Episode 7

A loud ambulance siren brought Vinoth back to his senses.  The events that occurred in the day had been very much unexpected and tiring. As he sat in the park bench,  his hand still clutched the surgical knife that slit Dr. Srinivasan. He had thought he got better of his temper but now he realized the fact.  His temper was very much the same.

Some time earlier, Raj rushed Vinoth to get the medicine when his dad Srinivasan did not turn up for a long time. When he tried to locate the doctor in the big house,  he found a door open and peeped in. When he found the picture of Rajarajan there he could not  control his anger. He realized he was standing in the house  of his descendents.

He wanted revenge. He saw that the doctor was in a hurry. He followed him and found that the doctor found his identity. He could take it no more. In a rage he killed the doctor. And ran towards the exit as far as he could and found this off beaten Park to sit and decide what to do next.

When he closed his eyes series of events crossed his mind in a flash. He could see Rajarajan laughing hysterically, King Ravi Varma's elegant pose, and the tears in the monarch's eyes when they met last.

No matter how hard he tried he could never forget any of them. He saw his hand. It was still holding the bloody knife but the fingers missed the kings signet ring. ' I cannot let them have that ring. I will get it back no matter how hard it is'

Dr. Srinivasan's residence.

His father's loud screams brought Raj running. He was completely dumbstruck.  Though he was a doctor and handled patients in pool of blood before this was different. He could almost feel the pain his father had. He did not know what to do.

He rushed to treat his dad.  He carried him with all his strength downstairs to the consultation room where he kept all his medicines. His father was waving at him and wanted to tell something. He could hardly apprehend what he was telling.  As he lay his father on the examination table he clutched Raj's hand tightly and beckoned him to listen.

Raj knelt down to match his father's lips on his ears as Srinivasan whispered ' It is not Ravi Varma.  It is Thondaiman'.  And breathed his last.

The cold truth

'I know what I am doing. Shut your mouth and go to sleep.' He shouted and went to sleep himself. She tried her best to convince him but could not. She knew that was a bad decision of him and he would repent it soon. She could not do anything except pray it should not go wrong.

Sometime later she could feel him shiver. His breathing got course and bit loud. Though she expected this she got worried.  She did not want to leave his side. She tossed and turned and finally decided to do the hardest thing.

She got up from  the Cosy bed and switched off the ac in the mains after hiding the remote under her pillow.

The Empty Diaries

She fell with a big thud on the ground. It was the third time this month he slapped her. He was very short tempered but loved his wife truly. He tried his best not to show his anger on her but end up doing the same always. Almost everyday there was something for him to lose his temper no matter how hard she tried.

It continued till their tenth anniversary. After the small celebration at a nearby restaurant they slept blissfully.  Morning dawned and she was still at bed which was an unusual sight. He tried to shake her awake. Her body was cold.  He was scared out of his wits.

He called a doctor nearby who declared her dead.  After much moaning he started on his usual works. People advised him to dispose of her things. He started to clean her wardrobe.  There were a long list of diaries. He knew she wrote journals everyday but never had the urge to read it.

Now out of curiosity he started to open one and sat down to read.  It was blank except for the dates and it looked like it was dried. All diaries were the same. One had red dried stain which he identified as her Sindhoor.

Suddenly it hit him hard.  She had been crying her heart out to the diary though did not have the heart to record it in words. There were 10 blank diaries for each of her married life with him. He was completely broken. A tear fell from his eyes on one of the pages. The diary took it in to wash all her dried tears. 

Episode 6

Prof Shanmugam was jumping in joy.  The 65 year archeologist felt complete now.  For almost a decade he was in search of King Ravi Varma who had gone missing in history. Somehow he got smitten by the king and has spent all these years searching for him.

He started to recall  his journey. His expedition was going on well for a couple of years when his sponsor decided to pull the plug. Owing lack of funds he decided to quit when he was approached by Dr. Srinivasan. He was so eager to listen to facts about the king and promised to sponsor them till they find the King. He was true to his words so far.

The Doctor will be proud to hear this,  He thought. He couldn't wait till morning.  He decided to call and break the good news. 'Your mobile is ringing'. This was the second time Raj reminded his father Srinivasan from his dreams.

He hardly answered and said Hello when Shanmugam shouted at the other end. 'we have done it.  King Ravi Varma' s skeletal remains are
found now.  Once you come and witness it personally we can disclose it to the world that we have finally found the lost King. '

Srinivasan wondered if he was still dreaming. He signaled Raj to stop the vehicle.' Shanmugam what's happening there? 'His words were almost like a whisper. As Shanmugam explained the excavation proceedings Srinivasan could take it no longer.' Are you sure that's our King? How can you be so certain? '

' Doctor, we have got  all missing artifacts here and  the skeleton dates to exactly the time frame of King Ravi Varma.  Also it carried the staff and sword of the King as described in history. Am pretty sure that's our man.  If you want,  we can perform further tests on him to prove.

Srini's head was rolling now. He could not understand the turn of events.  If Ravi Varma was there then who is this person who matches his uniqueness.  He told everything to his son. He was equally confused.

'Let's plan now.  You meet the person here tomorrow.  I will go to the excavation site and see whats happening there.  I will try to confirm whose skeleton lays there.' He suggested.

They drove in silence. When they reached their house, their watchman Ramu opened the door and said ' Sir these two came just now. It seems he is in a lot of pain.  Will you be able to treat them now or should I show them out.?

Though tired,  Srinivasan did not want a person to suffer.  He asked them to come in. He showed them to a small consulting room adjacent to the living room of their posh bungalow and switched on the lights.

He turned to face them .  He felt he has seen one of them before very often but could not recollect. He was constantly staring at him that he didn't listen to any of their words.  'Shall I attend them while you go and rest' Raj's  words brought him to senses.

He accepted the offer as he was tired but did not leave the room.  He proceeded to sit in a chair but continued thinking about the person.  It seemed the other guy had been in an accident nearby and this person who was on his way to the bus station saw him and offered to help.

'The wound looks so bad. We may have to stitch you up. 'Raj said after examination. He asked the person to help while he attempted to stitch the patients hand. While doing so,  his ring came in the way and troubled him.  He removed it and placed it on the table.

The patient unable to bear the pain swayed his leg so hard that shook the table. The ring fell on to Srinivasan's leg with a soft thud. He bent down to pick it up.  It seemed very precious with a little engraving. He has seen this somewhere too. He felt something unexplainable. Raj needed a medicine now that was in his room. Srinivasan offered to bring it.

As he proceeded to his room,  he absentmindedly went to the gallery room and saw the potrait of King Ravi Varma that was displayed in a decent resolution. His eyes fell on the hands in the portrait. It was displaying with pride the same ring that was now in the hands of Dr. Srinivasan.

His heart raced. He got an intuition.  He rushed to his room and threw open the cupboard containing the artifacts and portraits related to the search of the King. He clutched whatever portrait he could grasp and threw it in the nearby table and started searching something.

'Aaah' he exclaimed seeing a portrait. 'May I have my ring back? It is not for someone with filthy hands like yours. '  He turned at the voice of the visitor. Srinivasan could not find his voice. He mumbled 'I never thought it was you who suffered. I will do whatever it takes to lessen your pain.'

'I have learnt to live with the pain. This is something to lessen the pain of the earth to carry traitors like you.' He drew the surgical knife he has brought with him straight into Srinivasan's chest.

One 'best' story

'Your name is spelt wrongly' She nudged him at the HR office where they had been waiting to collect his relieving letter. He didn't bother even if his name is not present but he pointed the mistake to the HR to humor her.  It was corrected and reissued.

'Shall we go for breakfast ' he asked her. She chose a restaurant that had the most delicious Pongal, his favorite food.' Choose a perfume for me please ' he said.  She raided the shop twice to get the best one for him. It was always the same with her.  She chose only the best one for him.

One night she lay awake for a long time trying to get the best deal for a holiday trip for him. He said it's for two and a romantic holiday.  She didn't give it a thought and started searching. She got the best deal and shared it with him.

 She then asked him for whom did he ask her to book this vacation. He said it was for him. She suddenly felt sad. It was at that moment she realized her feelings for him.  She never knew he had a girlfriend.  She cried herself to sleep.

At the middle of the night she woke up to the sound of her mobile buzz.  It was a message. It read 'You always choose the best one for me.  It is ideal then I should have the best wife too. Will you be my better half? I love you.'

She can hardly control her joy.  As soon as she typed yes with lots of emojis she started to search the best wedding outfit, this time for both of them. 

The Spectacle

It was a breezy day at Bangalore.  He and she were out getting his eyes checked.  He complained of little discomfort in viewing and they went to the doctor to get it reviewed.  Doc suggested him to wear a Spectacle and gave him his power details.

Off they went to an optical store to get a nice spectacle. He was reluctant to wear a spectacle each time he was asked to try and was constantly telling her he would not wear them. Due to her compulsion he gave the order for a spectacle and they returned back. He was out of station for a while and asked her to pick his glasses.

She got them from the store and wrote ' Please do wear this glasses to take care of your eyes that will see me each and every day of your life as a partner and your kids mother'  on a piece of paper and slid it into the glass case.

She handed over the package to him at his house and left.  She was eagerly waiting for his call but none came for a couple of days.  He then asked her to meet at their usual hangout. She went there all dressed up excited to meet him.

When she arrived, he handed over the glasses to her. She looked crestfallen.  He said, 'I underwent a minor laser surgery. I can see you well now without glasses.  Nothing should come in between me and you, not even these glasses.' Her clasp of his hand spoke hundreds of words unspoken. 

Episode 5

The clock chimed 11.30 in the nearby tower where Dr. Srinivasan and Dr. Raj Srinivasan lay waiting.  Kandasamy had promised to get them Vinoth's address immediately.  In no mood to wait at the clinic, Srinivasan called his son and started off in their car. They went for an aimless drive in the direction of Vinoth's office and just halted near a clock tower.

Dr. Srinivasan's mind went years back when he had just completed his MBBS.  His father Dr. Purushothaman called him to his clinic.  When he went, he observed that his dad looked grave.

'Sit down Srini. I have something to tell you very important.  It is a messed up family secret. I also need to hand down a very important responsibility to you which I hope atleast will be done in your time.  Our family has been working on this for generations altogether'.

Srinivasan was shocked. All he expected was a bit of career advice.  He listened intently.  'We need to find a person.  A very important person lost in history.  He is not lost but was made to run by our ancestor.  He meant it to be a revenge.  But his successors decided to put it to an end.  We have been searching for this person since then. '

' Our ancestor Rajarajan was a great physician. He was able to cure any ailment during his time.  He was always researching on herbs and plants to find their medicinal value. One such time he was able to get a very rare herb that will cure the skin of any damage and prevents aging.  In short if the herb is made into a proper concoction, the person won't die and also age. He will remain the same for ever.  '

Srinivasan was speechless.  He took a minute to digest the news he heard just now.  'Did he give it to anyone dad? ' he asked.  ' Yes not just to anyone.  To King Ravi Varma the third.,the king whom he was serving as a revenge for him to see death of all his loved ones for the death of his eldest son. We need to find him and use all our resources to make him mortal once again. We have several portraits of the king as our only clue to find him. '

' Dad, your mobile is ringing' . Srinivasan was rudely awakened by Raj from reliving his memories.  He answered the call.  It was Kandasamy.  He had called to convey that he couldn't get Vinoth's address as the details logbook was with the security manager and he couldn't be reached at the moment.

'Let's get back home Raj.  We have waited for a long time.  A single night won't make a difference.  Ravi Varma will be mortal soon'.  Srinivasan told his son and they went back home.

500 kms away in a tiny village with lots of ruins,  Prof. Shanmugam  and his assistant Babu are analyzing their latest find in the ruins - a skeleton and lots of artifacts.  Shanmugam's face was glowing.  His old eyes twinkled. He hugged Babu and exclaimed 'This is a great day for us.  We have just now found the body of King Ravi Varma the third. The lost king in history. ' 

The list

He was to leave for abroad in 5 days. He asked her help to pack.  She made an extensive shopping list starting from tooth brush to trolley.  She double checked the list and handed over to him. He offered to take her to shopping for them which she accepted delightfully.  They had a wonderful time together and logged many sweet moments.  When the day was drawing to a close she realized how much she is going to miss him when he leaves. She was not sure whether he felt the same way.

She was lost in thoughts when he asked for the list to check if they had got everything. She took out the list when suddenly she thought of something.  She wrote her name on the list before giving it to him.  He was about to check when they reached her home.

It was time to say goodnight.  They parted ways and she spent a sleepless night thinking how would he respond.  Next day dawned and it was an usual conversation from his end.  He didn't show that he had read what she wrote.

Though dejected she was atleast happy that he didn't think otherwise and is talking to her casually.  The day arrived when he had to travel. He asked her to come to the airport with him.  She was more than happy to go with him.

They arrived at the airport.  While checking the baggage he thanked her for the list and showed it saying he had marked all the items in the list against the bags he placed them. She took the paper hesitantly.  She opened and immediately checked for her name thinking it to be crossed out.

It was marked 'packed in my heart' .  Tears started flowing in her eyes.  She looked at him who had come close to hug her.  The announcement of his flight went unheard for some time when their heart beats synced together.  

The sweetest feedback

He was at loss for words.  Yet another time he had forgotten to read her blog. And even if he had read and gave the feedback she wouldn't accept.  She believed he would never give her negative comments to hurt her feelings.  She loved reading and writing and wrote whenever she could. And used to share the link with him and badger him for comments.  He used to give all the support she needed and his perception on the post. Though he detested reading he did it for her sake. 

 She has written a  post recently and after reminding him a dozen times to read, was now waiting eagerly  for comments.  Was it about a random thing or the next episode of the story she was writing?  He was clueless. She was all baby eyes on him and he didn't want to disappoint her.  Also clueless on how to convince her. He went on beating around the bush.  She was persistent on his opinion on her post and finally said  'Please tell 4 words about my writing '.  He went on thinking,  came to her, hugged her,looked into her eyes and said ' I love you dear'. It was her turn to turn speechless.