Believing Love by Kalai Selvi Arivalagan (the unexpected everything .TXT) 📖

as Sri knew Vel’s interest in Divya.

“Hmm, God knows what must happen. Ok, bye, see you tomorrow” Divya waved Rita as she entered her home.

That day Vel’s shift was over by six in the evening. After handing over the cash collected for the day, he walked to the shed to take his bike.

“Vel, are you going home?” Shankar called him.

“Yes, I am leaving”

“Baskar wanted to meet you. Some discussions are going on about the coming elections”

“But today I can’t attend. I want to go home early” Vel replied Shankar starting his bike.

“Tell him I will meet him tomorrow after office” Vel’s reply was not a surprise for Shankar.

Vel’s mind was completely preoccupied with Divya’s reply. Vel and Divya were in love with each other and both of their parents knew about it. But Vel’s involvement with union activities started to receive mixed response within the family.

Divya who always responded to Vel, tried to avoid him. Divya did not want to go against her father’s wishes and she wanted to get married with the blessings of her parents alike. Divya’s mother never went against her husband’s wishes, but in this issue, she left it to Divya’s father to decide.

“Aunty, aunty” Vel called tapping the closed door.

There was no response. Wondering where they would be at this time, Vel took away his hand from the door. The door gave in and opened. There was no light in the front room, and Vel could see Divya reading her lessons in the hall. Divya busy writing something in her note did not notice Vel coming inside the room.

Vel walked silently to the door and locked the door moving the latch across. He thought it would be a better opportunity for him to talk to Divya about their marriage and get the problems resolved.

Divya deeply engrossed in writing did not notice Vel sitting closer to her.

“Good, with the doors not locked, you are writing like this. Even if a robber comes in you will not know” Divya turned around with a shock. She did not expect Vel at that time.

“No one is at home” Divya replied him.

“It is not safe to be inside without locking the door” Vel frowned at her.

“No one can come and do harm to me. I know how to handle any danger.” Divya replied him with a smile.

“Oh, is it so. But never rely on your luck. Things can turn worse.” Vel warned her.

“Is it? Do you want to be a villain now?” Divya added with a chuckle.

“So, you don’t want me to be your hero?” Vel questioned her with a twinkle in his eyes.

“Mind your distance. Don’t move closer” Divya warned him.

“That shows I have the permission” Vel moved near her.

“Don’t you know, I love you deeply” Vel gripped her hand and held it tight. Divya’s hand shivered.

“Why are you so nervous?” Vel looked at her with a concern in his voice.

“Please, leave me” Divya pleaded him.

“Do you want to marry Sri?” Vel’s question shocked her.

Divya looked into his eyes directly. “I will marry the person my father selects.”

“So, Sri has crossed mine.” Vel passed a sarcastic remark. Divya’s eyes brimmed with tears.

“Please, my mother will come now” Divya pleaded once again.

“Before I go, let me assure you that I will not allow anyone to marry you” Vel told her in a confirmed tone. Before realizing what Vel did, he hugged her tightly and kissed her boldly on her lips.

“Please” A shiver went through Divya and she struggled to let her off from his strong hands. Vel did not let her go for another two minutes.

With a jerk, Vel let her go. Divya could not come out of that shock for a while. Her whole body started to tremble with emotions that she could not express. She did not expect Vel to hug her tightly and kiss her.

Divya could still feel the bold kiss on her lips and his masculine aroma lingered on her shoulders. Divya could not forget the rough rustle of his moustache on her cheeks and her eyes felt drowsy.

Though both of them liked each other and enjoyed each other’s company, they have never been alone. Vel always maintained a respectable distance from her and he was always a gentleman in her presence.

That was the first instance when Divya felt the deep passionate love Vel had on her. His tight hug told how much he loved her and without her his life would be empty.

Even after Divya splashed her face with the cold water, her hands trembled with unknown emotions.

For the first time Divya realized the seriousness of the situation she is in. Between Vel and Sri existed a cold war and the time has come for it to be visible.

Divya returned to her normal after 30 minutes. When her mother came home, she found her disturbed and asked her if she is not well.

“No ma, I am ok” without talking further she resumed reading her lessons.

After writing her first exam for that semester, Divya reached the bus terminus along with her friends. Unusually the terminus was crowded with passengers.

After waiting for more than thirty minutes, someone announced through the public address system that most of the buses were canceled and only a few buses will be operated. Most of the workers who were participating in the union elections went away to cast their votes during their duty hours, there was only a few people to operate the buses.

“Hi, Divya, look at the poster over there. It is your cousin.” Divya’s friends screamed in chorus.

“Did he contesting in the elections? It is really great to know. Did you wish him all the best?” Everyone started with their own questions.

“No” Divya replied.

Divya felt so happy to see Vel’s smiling face on the poster.

“I feel so good to see him over there” Divya shared her happiness with her friends.

As it was November, it started to get dark early. Though it was only 6 pm, it was too dark and the place looked scary to stand.

Vel who came in search of his colleagues saw Divya standing along with her friends. He can see her smiling happily at his picture on the poster.

Rita saw him standing near the gates of the terminus.

“Divya, look there” she screamed at her.

Divya was pleasantly surprised to see him at that time. Her heart remembered the pleasant moments she shared with Vel the day before. Divya could still feel the sweet pressure on her lips and the warm hug that took hold of her possessively. Her cheeks blushed red. She looked away from him. Vel smiled at her for he also remembered the smooth caress of her lips on him.

When both of them were pre-occupied with their own pleasant thoughts, Sri entered the terminus in his office jeep. He asked the driver to stop the jeep, and climbed down from his seat.

“Divya, shall I ask my driver to drop you all home?” Sri asked them.

“No, thanks, we will all go in the auto” Divya replied him.

“With pleasure, will you drop us?” Rita requested him.

“Rita, we will go in the auto.” Divya frowned at Rita.

“It is not a problem. I will be here for the next two hours. I will ask my driver to drop you all home.” Sri asked the driver to drop them at their homes.

Divya reluctantly climbed into the jeep. She knew Vel was watching her. Divya looked at him for permission. Understanding her, Vel gestured her to go in the jeep. Sri also noticed their interaction of eyes and he smiled happily at them. He wished they must get married in spite of all problems at home.

After checking over the arrangements made for the election, Sri spent some more time in that terminus. He personally looked into the tensed situation that was growing due to non-plying of buses. He made some alternate arrangements to ease the situation and waited there till there was lesser crowd in the place.

When Sri started to move from that place, he searched for Vel. He could not see him anywhere inside the terminus. While the jeep crossed the gate of the terminus and took the turn into the main road, Sri saw him standing with some of his colleagues.

“Hi, how was your day?” Sri shouted over the bustling traffic noise.

“Good. Hope I will get selected in this election” He replied with confidence.

“All the best” with a sigh Sri answered him.

Everyone in the family kept on telling him not to be in the elections. But he never listened to anyone in the family. He was stubborn and proceeded in his way.

The election results were out within ten days. As expected, Vel won the election unanimously. He was selected as the Secretary in the Union, a prestigious position to hold. Vel’s friends were too happy with the results and they wanted him to give a big treat.

Getting into the union did not sound tough for him. But once he was into it, he started to feel the pressure from his own colleagues who wanted things to be done on their favor. They were least bothered to think about the real consequences of their wishes, but wanted them to be fulfilled at any cost. The hidden true colors of them sent a shiver across his spine. Overall, everyone sounded selfish.

Initially, he found it difficult to tackle them. But the trade taught him the best way to handle them and keep them at a distance without affecting their friendship or being a colleague.

While he was in the college, he was a member in the Student’s Union. There also he held the position of a secretary and was an active participant in all important events that happened during that year.

Most of his spare time was spent at the Union office and everyday he stayed back late to sort out one issue or the other. Initially, his colleagues were a bit hesitant to approach him, but once the word spread that he handled things in a better way, requests filled his desk.

Reading through the petitions and request letters occupied most of his leisure time. The problems faced by every one of them helped him to think smarter and act accordingly.

The work conditions of his colleagues were appalling and he wanted to do something to make them better. The petitions shared with him untold stories and miseries of his colleagues and how things were not taken forward to the notice of higher officials.

The real woes of the employees stared at him. He had been working there for more than ten years and he never thought about any of those problems. He was coming for work and doing his duties and did not think about anything apart from that.

The hardships of working in a transport company expanded triple folded before him. The tougher situations they faced everyday grew. Even though the higher officials promised to look into the issues, presence of someone to remind them constantly became a must.

Apart from the union in which he was