Unexpected Moments by Kalai Selvi Arivalagan (classic fiction .TXT) 📕

to accompany Vanessa. Bala’s mother did not want to travel by car and she wanted to complete her pathayathra without any break.

So, she asked Bala to travel in the car till Palani. Bala reluctantly joined Vanessa without knowing that the trip could alter his life to a very great extent.

Vanessa blamed herself for the hundredth time. When her neighbor asked her if she was willing to walk along with them, she accepted without thinking about things that would follow. With nervousness creeping in, she struggled to sit without feeling uncomfortable. She could not let her legs down and every second she felt the tingling pain. She shifted her position one more time. But the pain did not decrease. She wanted to recline on the seat and stretch her legs across the seat. Yet, something prevented her from doing that. Necessity forced her to travel in Bala’s car. They hardly knew each other and they did not have any proper introduction.

The first ten minutes went in silence. Usually, Bala was a cheerful person. It was always difficult for him to keep his mouth shut even for a few minutes. He started to have some meaningless talk with his driver. But he stopped talking to him as the road became more congested with traffic.

Though Bala’s eyes were fixed on the road, his ears were alert listening to the rustling sound behind. Bala realized that Vanessa grew uncomfortable with the pain on her feet. He turned around and looked at Vanessa. The first thing he saw was two eyes brimming with tears. That told him the pain she had been going through. Bala felt the immediate urge to comfort Vanessa and tell her she would be all right once they reached the first medical centre on the way.

‘You can stretch your legs on the seat. Sit comfortably so that you will not feel the pain.’

‘No, thanks. It’s fine with me.’ Vanessa’s murmur did not reach his ears.

‘Don’t feel shy. Sit comfortably.’

To avoid further conversation with Bala, Vanessa lifted her legs and stretched them across the car seat. She had to take the maximum effort to lift her legs as the pain grew unbearable and her painful mourn shook Bala’s heart for a while. He could not avoid regretting why he asked her to do so.

Now, Bala started to feel restless. Every second felt like years, and he asked the driver to drive fast. In the next fifteen minutes, they reached a Primary Health centre. Unfortunately, when they went there, the doctor was not there. The only available nurse cleaned the blisters on her feet and applied some medicine.

All the while, Vanessa wriggled in pain. She felt so embarrassed to let Bala know that she went through acute pain and wanted to be left alone. The nurse gave her a pain killer to relieve her pain temporarily. The nurse asked Bala to take Vanessa to a hospital in Palani and see the doctor there.

The nurse took Vanessa in a wheel chair and helped her to sit comfortably at the back seat of the car. He also helped her to sit comfortably without feeling much pain.

The car moved smoothly on the road for another ten minutes. Bala asked his driver to stop near a road-side tea shop. He asked him to get a cup of tea and gave it to Vanessa. Vanessa looked at him with a smile.

‘Thanks.’

‘You are my guest. It is my pleasure.’

Bala replied with a twinkle in his eyes. For a second, his eyes rested on hers. Vanessa boldly returned back his gaze. Bala could not suppress his excitement at heart and slowly turned away. Vanessa captured his heart at the moment and he could not tell why he felt so.

After sipping the hot tea available in the road-side tea shop, they resumed their journey. After ten minutes, when Bala turned around to check her, Vanessa was already in deep sleep. With her head comfortably rested on the car seat, the breeze from the window swayed her forehead curls. It looked like an invitation for him and Bala could not resist the urge to kiss her forehead and whisper in her ears some sweet nothings. Bala wanted to hold her hands and tell her, he would always be there for her to relieve from any pain.

‘Vanessa, Vanessa.’ Vanessa woke up hearing her name.

‘Can you please get up? Let me help you to sit in the wheel chair.’ Vanessa looked around and blinked for a while. She could not make out where she was. Bala was the only familiar person at that place, and her eyes searched for him.

‘He is inside the hospital talking with the doctor. Let us go inside.’ The nurse pushed the wheel chair slowly and entered the hospital. She helped her to lie down on the cot and went out to call the doctor.

While waiting for the doctor Vanessa called her mother on her mobile and told her what had happened on the way. The doctor checked Vanessa and prescribed some antibiotics to heal the blisters immediately. As there was nothing serious to worry about, Vanessa felt relieved. She did not want to break her holy journey.

Bala left the hospital after Vanessa’s neighbor Sundari came in. After taking rest for an hour, Vanessa travelled along with her in another car and reached Palani.

Sundari and Vanessa reached the winch station at the downhill. The winch had only two trucks and it was always crowded. The people who did not get a place in the first trip had to wait for the next trip. It took eight minutes for every trip to reach the top. Each winch carried only 34 passengers for every trip. Usually pilgrims who came there in families occupied the trucks in full.

People who came alone always found it difficult to find a place in one of the trucks. Sundari thought traveling by winch would be most comfortable for Vanessa to travel, so she chose the winch ride. They waited for more than fifteen minutes to get their turn. As usual a big family occupied the two trucks and only one seat was left. Sundari asked her to go first and wait for her. Vanessa got into the truck reluctantly.

Every one in the truck felt excited when the winch started to move up the hill. It was a pleasant experience. The winch moved slowly and Vanessa could feel the cool breeze on her face. Vanessa could not avoid thinking about her travel in Bala’s car.

She could not resist thinking how it would be if Bala happened to travel along with her in the winch also. When the winch reached the top, every one got down from the truck. Vanessa looked around for help. With heavy plasters on her feet, she could not walk freely and get out of the truck. Vanessa felt stuck for a while. The assistant who travelled along with them in the truck stood looking at her and he was a little hesitant to hold Vanessa’s hand and help her to climb down the truck.

‘Wait, wait, I will help you.’

Vanessa could not believe her eyes. Bala came to her rescue.

‘I know you will need my help.’

With a smile, Bala took her right hand and helped her to climb down from the truck.

Vanessa could not say no, and she was forced to accept Bala’s help. Bala asked the assistant to bring the wheel chair and helped Vanessa to sit comfortably on the chair.

‘Thanks.’ Vanessa’s eyes brimmed with tears. In another ten minutes, Sundari joined her.

Initially, Sundari volunteered to push the wheel chair, but she found it difficult.

‘Let me help you.’ Bala took the wheel chair from Sundari and rolled to the sanctum.

The people at the temple allowed Vanessa to see the deity immediately. While hundreds of people waited in the queue, Vanessa and Bala got the blessings of Lord Muruga without difficulty.

After having their lunch, they decided to start home. Most of the people preferred to climb down the hill by winch. As Bala’s mother got a place in the truck along with Sundari and Vanessa, Bala could not avoid accompanying her once again. Bala could not build a conversation with her as his mother was there. With a heavy heart, he looked at Vanessa. The winch reached downhill in another ten minutes.

Sundari helped Vanessa to get into the van first. Seated near the window seat, she looked out. Her eyes searched for Bala. But she could not find him anywhere. The driver got into the van and started to move. Sundari was the last person to get in. After sitting near Vanessa, she gave her a visiting card.

‘Bala asked me to give this to you.’ With trembling hands, Vanessa took it from Sundari. For sometime she struggled hard to hide her rising emotions.

Then, with a smile, she started to type her first message to Bala with a hope that would open a new chapter in their life. Bala was also desperately waiting for her message.

With a brimming smile, he replied to her message with love.

Imprint

Text: Kalai Selvi Arivalagan
Publication Date: 09-25-2011

All Rights Reserved

Dedication:
Driving could drive you nuts!!!