Diwali Day,

14th November 2020,

Munnar, Kerala

Shree walked around the Nadumuttom, the central open-air courtyard of the house towards sunset. Her bare feet on the cool stone floor as her anklets, which Madhav got for her on her birthday, tinkled. The twenty-four urlis- flat brass pots filled with water, had little clay lamps floating on it. Shree pours more oil into each of the eight ashtalakshmi hanging lamps and aligned the clay lamps that were decked around the Nadumuttom.

She was wearing a simple red sari with a gold border along with a green blouse. Her hair was wound into a neat bun with several inches of stringed jasmines draped around. She wore a simple gold chain and a pair of simple jhumkas.

She smiles, breathing deeply in the familiar smell of incense and lamp oil. The sound of the fireworks from the village not far could be heard clearly somehow magically blended well with the mantras coming from the mantra chanting box in the prayer room.

Shree walks towards the kitchen. Madhav was making laddoos, while Madhu and Meow looked up at him. She was wearing a yellow silken blouse with a red skirt that had peacock and lotus motifs. Shree had tied Madhu's medium length hair tied into two pigtails and wrapped a few inches of jasmine around each pigtail.

"Nanna!" Madhu says as she tugs on his tee-shirt. "Give me one, please!"

"You've eaten too much, da! Your Mumma is going to scold you!" Madhav says.

"Please Nanna, just one. You love me no!" She pleads.

"Here!" Madhav says as he give her a perfectly spherical laddoo.

Madhu happily takes the laddoo and the banana from the kitchen counter before she runs out the kitchen with Meow following her.

"Aren't you going to shower and change into the veshti I got for you?" Shree whispers into Madhav's ears as she wraps her arms around him. She breathes into the nape of his neck. "I brought it for you with so much love using my hard-earned money."

"Okay, but let me-"

"Go shower, now!" Shree tells him. "I'll make the laddoos. Amma and everyone will be arriving here anytime!"

"There's no need, chellam! Because I'm done!" He says as he makes the last perfectly rounded laddoo.

* * * * *

"Madhu, where is your bindi?" Shree asks as she finishes the rangoli in the Nadumuttom.

"Don't know!" Madhu shrugs as she sits on the diwan, kicking her legs in the air as she looks at Shree's baby shower album. "Meow, you saw my bindi?"

"I'll get you another one!" Shree says and walks into her room.

Shree gasps as she sees Madhav standing in front of the mirror, with a towel tied around his waist.

Shree watched intently as a few drops of water ran down his sculpted back into the crevice between his back and his towel that hung low on his hips.

"Hey Chellam!" He says as he notices her standing near the door of their bedroom.

"Uhm-uhm, hi!" She says nervously. "I-I-I- came to get a bindi for Madhu. Do-do-do you want me to come back late-"

"No! No!" He says as he takes the bottle of deodorant. "I don't mind."

Shree nervously walks towards him and fumbles with the drawers in the dressing table. She pushes the bottles of baby cologne and powder as she looks for the brown box that had the same red and black bindi Madhu was wearing. She groans as she notices the box on the other side of the dresser.

"Umm- Madhav, can you move a bit if you don't-" Shree asks him.

Madhav takes a few steps back and as Shree opens the brown box, Madhu yells from outside.

"Mumma! I found the bindi! It was under Meow's paw!" She says and Shree closes the box, not realizing that Madhav was standing very close to her back. As she turns to face him, he quickly grabs her waist.

With one hand he holds hee hand while his other hand went under her sari to her waist and stroked her satin soft skin. She exclaims as she gets pulled too close to him.

"Madhav what are you-" She exclaims and he presses a kiss to her neck. She gasps as his hot breath falls on her neck, then followed by the tender brush of lips. Burning as they make contact with my neck. A wave of pure pleasure runs through her entire body. She moans as she grips his muscular arms. The smell of his after shave and the deodorant increase her desire for him.

"Madhav, Madhav!" She softly calls out to him. "I'm getting wet."

"That's very pleasing to here. Already yearning for-"

"No, silly! Your drenching my sari!" She says laughing. "Let go of me before Madhu comes in."

* * * * *

She was dreamily staring at him while he arranged the festoons of marigolds. She replayed the feeling of his hands on her waist and blushed as she felt heat spread across her body. He looks ethereal like a Greek God, in that veshti and the red batik shirt.

She smiled to herself everytime his eyes fell on her. Her cheeks burned everytime she saw him. She shakes her head and continues to focus on the rangoli that she was supposed to finish drawing. It took her an hour to finish the elaborate peacock rangoli on the marbled floor. She smiles in happiness.

"Mumma!" Madhu calls her standing outside the guest bedroom. "Can you get my coloring book? Nanna said it's inside the guest room cupboard."

"Not now baby." Shree says as she dusts her hands. "Can you ask your Nan-"

"But Mumma!" Madhu whined.

"Okay okay!" Shree says and gets up. She walks towards the guest room and pushes the big doors. She gasps as she finds the entire room empty and it being filled with so many little clay lamps.

"Oh my goodness!" She gasps softly and walks inside. "This is so beautiful!"

"Do you like it?" Madhav asks as he walks in with a small smile on his face.

Shree nods her head. "There must be like around five hundred of them."

"1320 in total." He says. "That's the number of days I've known you. And I wanted to light 1320 lamps to commemorate how you have added light to my life since the day I met you."

"Oh my mata! This is such an overwhelmingly beautiful gesture, but why are you doing this all of a sudden?" Shree asks.

"Because, Shree I'm going to do something I should have done long ago." He says and pulls out a ring from his shirt pocket. He then goes down, on both his knees and holds the ring to her.

Shree gasps in surprise and tears start to well on her eyes.

"Shree, every woman deserves a proposal where the guy goes down on one knee. But you are so special and that's why I'm on both my knees." He says. "Chellam, I love you so much. You are a real blessing into my life but I was a fool to have inflicted so much pain and hurt upon you. I'm sorry I did that. I'm sorry for all the tears. I'm sorry for all the pain. I'm sorry for every stupid thing I ever did."

He holds her hand with his other hand.

"But I'm so thankful that you decided to give me another chance. And I swear, I will do everything I can to keep you happy. I swear I will not let one tear fall from these beautiful eyes. I swear I will not do anything to break that heart that loves me with so much devotion. I swear I will not do anything to turn that smile upside down."

"Madhav-" Shree cries in a weak squeaky voice.

He smiles.

"Shree, I love you so much." He says. "I want to start over, from square one and that's why I'm going to ask you this: Shree chellam, will you marry me? Again?"

Shree nods and he stands up smiling. As he slides the ring on her slender fingers she bursts into tears. Madhav quickly pulls her to his arms and runs his hand on her back.

Madhav looks at Madhu who has been jumping up and down in happiness, clapping her hands. He looks at her.

"Kannamma give Mumma and me some alone time." He whispers. "We'll join you soon."

"Okie pokie Nanna" She says before running out.

She looks at her parents one more time before closing the door behind her.

Shree sniffled against Madhav's shirt.

"Chellam?" He asks and she looks up at him.

She was mesmerized by his breath taking brown eyes, and before long they were holding each other's hands. He took her hand in both of his hands; he kissed her hand, and then her palms and entwined his fingers around hers. His hard and tanned lips pressing against the smooth flesh of her palm made her breath quicken as he felt her fingers shake. He firmed his grip as his free hand enclosed upon their entwined hands. He was breathing too close to her, and his breath, his heartbeats, his warmth, were all too captivating for her to let go. His eyes shone brightly as he inched closer to her, and his breath tickled her skin. He looked on, surveying her beautiful, trembling form in his arms.

Shree inched closer when he reached his hand to touch her rosy cheeks. He absent mindedly sent another hand to touch her cheek, therein holding her face and bringing it close to him. She closed her eyes with passion, and her heart started to beat wildly but she felt him stop before his lips touched hers. 

To be continued...

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