Love Cheers - Kalai Selvi Arivalagan (little red riding hood ebook free .TXT) 📗

 “Will you please switch off your mobile?” Kathir yelled.  Angry words warmed the morning air across the floor of the bus.  

“Hmm, once again,” Venky murmured from the rear end.

The morning breeze blew in and the railings of the bus shivered icy.  Meera once again pulled the sweater tightly to escape from the chill, morning breeze.

Kathir glanced at the mirror to have a glimpse of all the passengers. Meera grimaced at him with unknown hatred.  

“What a horrible person! I think he needs some counseling for behaving properly with the public.” 

Meera has been traveling in that bus route for the last six months. Whenever Kathir took control of the wheels, he never kept his mouth shut. He kept on shouting at the crowd. 

Buses in the early morning occupied sleepy passengers who presented a different scenario compared to the one she experienced in the evening.

“Move to the front” someone asked her to move forward. She squeezed in through the crowd and found a place to stand in the front just at the back of the driver seat. Broad, well-lit road stretched before her.  It kindled her aesthetic feelings and words started to flow in her head coining verses. 

Early morning hours ideal for jogging, walking, studying, meditating or starting your day’s work, he always looked forward.  

Kathir always looked for morning shift hours for those days usually controlled his short temper and made him feel relaxed and happy.  The morning sea breeze caressed his thick curls on the forehead and spread a wave of excitement across his lonely heart.

Driving through the lonely stretch of roads during dawn resembled meditation that helped his wavering inner mind to take the back seat and rest for a while.  Every day he started the day with some selected yoga asanas. 

However, the morning hours behind the driving seat provided him added hours of meditation.  The first ten minutes drive along the NH road that connected the main terminus to the city helped him to start his day smoothly.  He enjoyed the silky rustle of the tires on the road surface as if a lover admired the wavering curls of her ladylove.

Kathir loved his workspace: the hard seat, the gear that he always had in his hold, the GPRS that flickered in front of him. 

The windshield wipers on a rainy day evoked thoughts that took him far away from the literal world where he worked as a driver behind the wheels.

One early morning, Meera boarded the bus as usual.  A large crowd thronged the bus leaving no place for anyone to enter. Meera squeezed in and moved to the front searching a place to stand.

Meera felt extremely tired on that day as the whole shift hours went on hectic with too many deadlines. The bus was occupied with passengers returning from long or short journeys from their native towns and no one was ready to get up and give their seats to the girls or women standing in the crowd.   

Meera managed for the first ten minutes.  She adjusted herself standing on her left leg.  Unfortunately, she wore a saree on that day, and it became a double ordeal to stand comfortably.

Kathir sensed her uneasiness and so he turned around to see if there is any place to sit for her.  His eyes went to the seats meant for the women but occupied with two young men probably in their early twenties. 

“Hello,” he yelled at them. “Can you please get up and allow the ladies to sit?”  

One of the young men who were busy talking over the phone stopped for a while and looked at him. “We have also paid for our tickets.” 

“The seats are meant for ladies. Please get up.” Kathir yelled at him and jammed the brake with force. The panting crowd uttered words slamming at his rash driving.

Heated words between them embarrassed Meera and she wished the bus stopped at once that allowed her to get down.  The young man while getting down at the next bus stop, mocked at her with a sarcastic look.

“Are you so special to him”?

“Mind your words Mr. It is none of your business.”  Kathir screamed at him. No one supported either of them and Meera stood there dumb with her legs trembling in fear.

After this incident, Meera boarded the bus through the door at the end.  She avoided moving to the front and meet Kathir again.

“Excuse me, there is a seat there. You can sit there.” Meera did not want to take up that seat as she saw Kathir at the driver seat.   

“Hello, go and sit there.”  Now she could not avoid for the words sounded like a command.

The seat parallel to the driver seat faced the long stretch of road. Meera unable to control her overwhelming emotions sat down. From her childhood, she always wanted to travel in a car sitting only in the front.  Her parents always allowed her sit in the front, as they also knew her liking for the front seat travel. However, sitting in the front seat in a bus was something different. A wave of excitement swept her and dubbed her heart high.

Kathir never expected Meera to occupy the front seat.  Just like Meera, this sent down his spine a fresh wave of excitement.  His posture changed and he sat erect with his leg positioned in the perfect angle. He casually turned to look at Meera. Simultaneously, she also looked at him. A cozy smile escaped their lips and they smiled at each other as if they were meeting after a long time. 

Publication Date: 06-16-2013

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Dedication:
Traveling spirit....