas not able tospendtime withanyone..I
feltlike askinsorrytou..for tht I came to ur roomseveral times..butuwrbusysleeping..butReshma..
howone can sleepone wholedayya???ur reallygreatn sleeping..plsdoteachme how to sleeplike
u..“,he winkedatme…I starredat him.
“Ok..Ok. cool down.Justkidding”

20. “Hmmm..“,Irespondedtotell himthtIam listening..
“U knowwat I reallyexpectedutoscoldme back whenI scoldeduwhichwudve showedme ur real
love towardsmyparents..U shudve told like..Heythisismyuncle’shome..Ihave all rightsto getup at
my time..Ucant rule me..like tht.Iwasexpectingthtolyfromu..but u didntrespondanything..
therefore Iconcludedthtumade urself comfortable inourhome ratherthantakingrights..rightsis
differentfromadvantage..if utookrightsu wudve lovedmyparentslike urparents..butif u take
advantage u justwantto be comforatble notbotheringaboutothers..Iwasreallyangertowardsuafter
tht”
“WHAT!!!“,Iarched myeyebrows..
“Wait..Wait..letme complete..evenaftergettinupmysistertoldme tht u wr missing..soItoteven
nowu want to make urself comfortablensou wentout..I was happytht I didntasku sorry butlater
whenI heardmydad’s voice callingmyname justforu I realizedhow muchuve changedmyparents
withinone week”
“Whats there intht?”
“My dadnevercalledmyname..he alwaysmade distance fromme once i grown up..butI dunnowhat u
didto my dad..He calledmyname forfirsttime..fortht olytreat foru..Ma mom toldme aboutall the
changesotherthan prayer..Thatwas the good thingu did..reallyhappyfortht“,He saidnsmiledback..
“hmmm“,Isaidn startedto eat ice cream..
“so still inangertowardsme reshma?“,histone became dull now..well how one cansmile ata person
whojustnow slappedme nsmilingatme..
“Shall we go now?itstime“,Isaidnstood up
“Hmmm.”,he gave the bill nthistime he followedme..
“come letswalktill bike park“,he said
“No need.. Iwill waithere itself.ugon get ur bike“,Isaidoutof anger..
“ok..madam“,he saidbybowingdownn went
he came aft fewmins..nparkedbefore me..Isatbehindhimncaught the same handler..thistime not
because of fearbut because of anger..
We reachedhome aftone hour..Assoonas auntysaw me.she came runningtowardsme n huggedme n
kissedmyforehead..
“Where didu go my dear..whattht idiotdidtou?“,she askedn beathim
“Ma.. enoughma..she came na..I didntdo anythingtoher“,he said n i starredat himby touchingmy
cheeks..he showedhiseyeslikenottosay toaunty abouttht..Swapnahuggedme ntookme inside..we
all sat on the sofa..afterfewminsAndrew broke the silence..
“hey..have u gave dinnerforparents?“,He askedSwapna..
“yeah..Theyhad“,she said
“Ok ma..u go n sleep..itstime..Swapna..whatsthere toeat?“,He asked..meanwhileauntnuncle went
to sleep
“Dosa..yet to prepare“,she saidnabouttostand
“heywait..where ru going?“,he stoppedSwapna
“to prepare dosa..Y?”
“u no needtoprepare now..”
“I didntsay thtm gonnaprepare itfor u..Its for Reshma“,swapssaidntry to move..

21. “whoeveritmaybe..u no needtoprepare..Iwill prepare forReshma“,he stoodupnalmostpushher
downon the sofan pulledmy armstowardskitchen..Iwasdamnstruckby hisaction..whatis he doing?
ishe touchingmyarms..Is thiscalledRIGHTS..Iran behindhim..hewentintokitchennarrangedsome
thingsn made an emptyspace nearstove
“Reshma..come sithere“,he showedthe space whichhe made itnow..Istarredat him..
“Come on Reshma..Iaskedsorryna.. still angereh???ami pavam..anywayu take ur owntime to
forgive me..butnowsithere“,he showedthe same place..Ashe askedsosoftly..Iacceptednsat on
tht..
“good..nowletme prepare dosa foru“,he saidn searchedfortava..meanwhile Swapnaenteredinto
Kitchen..
“Hellosir..howmanytimesuve scoldedme..Have ueverprepareddosaforme..now u r preapringfor
hereh?“,She askedina cunningway
“Hey..u n Reshmar same eh..podi..now stopur non sense nhelpme tofindout tava stupid..Reshma
waitingformydosa..I cant make herwait..“,he bangedonherhead..
“Loosu..have u evercome intokitchenbefore this..hmmm..itsjuststraightinfrontof u oly“,she saidn
bangedonhis head..
“oh..its here..”,He tooknplaceditonthe stove..thenhe tookdoughfromfridge nabout toprepare
dosa..
“Hey Swapna..whenmomprepare dosaIusedto getsome sound..buty am i not gettinthtsoundnow..
u ppl ve somethinginurhands ya n m notable to smell thtdosasmell also“,he saidbythinking
“hahahahaha..hohohohohoh..hehehehehhe..adaloosu..firstlightupthe stove..thenolyucan prepare
dosa n heartht soundn all“,she saidbylaughingnItoo laughedafterseeinghisreaction..
“hmmm..enough..enough..dontlaughtoomuch“,He saidbylookinatme bycorner of his eyes..
“Hey Reshma..whatsthtur cheeksr verypink“,She saidntouchedmycheeks..
WhenI about toopenmy mouth..
“Hey..wait..wait..how diducall hernow?“,andrew interruptedme..
“What??”
“How didu call her now?”
“Reshma..y?”
“U cant call her Reshmaanymore..she isuranni(meaning - vadinaintelugu) hereaft..gotit”
“WHAT!!!!!!!!“,Swapnaaskedoutof shock..evenme
Those Three Words-Part7
“Mynee(meaning- vadinaintelugu) eh?..Heywhatshappeninghere?“,Swapskeptherhandonher hip
n lookedbothof us cunningly..
“What.. She isour aunty’sdaughterolyna?she is elderthanu also..sou ve to call herby relationoly..
thts wati meantto“,He said..But myheart sayssomethinmore thantht..
“Hmmm..ok..back to the topic..wats wrongwithur cheeksReshma..itspink“,Swapnaagainaskedthe
same question..thistimeIlookedatAndrew..
“Leave tht..do u know..where thismadamwent?“,Andrew changedthe topic.
“Yeah..where she went?”

22. “She was there inparischurch..she made me to searchthe whole city’schurch..Ineverwentevenfor
one church but she made me to go to all churches..“,He saidina cryingtone.
“hehehehe..udidaverygood jobReshma..he neverstepintoanychurch..but today..hahahahaha…
hohohohoh..hehehehehe..superb.superb..udeservesitda.y didu scoldherlike tht..pavamshe is”
“Hey..shutup. alreadyeverythingover.againdontstirrupthe matter..I am tryinto console her..dont
spoil tht”
“Nevereverforgive himReshma..umove..Ill preparedosaforher..uno needtoprepare anythin“,she
pushedhimawaybypullingthe ladle fromhishand..
“hey..u r pushingme eh?I am gonnakill u..”he stoodupn made herto benddownn bangedherback
heavily..Iwasspeechlesstosee thtfight..whilethiswashappeninginone corner..dosagave a bad smell
resemblingthta white dosabecame black..
By smellingtht..”heythrdosagettinspoiledidiot..gon see tht“,Swapnashouted
“Oh!!!god!!ya..“,he pulledthe ladlefromherhandn came to see the tava.. Itgot stuck intothe tava n
he lookedattht like gingereatingmonkey..
meanwhileswapnagave adeepbreadthafterhisbeatinncame to see the tava n she laughedbyseeing
the positionof dosa..Ilookedatthemwithoutknowingwhattodo..
“What sir..ur dosa became black..inur areadosa colorwill be blackolyeh?from whichplcae ur
comingfrom?“,she commentedonhim..Icouldntresistmylaughn I accompaniedherbylaughing..he
triedto turnout the dosa usingladle buthe couldntseperate itasitbecame too dark n stuckedinto
tava..
“Oh!!!god!!!nowhow will Igive dosato Reshma…come Reshma..letsgooutn eat“,He again pushed
my handn immediatelyIjumpeddownnranbehindhim..
“hey..hello..hello..Its10.30 now..whichhotel will be openednow?“,Swapnacame runningbehindus..
“I will goanywhere Iwant..whatbothersu?“,againhe pushedawaySwapna..
“u come Reshu..“,he didnttake his handsfrommyhandstill..how didhe call me Reshu???none of my
frdscalledme like tht..oh!!god!!y somethinghappeninginsideme whenhe touchesme..whenhe
calledme Reshu..isthiscalledRIGHTS??
“hey..thenwhatwill Ieat?“,Swapnaaskedinirritatingtone
“What?u didnteatstill?“,Andrewaskedoutof surprise..
“Yeah“,she saidbykeepingherface sad..
“Oh..god..howinthisworldur still starvingwhile uve somanydishesawaitingforu?”
“What??“,Swapnashrunkedhereye browsnIsaw himsurprisingly..
“Yeah..justopenthe door go outside..ucansee so manylawnsn greenplants..Ihave grownit upjust
for u mysweetsister“,he saidbypacifyingherheadasif doingitfor a goat..Ilaughedas he saidvery
seriously..
“Dey…uuuuuuuuuu….“,she startedtochase himnso he leftmahand n startedto runaway fromher..
theywentoutto balcony..Icouldntstandmore thantht n so I wentintokitchennwashedthe tavan
startedto prepare dosa..Theywere busyfightingoverbalcony..assoonasthey smelledthe dosa..both
came rushingtowardskitchen..
“Wow… itsmellsgoodReshu..“,hesaidnsat onthe place onwhichI sat before..
“Hmmm“,Isaidn starred at him..
“Ok. Ok..cool..Itriedmy level best..butitgotspoiledbecauseof heroly.”,he saidnthrew spoonon

23. her..
“U dunnoto prepare firstof all..udidntevenlightupthe stove n now blamingme eh..poda..”,shein
turn againthrewspoonon him..
“Couldu bothplsstop ur fightn eat..itstime.tomowe ve to go to coll Swaps“,Isaidn took dosa n kept
on a plate..
“Its forme“,before Swapsreachthe plate..He draggeditfromme n ate it..
“Hmmm..its yummyy…see howReshuhasprepareddosa..have ueverpreparedlike this..itslike
smoothcotton..urs will be like rock..Ihave touse hammerto make it seperate toeat..hereaftplsdont
evercome to kitchen..thankgod..reshuhascome to save me..”,he saidseriouslynbusyeatindosa.
“Adapavi“,Swapssaidnbangedonhisheadwitha plate..
“hey..stupid..dontspoil Reshu’sdosa..justmove aside..evenurshadow shudnttouchherdosa..”,He
saidby keepinghisface inirritatingmanner..
“Reshu..evenwithoutside dishurdosaistoo yummy“,he saidbystarrinat Swapna.
AtlastsomehowWe ate n sat downn watchedTV for few mins..againthey foughtforremote..their
fightsr everlasting..
“Ok..Reshmahowdidu go to Paris?“,Swapsaskedme.
“ActuallyIthoughtof goingto nearbychurcholy..buteverythingwasclosedatthttime..yesterdayin
church parishpriestsaidaboutparischurch n its powerful if we attendtuesdaymass..asIdunnoany
otherchurch otherthan tht..I wentto tht church throughbus”
“But todayis sundayna?“,Andrewasked..
“I know..as i dunnowhere else togoI wentthr“,I said
“oh..ok..what happenedtour mobile phone..Icalledmanytimes..itsaysswitchoff“,andrew asked..
“Yeah..u remindedmymobile phone..Ikeptthtphone inoutside bathroom..waitletme gon take
it“,whenIaboutto getup..
“U no needtogo. I will gon bringitfor u“,Andrew saidnwentoutside nbroughtit..
“Why didu keepitoutside?”
“U olyaskedme not to switchonthe lightat 5am.. so i usedmobile lighttogetmy clothsn I couldnt
disturbauntn uncle also..soI wentdownto take bath..inmiddle itgotswitchedoff due tolow battery..I
keptthere itself withoutknowing..Itotof informinguppl..butasi shudntdisturbanyone..Iwentas
such withoutinforminganyone..inthe middleolyIcheckedthtI missedmymobile athome”
“Hmmm..Ycant u call fromoutside?”
“Meanwhile Iwastravellinginbus..afterseeingchurchIforgeteverything”
“Ok… but still udidntsaywhyur cheeksr pink?“,Swapscame backto same question..
“I couldntsee anypinkon herface..Ithinkureyeshavingsome problem..socheckitout..“,Andrewsaid
by examiningmyface..
“U shutup..I didntask u..I askedher oly..”
“nothingSwaps..Isleptforsometime inchurchbyplacingmyface on myhands..as i keptsomuch time
on myhand..It became pink..nothinelse“,Isaidnsaw Andrew incornerof ma eyes..He gave deep
breadth..
“Hmm..ok..Swaps..ugo to sleep..Ill come later“,Andrew said
“ok..come Reshma.letsgoto sleep“,she stoopupnI too stoodupwithher..
“I askedu to call her mynee“,He increasedhistone..

24. “Oh… god!!!ok..mynee..come letsgotosleep”
“She wontcome now“,he pulledmyhandnmade me sitdownon sofaagain..I blinkedbyhisimmediate
reaction..
“Why? evenshe have collegetomo.”,Swapssaidnpulledmyrighthandwhile he pulledmyleft
hand..Oh..god..sonowm the comedypiece fortheirfighteh..
“Couldu bothplsleave me..myhandsr paining“,Ibeggedoutof pain..
“Oh..!!god!!what u didto her“,Andrew touchedmyhand..
“enoughof ur pacifying..letme goto sleep..come Swaps..letsgo“,IsaidndraggedSwapna
“I saidsit Reshma“,He almostordered..Iturnednlookedathim..myheartaskedme tohearhisword..
“Hey..y r u again orderingher?“,Swapnaquestioned..
“u get lost..Iwant talkto her..couldu plsleave usalone?“,AndrewsaidtoSwapna..
“Whats so secret?”
“Nothinggreat..uplsgo.. she will come within10mins“,Swapsgave adifferentlooknwentup..Isaton
sofan watchedtv..thoughmy eyesr onTV.. myheart expectedsomethingfromAndrew..Ifeltdifferent
kindof feelingaswe r all alone innight..
“Reshma..“,He calledme..Iturnednlookedathim..
“Sorry really”
“Hmmm”
“couldu plstell otherthanhmmm..I am reallyworriedabouturreply..still udidnttalktome properly”
“How couldu expectme totalk to u?“,thoughmymouthutterthese words..myheartlongsto talkto
himproperly..
“Atleasttell me thtu will tryto talkto me”
“hmmm..”
“Dont thinkaboutmy rules..ucan forgetall those thingswhichItoldu..all the rules..ucan getup at
anytime..ucan use myroom at anytime uwant withoutmy permission..ucansit whereveruwant
while ur eating..uhave all rightshere..plsdontsee me like astrangeranymore..seriouslyInever
slappedanyone likethis..Ididoutof feartht u leftsomehwere..Ishudnthave done tht..Mreally
sorry..”
“What didu say Andrew?“,A voice came nwe bothturnedto see whoitwas..
Those Three Words-Part8
“What didu say Andrew“,unclecame outof room..
Me n Andrewwrspeechless..We bothimmediatelystoodupfromsofan starredat uncle..
“dad“,”uncle“,bothsaidatthe same time..
“Did u slapher?“,uncle raisedhistone thistime.
“Dad………”
“Answertomy questionAndrew“,uncle’seyesbecamered..
“yesbut…..“,before he couldcomplete hissentence..He gota heavyblow onhisface from uncle..Asit
was heavyhe couldntbalance itnfell downonsofan his handstouchedthe nearbytable whichmade
the glassvase to fell downfromthe table nscatteredintoseveral pieces..Thatmakesheavysound..
As soonas I sawAndrew’sface whichbecame pinkwithunclesfinger prints.myeyesfilledwithtears..

25. evenhiseyes..Myheartaskedme to wipe off histearsn console him..buthow todo tht infront of
uncle..whathe will thinkof me..nwhatAndrew will thinkof me if Itouch him..butmyhand movedto
reach hishead..meanwhile auntycame rushingfrombedroomdue tothe heavysoundmade myvase..
evenSwapnacame runningdownfromupstairs..
“Whats wronghere??Oh..god..myson..“,Auntycame runningtogetholdof Andrew..
“Stop there..Noneedtotouchhim“,Uncle orderedauntynauntywas clueless..EvenSwapna..
“Uncle..“,WhenIaboutto openmymouth..
“whydont u tell me Reshma.if he slapu?Am I not thr to take care of u?“,as soonas theyheardtht I got
slappingfromhim..bothSwapnanaunty wasshocked..
“No uncle…“,AsIopenedmymouth.He wentnearAndrew ntookhimup n againgave a heavyblowon
hisshoulderwithhishands..Everybody’eeyesfilledwithtearsexceptuncle..Andrew kepthismouth
shutn he got the beatingswithoutanyrestriction..Icouldnttolerate it..
“How dare u touch her.?Its because of herI know the value of real love now..Itsbecause of herI know
aboutmy wife whogave herlife justforme but I neverlookedafterherevenforsingle day..whenshe
prayedforour familyolyIcame to knowhow many problemurmomhad inher bodybutstill she is
doingall worksjustfor our family..evenIamthe memberof thisfamily..whatdidIdofor thisfamily..I
neverdidanythingforherinreturn..“,Now evenuncle’seyesgave some tears..Auntyshedtearsn
huggeduncle..
“But u slappedher.howdare u?“,Againuncle reachedhimtobeatbutthistime auntyrestrict
“please leave him..he wontdothtanymore..”,auntystoppeduncle..
“Is thisthe way u treata guest?Shame of u Andrew..Idontwantto lookintour face..getlost“,Uncle
saidin angrytone n wentaway..EvenAndrew wenttoupstairsnlockedhisroominside..Auntywent
behinduncle nclosedtheirdoor..me nSwapnalookedeachother..We came outn closedthe doorn
wentupstairs..
I couldntsleepthtnight..HowAndrewwudve felt..He gave me treatjustbecause uncle talkedtohim
for firsttime butnowbecause of me he askedhimnotto see him..WhatI didto them?I made entire
familytocry.. I made Andrewtogetbeatingfrom uncle..will he evertalktome??I shouldve forgiven
himwhenhe askedsorryitself..justbecause i didntaccepthe talkedinmidnightnsouncle came n he
got beatings..all because of me oly..Ishouldaskhimsorrytomorrow before he couldgoto banglore..I
decidedbutstill Iwantto try bybangingdoor..What if he didntopen..letme tryout..I tot n saw
Swapnacryingon otherside..Icouldntconsoleheralso..soIdecidedtosleepnow nask sorry
tomorrow…
Nextdaymorning5am..
I got up..I checkedAndrew’sroom.Itwaslockedinside.Iassuredththe didntgetup still.Iwentdownn
cleanedbalconynvaranda.WhenI came upagain.stil it wasclosed.soI decidedtogetbath n talkto
himaftertht.I tookmy dressn wenttooutside bathroomn tookbath.. WhenI came out of bathroom..I
saw Andrewmovingoutbyclosingthe gate..Icame runningtocatch himbut he wentfast..I feltsorry
for him..He wentwithoutinforminganyone..Iwentupstairswithdisappointment..
“Reshma..Where isAndrew?“,Swapnaaskedbycomingoutof Andrew’sroom..
“He went”
“Where?”
“Dunno”

26. “How u knowhe went?”
“I saw himgoingout”
“y dontu call himthen?”
“He wentveryfast”
“hmmm“,She saidnwentto take bath..
Afterfewhours..Breakfasttime..
Everybodywassilentwhile eating..
“Mary.. I am plannintobuy a car.. whatdid u say?“,Uncle broke the silence..Maryeh??oh..Itsaunty’s
name eh..Oh..god!!nowoly i come to know her name itself..
“y car now?“,auntyaskedbyservinghotidlynsambar.
“Just like tht..we dontve anyvehichle togoby whole familyna..sotht“,uncle said
“Uncle..Car u can buy butwhere u ll park?“,Iasked..
“Oh..yeah..I have to buildashedalso“,unlce thoughtforawhile..
“Uncle..Shall Itell one idea?”
“Yeah..tell ma”
“U can buy car lateralso..But nowbuya flatuncle”
“Flat eh?y ma?”
“yeahuncle..Howlongu will strainbygoinglike thisforwork..anyhow soonull getretirement..before
tht if u couldbuya flatn give itfor rent..u can earnmoneyinfuture periodbysittingidle inhome..
Before Andrewcouldgoforjob..u can earn“,assoonas he heardthe name Andrew..hisface became
red..
“Hmmm..good idea..okma..Ill decide tobuyflatthen“,uncle saidnmovedaway..
Afterfewmins..Me nSwapnagotreadyn wentto college..Angel alsoaccompaniedus..Bothof usdidnt
talkanything..ButAngel talkednon-stopall throughthe way..We reachedcollege..Afterall sortsof
orientation..we 3fristtime enteredintoourclassroom..Itwas goodbut I couldntadaptwith the new
environmentasmymindalwaysshowsAndrew’scryingface..
Me n Swapnasat in the firstrow..Angel gota boy friendimmediatelynwentwithhimtothe last row..
Firsthour mam came n gave intro..My thoughtsfullyoccupiedbyAndrew..Whatswrong withmy
mind..Whyit islongingforAndrew??Justbecause Iwantto asksorry or anythingmore thantht? When
will Ibe able to meethimnext?afterone week..soshouldIwaitforone weektomeethim..WhenIwas
thinkingtht..Iheardsomeonebangingonthe desk..
“What in the worldu r?“,Mam askedme standinginfrontof me..
“Nothingmam“,Iwasclueless..
“I askedu to give introaboutyourself”
“I am Rehsma..Iamfrom tirunelveli“,Isaidneverybodystartedcommentinnbangedondesk..
I am not interestedatanyof theircomments..MyheartseeksAndrew attht time..Hisface didntgoout
of mymind..Ithoughtof messaginhimbuti donthave hisnumber..Iturnedto Swapnato get number
fromher..She was busytalkingwithhernew friend..WhatIf she thinksworngaboutme if I ask her
brothernumber..Buthe ismyuncle’sson..DontI have rightsto getnumberfromher..
While Iwas thinking..Isawsomeone stretchingtheirarmstowardsme..
Those Three Words-Part9

27. I lookedupto see whoitwas..someone wasstandingbefore me nsmiledatme..
“Hi..”,he stretchedouthisarms..I gave a surprise look..
“Hi..I am Derrick..I am alsofrom Thirunelveli..sothoughttohave friendshipwithu..whatdou say?“,I
blinkednturnedtowardsSwapna..Shewasbusytalkingwithhernew frdstill..
“Its ok..Justthoughtto talkas we bothbelongstosame place and same class..nothinggreat.i think
nothingwrongto have friends..”,he smiled..Icouldntsayanythingasmy heartfullygatheredof
Andrew’sthought.. Ilieddownonthe desk..
“Ok..Ithinku r not feelingwell..Illcome backtou later..bye“,He saidnwentaway..
All the three classesmymindthoughtof the olysoul whois inbanglore..Ydidnthe talk tome? Whether
he saw me r notwhenI came out of bathroom..Orhe isinanger towardsme r wat…!but y my heart
feelingsobadif he isnot talkingtome..
whatswrongwithmy mind..Ihave foughtwithmanypersonstill 12th..but I neverfeltfortht..Buty I
am not able tosit inthe class even..if I still continue like this..How willIbe able to concentrate onmy
studies..whataboutmylectureraim..Thoughmamtookclass overthe otherside..mymindtravelled
throughsomewhere..myeyesfilledwithtearsnIcouldntevenlistenwhatmamsaying.. Ifeltbadabt
myself forbeinglike this..Iscribbledsomethinonmynotebookwhile tearsfell downonmanotebook..
My mindwasfullyoccupiedbyhim.Isitbecause he slappedme?Isitbecause he carriedme inhis
bike?Isitbecause he boughtice cream forme?Isit because he touchedmyarms?Isitbecause he
prepareddosaforme?Isit because he pleadedme formymercy..?Whathave u done to me Andrew..
Whendidu come intomyheart??Y r u torturingme like this?…………….ma mindpleadedforAndrews
single call atleast..oftenIcheckedmymobile whetherIamrecievinganytextorcall from unknown
numberas I donthave hisnumber..Andrew please sendme one msg..atleastanemptymsg..if not
atleasta missedcall wil doforme..plsforgive me Andrew…pls…Iappoligizemyself tohimthroughmy
heart..I feltsomewhatrelaxedinmind..butnow mybodybecame weakasI continuslycried..
Immediatelyaftermamleftthe class..Ikeptmyface onthe desk..
Lunch break
“Reshma..Come letsgoto cafeteria“
“no.. I am not coming..ugo“
“hey..y?here u cant eat inclass.so come letsgo thr n eat“
“No..I am not feelinghungry..Idontwanttoeatanything..”
“why?whatswrong?r u not feelingwell?“
“Yeah“,howdoesshe knowthtmy heartis notfeelingwell..
“Thencome letsgoto medical centre“
“No..”
“Why..theywill give medicine..Itll be betterforu if u take it“,how couldshe know the olymedicine is
herbrotherright now..
“No..Ill be alrightif i take some rest“
“Thenwud u like togo home?“
“Its ok..ill goback aft college houritself“
“hmmm..ok..u take rest..ill gon bringsome medicine foru“,she saidnlefthermobile nearme nwent..
I thoughtof gettinAndrew’snumberfromhermobile..Itookitfromher mobile nsaveditas ‘A’as I

28. dontwant Swapnato knowtht I tookhisnumber..Buthow couldI msg him..What he wil thinkof me..
But atleasthe shudve messagedme ashe got mynumberfromSwapna..Whydidnthe call r evenmsg
me..He wudve surelyinangertowardsme..
I was leftall alone in the class..Ikeptmyface ondeskn closedmyeyes..Igot Andrew’sface whichhad
pinkrays onhis cheeksinfrontof my eyes..ImmediatelyIopenedmyeyes..Isaw mamteachingclass..
“whatswrong Reshma?Ru ok“,Swapnaaskedme outof concern.
“Yeah..”
“I thoughtof wakinuup..but u wr sleepinheavily..soIdidntdisturbu..“
“Its ok“
“hmmm..mam askedme abt u..I saidu r notfeelingwell..usleep..withinfew minswe cangohome“
“Hmmm“,Isaidn sleptagainwhichisthe olythingi can doto forgethisface..
aftercollege hours..
We bothreachedhome byauto as i couldntwalktill busstand..Auntycame runningtosee myposition..
bothcaught me n tookto the groundfloorbedroom whichwasemptyforguest..I lieddownthrin
bed..auntcame n lookedafterme..IgotheavyfeverIguess..She gave somethingtoeat..Ididnteat
anythingasI dont feel like nsleptoff assuch..
WhenI openedmyeyesIsawdad n mom sittingaside me..Iwaskeptinhospital nI am dripped..
“Dad..”,Isaidn tried to getup from bed..
“Reshma….“,dadstoodupfromchair n came to bedn made me lie onthe pillow properly..
“Dont getup..just lie down..whatsworngwithu?udont like thiscity?if uwant come back to
Thirunelvelima“,dadsaidout of concern..How did he know tht myheart wenttobanglore with
someone nitneedthtpersonto talkright now..
“Machan.. what didu doto my daughter?Itsbecause of uI have sentmy daughterunderurconcern..
but withinfewdaysIam seeingmydaughterundermalaria..Ineverseenmydaughterinthis
condition“,Dadaskeduncle indul tone.
“no dad..nothing..howcome uncle ll be responsible formyhealthproblem..newenvironment.new
food..solightfever..nothing“,Itriedtoconsole him..
“What… lighteh..itssince 2 days u sleptlike this..”,Dadsaidntouchedmyhead..Itriedto take my
mobile whichwaskeptaside me..Thedate showsthtsince 2days I sleptoff..
It had 2 newmessage..none missedcall..WhenIopenedit..Itwasfrom‘A’..
The message got“Those Three Words”
What was those three wordsinmessage..???waittill nextpost..
Those Three Words-Part10
“R u ok?“,These r“Those Three Words”sentby Andrew..Iwasintop of the worldwhenIsaw hismsg
for firsttime..Oh..god..Ishe messagedme?Isaw his msgas if a personsaw a water pool inthe middle
of a desert..Ismiledatmymobile forfew minutes..Now Isaw whohas calledme..Yeahitshimwhohas
called,he hascalledthe previousdayearlymng5am..As I keptinsilentmode..Nobodyattendedthe
call.I saw the nextmsgwhichhas come by an unknownnumber.some fwdmsg..Ididntevenwantto
readtht msg..But I gazedthrough hismsgn I triedto reply..WhenItookmyrighthand to type the msg..

29. my handsstartedto pain..Ishoutedoutof pain..
“Reshma..give thtmobile..dontstrainyourself like this“,dadsaidndraggedthe mobile fromme nkept
inhis pocket..
“Oh..no..dad.. Give dad..I wantmsg my friendregardingnotesforthese days“,Isaidlie tomadad..oh
no..what am I doing?Am I tellinglietomydad..I neverliedtomydad for anything..whateverhe saysill
justaccept..but thistime y am I lying?Isitbecause of him?my eyesagainfilledwithtears..
“R u feelingpainmydear“,auntyaskednkeptherhandon myforeheadnwippedoff mytears..
“yesaunty..itspainful..notbody..butmyheart“,Ithoughtto myself nclosedmyeyes..
Everybodysurroundedme asIopenedmyeyesafter2 days..My eyeslongedforAndrew..butthere is
no shadowof him..butI am happytht he messagedme..butnow Iam not inthe positiontoreplyhim..
What he wud ve thought?I thoughtforsome ideato getmobile fromdad..
“Dad.. give mobile dad..Iwanthearsong“,AgainIliedmydadjustfor Andrew..Ifeltthe paininmy
heart..I dunnowhat I am doingisright r wrong… butmy heartaskedme to do so..I couldntcontrol my
heart..itsoverrulingme..
“No need..ufirsttake some rest..”,Dadsaidnwentto meetdoctor..Swapnacame nearme n touched
my forehead..
“Dont worry..Ill take notesn give to u..”,Ismiledatheras I dont have anyenergytoreplyher..
Angel came withherparents..Thatis the firsttime I saw theirparents..Auntywentnwelcomedthem..I
couldsee a commonpatternin aunty’snAngel dad’sface..Ismiledatthem..Theybroughtsome fruitsn
blessedme nwent..Angel came insame moderndress..
Dad came aftermeetinchief doctor.
“We can discharge hertomo..Tomowe ll take herto thirunelveli..she canattendherclassesafter2
weeks“,whendadsaidIwasshocked..I dont wantto go to thirunelveli..Andrew wil be cominincoming
saturdayn sunday..thenhowcouldI go n stayin thirunelveli..withoutmeetinghim..Whatmyheart
says..Is itaskingme not to go to my home townjustbecause of single soul whomi metjustbefore 2
days?Is it askingme to forgetmyparentswhogave birth justfora personwhomIdidnteventalk
properlyyet?AmI undergoingoutof malariaorsomethinelse?If itssomethingelse?whatsthtname
called?While mymindthinkingsomanyquestions..
“Tomo eh?What u r saying?She isgettiondrippednow oly..Immediatelyif utake herin bus..howwill
herbody will tolerate..?listentome..we will take care of her..so dontgettensed“,Uncle triedto
console dad..
“Its ok..while mydaughterin thispositionwe cantstaypeacefullyinhome..soill take care of herin the
bus..she will be backwithhernormal healthforsure“,dadsaid.. uncle naunty noddedtheirhead..
Nextday
I got dischargedfromhospital ncame back to home..Iwas able tosit inthe nextday..but couldntstand
or walkevenforfewmins..Mompackedeverything..we 3came out of entrance..Swapnahuggedme n
said“get well soonncome back to my room…Ill be waitingforu“.I shedtears…I feltas if I am leaving
my heartintht home n moving.Ifeltas if I am missingsomethininuncle’shome..Ibidbye to3 of them
n movedawaywithmomn dad..firsttime inmy life..Iamfeelinpaintogowithmy ownparents..
We all reachedCMBT.. dadwentto get tickets…we gotfront row..me n momoneside ndadopposite to
us..I sat near windowseat…Busstartedto move..IimaginedAndrew’sface inmymindnsmiledathis

30. face..Iimaginedwhatall he triedtopacifyme justbecause he slappedme..Igazedatmy handn
rememberedhowhe touchedmyhandforfirsttime..Itouchedmycheeksnrememberedhow he
slappedme withhisfull rights..SuddenlyIthoughtof mymobile..Ipeepedtowardsmydad..He was
gazingat window..
“Dad..“,Icalled..
“Yes ma..Dou wantanythingto eator drink?“.dadimmeditelystoodupfromhisplace ncame near to
me n asked..Howmuch love he have towardsme..
“Nothingdad..Igave mymobile tou..I want tht oly“,Isaid
“oh..wait“,dadsaidn he searchedall overhisshirtpocket..phantpocketn said
“Oh..I lefttht inur uncle’shome ma“,whendadsaid
“WHAT!!!“,Iwas shocked..
“Dad.. where ukept?Ukeptinur pocketolyna?”
“yesma.. whenIchangedma shirt..Itookoutur mobile nkeptonthe shelf..afterthtforgettotake ma..”
“Where u changedur shirtdad?”
“Downstairsbedroom”
“But nowI want mobile dad..”
“u want mobile olyna..keepmymobile.eveninthismobile ucanhear songs“,dadsaidngave his
mobile nwentbackto hisseat..
I saw ma dad’smobile…Idontevenknow hisnumber..whatami gonna do withdad’smobile..Istarred
at my dad’smobile forfewmins..nthoughttohear songs..tookmyheadsetfrommybagn startedto
hearsongs..eventhose songsremindedme Andrew..Imissedhimsomuch..dunnohow amI gonna
spend2 weekswithout seeinghim..
Mind: What am I thinking!!!howamIgonnastay withouthim..HaventIeverstayedwithouthimr
wat???whois he for me?I have justmethim forpast 2 days..Ididnteventalkedtohimproperly..but
nowmy heartaskingme how am I gonnastay withouthim..verynonsense..Ihave spent18 years with
my parents..Ineverlongedlikethisforthem..butjust2 daysI spentwithhim..Now myheartlonging
for himlike amad..
Is 2 daysismore than18 years..??I neverusedmymobile tillmy12th..justfor name sake I was having
it..but nowI am fightingtogetback my mobile somehow..Whatisthiscalled??AmIfallinginlove with
him??Withlotsof thoughtsinmymind..I sleptoff..
Nextday6am
“Reshma..come..be ready..we have togetdownin nextstop“,ImmediatelyIopenmyeyes..Andrew’s
face came infront of my eyes..Yisthishappeningtome??oh..god… please save me..!!Iprayedwithin
myself..
we 3 got downfrombus… dadcalledauto..aft few minswe reachedourhome..
“Reshma.. usit forsometime..Ill prepare hotwaterncall u.. u take bath..so tht u ll getsome
relaxation“,momsaidnwentintokitchen..
I brushedmyteethnsat on sofa to watchTV..Even cinemasongsremindedme asif Iam dancingwith
Andrew..Ifeltsome joyinsidemyheart..AmIfallingforhim..Ismiledbymyself..Eventhisdistance
make me so happywithhissweetremembrance..
“Reshma..come..waterready,,”,Momcalledme totake bath..Itook mydressn wentto bathroom..

31. WhenI touchedthe soap..It remindedme of Andrew’ssoap..thoughitsnothissoap..I rememberedhis
room..bed..soap..hisshirt..hissmell..Ismiledbyseeingthe soap..Notevensingle minute Icouldlive
withouthisthoughts..Eachn everythingremindedme abouthimorhisthingswhichwasusedby me..
WhenI about towash myface..I touchedmy cheekstogethisfingerprints..buteverythingvanished..I
wanttht fingerprintstostay inmy face for life long..Itookbathn came outside..
Mom gave me sudukanji..nall those medicineswhichthtdoctorgave for my malaria..How dothey
knowitsnot malariawhichcaught me..ItsLove whichholdme tightn not leavingme anywhere..Even
those medicineswryummyforme withAndrew’ssweetthoughts..Idrankeverythingnwentto my
room to sleepwithAndrew’sthought..
WhenI am about to close myeyes..Ihearda voice callingmyname inhighpitch..I recognizedtht
voice..she ismyclose friendAnu..Ijumpedfrombedtosee her..Icame out of my roomn I saw Anu
came runningtocatch me..I huggedher..
Afterfewminsof hug..we tooseperate nsmiledateach other..
“Hellomadam..Aftergoingtochennai..urbeautyincreasedalot..Whatsthe matter?“,she askedme
cunningly..
“Thats not because of chennai d..Itwudbecause of her new relations“,myanotherfrdPriyacame
peepingfromoutside..
“Hey priya…“,Isaidn ran beside hernhuggerher..
“ohho..newrelationeh??Whoisthtd Reshma?“,Anuwinkedatme..
“Tht ill tell uAnu“,PriyadraggedAnu’shandnsaidsomethinginherear..
“Hey..whatu ppl talkingabout?“,IpulledPriyafromAnu..
Theyboth laughedbygesturingsomething..Iblinkedatthem..
“Hey..nowu ppl gonna tell me r not?“,Iaskedoutof sadness..
“Ok..ok..cool madam..cool..we ll letu know..before tht answertomyquestions“,Priyasaid
“Ok..ask“,I saidn we 3 sat onmy bed..
“Q.No:1-Where ur stayingto dour ug?”
“In my uncle home”
“Q.No:2-Whoall there inur uncle’shome?”
“Uncle,aunty,aunty’sdaughterSwapna”
“Oh..Oly3 eh?”
“Yeah..y?”
“So confirm“,Theysaideachothernjoinedtheirhandsinfrontof me..
“Nowtell me whatwas the secretu ppl talkingabout“,Iaskedbykeepingmyface innocently..
“No..U saidlie..sowe wonttell u”
“What? I didntlie tou”
“oh..u said oly3 r there inur uncle’shome?”
“Yeah..so wat?”
“Hellomadam..Ihave got all informationfromauntynthenolyI came to see u“,Priyawinkedatme..
“What information?”
“How longu gonnaact like this?”
“Couldu plstell clearly..myheadisbanginginside”
“ok..Who is Andrew?“,assoonasPriyautterthe name Andrew..myheartflies..myface became glow..

32. my face became pinkoutof shy..
“See..See..see herface..howpinkitbecame“,PriyacommentedtoAnu..Itriedto became normal..but
couldnt.
“What!! nothinglike tht..He isuncle’sson..sowhat?“,thoughmylipssaiduncle’sson..myheartsays
tht he is somethingmore thantht…
“Oh… ur uncle sonoly..Y dont u tell himwhenIaskedwhor all theirinuncle’shome?utriedto hide
himna?”
“Nothinglike tht..He isdoinghisB.E 2 ndyear inBanglore..sohe wontstay inhome..sotht I didnt
say“,Iclarifiedthire doubts..thoughIknow theirdoubtispartiallycorrect..
“Oh..Anyhow..urface became pinkafterhearinghisname..yso?”
“That may be because of malaria“,Itriedtoescape fromthem..
“ah.. ah..ah.. we wontbelieve u..nowtell me the truth..“,Priyapinchedmacheeks..
“ah.. leave d..Itspaining“,Ishouted..
“Ok..now..tell me whatu ppl wr talking?”
“We talkedabtthisoly..ur momolysaidtht u stayinginur uncle’shome nsoI collectedall infoaboutur
uncle’sfamily..assoonas I heardaboutur uncle’sson..Igotslightdoubt..butafterseeingurface..Its
confirm“,She winkedatme..
“Hey.podi..Nothinglike tht..”
“Reshma..“,Momcame to upstairs
“Hey..shhshhhh..Auntcoming“,AsPriyasaid..we 3became silent.
“Reshma..Auntywanttalkto u“,Mom gave mobile tome n wentdown..Itookthe mobile nsaid
“Hello”
“Reshma..hwr u ma?“,Auntaskedoutof concern.
“I am fine aunty..howr u? how’s everyoneinhome?“,AssoonasI asked..PriyanAnusmiledatme
cunningly..Igave themablanksmile ngotup frombedn wentoutof my room..
“Everyone fine ma..IsanybodynearuReshma?Iwanttalksomethingpersonallytou”
“No aunty..Iam alone oly..tell aunty”
“Where ismom n dad ma?”
“Theyboth r indownstairsaunty..tell aunty..Isanythingserious?”
“No ma..(afterlongpause) SorryReshma“,bysayingthisauntycriedimmediately..
“Aunty..plsdontcry aunty..aunty..whatswrong?“,Iwasrestless asIcouldntconsole her.
“Reshma..My sonslappeduwithoutourknowing..Itswrongoly..Iagree..butplsdont sayto ur
parents..Theymaythinkwrongaboutour familynmy son..He neverslappedanyoneliketht..dunnoy
he slappedualso..itsbecause of himu got malaria..sosorry my dear..“,auntygoesonsayingbycrying..
“Hayyohaunty..I nevermindaunty..Iwonttell toparents..Iknow aboutur son..he justslappedme just
out of concern..Inevermindatall..soplsstop cryingaunty..“,Iconsoledher..
“Hmmm.evennowhe immediatelycame frombanglore afterknowingthtur sick..he ishere oly..he
didnteveninformusbefore he starts..sowe couldntinformhimthtu r not here..now he isfeelingalot
n not talkingtoanyone..noteating anything..”
“What.. Andrewisnoteatingjustbecause he slappedme..”,Iimaginedmyself..Iwishtotalkto him
immediatelybuthowtoaskaunty to give mobile tohim..
“Aunty..Iam alrightaunty..soonill be back to ur home..soplsask ur sonto eat properly..Inevermind

33. it..I am alrightaunty“,Iconsoledauntytothe core..but she didntstophercrying..aftersometime
Swapnagot mobile fromaunty
“Reshma..SorryReshma..Isaidtht I neverallow uto cry anymore..butI leftualone whenmybrother
slappedu..sorryReshman nowu got malariaalso..extremelysorryReshma.”,Swapsalsocriedthe
otherside..
“oh..Swaps..watswrong withutoo? u ve to console auntybutu r alsocryinglike amad.. stupid..Iam
alright..firstuconsole auntyn ur brother..whathappenedtouncle?”
“He isnot talkingtomy brotherstill”
“Oh..god!! I nevermindaboutthtslapwhichur brothergave me..but I am worryingaboutu ppl current
situationoly..“,Isaidnevenmyeyesfilledwithtears..
“Ok..Reshma…we ll call u back later“,She saidncut the call..Ithoughtof askingherto give the mobile
to him..buthowto talk to a personinphone whenhe isingrief..Ithoughtof goto Chennai
immediately..Ipressedthe endbuttonnturned..There AnunPriyastarredat me..
I wentn huggedAnun criedwithoutanystop..Theybothdidntsayanythinn tookme to my room n
lockedthe doorinside..Iwentoncryingn keptmyface onAnu’slap..Anucaressedmyforehead..After
longgap..Anu asked..
“Nowtell me dear..whatswrong?“,Itoldthe entire storyththappenedaftergoingtoChennai..
“Hmmm..the way he approachedtowardsiswrong..but he askedu sorryna? Y dontu forgive him
ya?“,Priyaaskedme..
“Yeah..Iknow..ButI couldntforgive him..Icouldnttake thtslapas veryeasilyasmy dadalso never
touchedmycheekswiththtmuch force..butnow I am feelingforit..Ishudhave forgivenhimin
Icecreamparlouritself..Else thismuchproblemwudnthave come“,Isaidnagainstartedto cry..
“hmmm..ok..leave itdear..everythingwill be ok..afterugo back to Chennai..justfor2 weeksna..ull
be alright..thengon console everyone there”
As soonas she said..someone knockedthe door.
“Reshma..wipe off urtearsfirst“,PriyacommandednIdidso..Anuwenttoopenthe door..Momcame
inside..
“Reshma..Itstime to take medicine..”,momsaidngave thtsame sudukanji..Idrankn took
tablets..momwent..afterfew minsof silence..Priyacontinued
“So..what makesu cry so vigorouslymadam?hisslapmakesu cry now olyeh?”
I didntsayanything..
“Hello..we raskingu oly..he slappedu..udidntforgive him..butwhathappenedinphone call?whatur
aunt said?“,Anuasked
“She saidtht he isnot eatinganything..he isfeelingbad”
“Oh..so u shudbe happyna? ththe isfeelingbadnnoteatingproperlyjustbecause he isslappedu..
whatmakesu cry now?“,Priyaenquiredlikeapolice officer..
“Nothing..“,Isaidbylookingdown
“nothingmeansthenforsure somethingisthr..whatstht?tell me“,Priyaaskedoutof curiosity..
“nothing”
“tell me”
“nothing..nothing..”
“tell me..tell me..”

34. “nothing..nothing..nothing..”
“tell me..tell me..tellme..”
aftera longpause..Isaid
“Its because Ilove him..Ilove himtothe core..“,Isaidnclosedmy face n smiled..Mybodybecame chill
n freeze..
Theyboth clappedtheirhandsnshoutedonmyears..
“ahem..ahem..socongratulationsmadam..“,Theybothsaidnhuggedme as if I got engaged..
“What..!!for thisn all congratulationseh?”
“Yeah..of course..anyhow.. all the best..soonproposehimngive ustreat..“,Theysaidnwinked..I
smiledatthem..
“hmmm..enoughof mystory..nowtell me..whatu ppl doing?”
“hmm..we dont have parentslike uReshma..ur luckyto have ur parentsto sendu to Chennai todour
higherstudies..urolydaughter.sotheycan spendumoney…butfor us we have brother..theyhave to
take care of theirstudies..sowe stoppedtill 12thn now learningtailoring.”,Anusaid
“Hmmm..Its because of tht oly..Iam doingmy ugn soon ill become lecturerngive educationatfree of
cost“,Isaid n huggedbothof them..
“Hmm..but we dont thinkso..u maycome withbabynexttime whenwe meetu“,Theysaidnwinkedat
me..
“hey..UUUUUUUU“,i saidn chasedthemboth..
The entire dayI spentwiththem..Isharedall my feelingsregardingAndrew withthem..Theyconsoled..
commentednadvised..momcalledfordinner..thenolywe came toknow the time..
night8 pm..
“Reshma..howdou feel ma?“,dadasked..
“I am good pa“.Isaidn smiled
“Thanksuncle“,Anusaidtomy dad
“Y thanksformy dad?“,Iaskedout of doubt
“Its because of uncle..we came here..He olysaidthtu r notwell..if usee us..u may become normal..
so tht we came today to make u happy“,Theysaidnsmiledatme..
“Thanksya“,I said
“Ok..Ok..enoughof ur talkings..noweat..”,momsaidbygivingdosato 3 of themn for me alone sudu
kanji..
“Ma.. how longthissudukanji ma..?“,Iaskedoutof irritation..
“Oh… AuntyReshmawantolydosa..tht too blackdosa..tht tooit shudbe preparedbysomeone
else“,Priyasaidnwinkedatme..
“Priyaaaaaa…………“,Igrinnedat her..
“What???“,Momaskedas she doesntknow watsgoingon..
“nothingma..she isjust teasingme..ugive thtsudukanji itself.”,Igotfrommomndrank tht..
Afterdinner..theybothbidgoodbye nwenttootheirrespective home..Iwenttosleep..
NextdayMorning
“Reshma..Reshma..getup..”,Someonewoke me up..WhenIopenedmyeyes..Iwasingreat shock..

35. I saw Andrewstandinginfrontof me..
“Andr…“,before i couldopenmy mouthhe kepthisfingeronhislipsn said,“shhhhhhhhhhh”
Those Three Words-Part 11
“What?“,Iwhispered to him with surprise in my eyes..
“first u get up n sit“,he stretched his arms towards me n i took his arms n sat on my bed.. he sat just
beside me.
“How r u now?”
“I am fine“,I said n saw the time its 1am..
“Reshma.. I am sorry“,Andrewsaid by seeing down..
“Let sorry be aside.. what u r doing at 1 am in my bedroom? how did u come here? who allowed u
here?”
“hey.. hey.. relax.. relax.. now what bothers u?”
“Tell me how u came here?”
“hmmm.. I came without anyone’s knowledge.. so better dont shout n wake everyone in ur home.“,he
said n winked at me..
“Oh.. god!! but…”
“shhhhhhh…“,he again kept his finger on lips.. but this time its on my lips.I just looked at him.. he too
looked at my eyes very deeply..I couldnt resist tht look n so I looked down..
“calm down.. I couldnt stay there while u r suffering here with malaria tht too just because of me
Reshma“,He said
“hmmm..”
“What hmmm?”
“Yes.. its because of u I am suffering malaria..“,he gave me a puzzled look..
“Yeah.. y did u left me n went.. I missed u so much n tht brings malaria to me“,I said n my eyes
became wet..
“Hey.. come on.. how can u miss me when we both r under same sky?“, he said n wiped off my tears
from my cheeks..
“So u didnt miss me?”
“Nope.. not at all”
“hmmm..“,I gave a disappointment look..
“What!! Ididnt feel like missing u because daily I used to see u.”
“What? how?”
“Hmmm.. if u want to know tht.. close ur eyes first”
“Why?”
“first u close.. then ill tell u“,he smiled at me..
I closed my eyes.. he took his kerchief n closed my eyes n put knot behind my head.
“Now get up..“,he lift my hands n kept his hand on my shoulder n took me out of my room..
“But where?”
“No questions.. u believe me na.. just follow my instructions”
“Hmmm..”
“walk straight.. take right.. now take left.. walk straight.. stop.. stop.. now u ve to climb up.. up..
up..ok..”
“What??”

36. “wait..“,he said n turned me towards something
“Hmm.. now u can open ur eyes“,when I tried to untie his knot..
“Hmmm.. u cant.. i have put 3 knots“,he said n removed it for me.. when I open my eyes.. I was in
terrace n I saw full moon in front of me..
He stood behind me n kept his chin on my shoulder by wrapping his arms around my hip.. I turned to
see his face.. I can smell his perfume.. As I couldnt look at his eyes. I looked down.
“Look at the moon.. Whenever u miss me u can see the moon.. Its the oly intermediate between us..
it says to u tht we both r under same sky.. Whenever I miss u I used to see the moon oly.. I feel like I
am seeing ur face in the moon..”,he said n smiled at me..
“hmmm..”,I said n smiled at him with shy..I can feel his breadth on my shoulder.. I kept my head on
his chest n closed my eyes..
“Hmmm.. Y shud I see the moon which is not reachable while the real moon is just lying on my
chest“,He said n bent down to reach my cheeks.. He kissed my cheeks..
I fell down from my bed.. I got up n searched Andrew all over my room.. Was it a dream? I looked
into clock it shows 2am.. I sat on my bed.. took water n drank.. Andrew y r u torturing me.? I closed
my face with my palm n recollected my dream once again.. I missed him so much.. I got up n came
out of my room.. I climbed terrace.. I saw moon.. I looked into moon deeply to see Andrew’s face.. I
smiled at moon.. I roamed on terrace like a mad n after few mins.. I climbed down..
I tried to sleep but I couldnt.. He stole my heart first.. now my sleep too.. I couldnt even close my
eyes.. I starred at the fan.. I looked at the clock to struck 5am.. 3 hours I rolled on my bed.. I stood
up.. walked.. roamed.. looked into mirror.. recollecting the dream. smiled at myself like a mad.. again
rolling on bed..
sharp at 5am..I got up n went down to sweep outside.. I brushed my teeth.. prepared black tea.. I sat
down to pray with the bible.. when I closed my eyes I saw Andrew oly.. I controlled myself to avoid
him but couldnt.. Then I read the bible.. after I complete reading the bible.. I saw mom waking up.. I
closed the bible n kept it on the shelf..
“Reshma.. y do u want to strain like this when u r not feeling well?“,mom asked out of concern by
sipping the black tea..
“Ma.. I am alright.. I dont want to cut the class ma.. Its better I go to college in this week itself “,I
consoled my mom..
“No.. doctor said tht u ve to take rest atleast for one week.. this week is chanceless.”,mom said. but
how could she know tht I am missing andrew like anything.. He is not eating there.. I haev to meet
him as soon as possible.. aunty crying.. uncle not talking to Andrew.. Swapna in grief.. while my
whole family worrying there how could I be happy here..
Mind:What did u say? ur family?Then who r ur parents? Arent they ur family?
My mind n heart ffought with each other.. but I want to go to Chennai immediately..
“Reshma.. hot water ready.. u get ready.. we have to go to see our family doctor“,Iwent n took bath
n came out
we all got ready n went to see our family doctor.. we went by bus.. I looked at window n imagined the
same dream which I got last night.. now I couldnt see the moon.. I missed him a lot..We waited
outside.. Nurse came n call us inside..I went inside with my parents
“Hi Reshma.. How r u?“,Doctor asked me with a great smile..
“Hi doctor.. I am always fine..”,I said with a smile.. she is the family doctor.. she might have crossed
atleast 50 by now.. but her make up never shows tht she is old.. she resmbles young always.. I

37. admire her beauty always from my childhood.. till now she didnt change her hair style.. her rose
powder.. her lipstick..not even her beautiful smile..
“Doctor.. She is suffering from malaria.. “,dad said
“Malaria?? y so?“,doctor said n checked my eyes with torch
“Doctor.. I am alright doctor.. nothing.. just a slight fever.. i dont want to cut my coll.. so pls allow me
to go to coll doctor“,I pleaded
“Reshma.. keep quiet“,dad n said n showed the prescription given by chennai doctor.. She took the
prescription n said
“U can continue these tablets itself.. but it seems she is alright now. so better u can allow her to go
to coll“,Doctor said
“Ok doctor“,dad said n gave the fees to doctor.. I was flying in the air as I am going to go back to
chennai soon..
We 3 came out..
“So shall we go to chennai today night itself?“,mom asked dad
“Reshma wont be going to chennai anymore..”,dad said n walked towards outside..
“WHAT!!!!!“
“why did u say like tht?“,mom asked out of shock to dad.
“She is not going means not going.. no more questions.. see any good coll in our city itself n let her
continue her studies here itself“, dad said in stubborn way n went to bus stop.. I felt like crying
immediately.. I thought what makes dad to take this decision. we 3 got into bus.. my throats got
blocked out of grief.. I couldnt even breath.. my eyes covered with tears n when i closed my eyes 2
drops of tears fell on my hand.. I wipped it off.. tried to become normal.. Andrew’s face came in front
of me..
our stop came.. I sat without moving.. mom called me to get down.. I came to reality n got down from
bus.. We reached home.. I sat on sofa n switched on TV.. though my eyes watch TV.. my mind went
somewhere.. I could hear dad talking to someone in phone regarding seats in college in thirunelveli
city.. I went to kitchen to talk to mom..
“ma.. now y dad not allowing me to go to chennai ma.. I can do my ug there na? oly thn I can do my
pg here n become a good lecturer ma.. pls do say to dad ma“,I pleaded mom.. though I am partially
correct.. my heart long to go to chennai for Andrew. Mom came out of kitchen.. meanwhile dad kept
the mobile n tried to open his mouth.. before tht mom interrupted..
“Now.. what makes u to decide this?“,mom asked
“I know what is good for my daughter. u no need to decide anything.. In Ambai Arts college.. I have
asked for a seat for b.com.. so tomo we r going thr“,dad said n went inside the room.I looked
puzzled..
What makes dad to take this sudden decision.. Did he find out tht I am in love with Andrew? but
even Andrew doesnt know this matter.. then how come dad doubted me.. I was thinking deeply.. I
just gazed through TV for long time.. mom gave me sudu kanji in between.. This time the medicine
became too bitter for me.. often my eyes became wet n I wiped it off.. I just kept my head on sofa..
though I closed my eyes.. I didnt sleep..
“Whats wrong with u? why did u do tht? her aim is gettin affected na?“,Mom asked dad
“U know what ur daughter did yesterday night.?”
“What?”
“She was roaming on terrace at midnight..”