Third person point of view
The next morning, they woke up late and Dev drove them home. Aravind rested in the morning and only had lunch. He went back to the bedroom and slept again. Krishna glanced at Dev. " Were you too hard on him ? " Dev looked at Krishna in shock. " I was not. I didn't do anything. He is a little weak and maybe a little getting used to should also be there ".
Krishna nodded. " But still make sure to be careful ". Dev nodded. He went out with Krishna and came back in the evening. He went to their room and Aravind was still asleep. He smiled and went to sleep beside him. He slept on his side and watched Aravind. He continued to observe his facial features. He let out a sigh.
" You will stare a hole into my face ". Aravind said in a sleepy voice. Dev chuckled. " When did you wake up ? " " The door and the bed, both creaked ". Dev nodded. " Want to have anything ? " Aravind opened his eyes and looked at Dev. " No ". " Alright ". " Give me a massage ". Aravind rolled onto his back.
Dev got up and went on top of Aravind. He massaged his back. Aravind let out a sigh, feeling good. " Is this fine ? " Aravind hummed in response. Dev did it for a few minutes. " Enough ". Dev got off Aravind and Aravind also sat up. He got out of bed and stretched. They went and sat in the living room where Krishna was already there.
" You don't want to get married ? " Dev asked Krishna shocking the the other two. Aravind's sleep vanished. " You are not that old ". Dev said once again and gave a shrug. " Where did this even come from ? " Krishna asked back, baffled. " I just suddenly thought of it ". Krishna didn't believe him. " Did your mother call you ? "
" I did talk to her, but not about this topic ". Krishna let out a sigh. " I don't have that intention ". Dev nodded. " Because of him ? " Aravind really wanted to give Dev's head a hard smack. Krishna looked at Dev and shook his head. " I just don't want to ". Dev nodded. The servant came and called for Krishna saying someone was there to meet him.
" I will be back ". Krishna walked out. Aravind hit Dev on his arm. " What did you just do ? " Dev rubbed his arm. " I was curious ". Aravind shook his head. " You are doing it on purpose right ? " Dev shrugged. Aravind sighed. " Don't bother him anymore ". Dev nodded. Krishna came back and they didn't bring up that topic again.
They spent the remaining days by going around the village and also seeing a lot of wonderful scenery. Their week was over and they returned home. They still had a few more holidays. Dev looked at the number in his phone. He didn't know why he felt like he knew this person. He went to his mother.
" Amma, can you give me your phone ? " His mother showed with her eyes. Dev picked it up from the coffee table. " Amma, do we know anyone named Vasu ? " His mother fell in thought. " Yeah, our neighbor back then. He used to work in some bank. He was actually from the town near the village ". Dev remembered and his eyes went wide.
There was indeed someone like that. That man used to come at the same time from work as him from school and so he greeted him from time to time when they crossed paths. He typed the number he had in the keypad of his mother's phone and the contact name showed up right away; proving that it was the same person.
Dev felt some hope build up. He really didn't expect it to be the same person. " Thanks amma ". He gave the phone back to his mother and went to his room. This time when he called, it was ringing. He paced around waiting for the other person to pick up. He was ready to hung up when it was answered.
" Hello ". Dev's eyes went wide. " Hello ". " Who is this ? " Vasu asked. " Am I speaking to Mr. Vasu ? " " Yes I am. Is there something I can help with ? " " I am not sure if you remember, but we used to be your neighbors back then in Arun apartments ". Vasu seemed to be in thought for a second. " I am not sure... "
" Mr. and Mrs. Suresh ". Dev replied and Vasu seemed to remember. " Oh yeah. I remember. But it's been so long ". Dev chuckled. " Yeah. And I am their son, Devanand ". " Oh~, you are the kid who I always met on the stairs ". " Right ". Both of them shared a laugh. " You should be all grown up by now ". Vasu let out a chuckle.
Dev hesitated for a second. " Actually there is something I wanted to know ". " Yeah, tell me ". " Uh... do you perhaps know someone named Krishna ? " Dev didn't hear a reply for a few seconds. " It is the Krishna you are thinking of ". Dev confirmed it for him and there was only the light breathing sound on the other side.
" How is he doing ? " Vasu spoke up and Dev could feel the heaviness in his voice. " He is still single ". Dev answered and Vasu didn't know what to say. He let out a dry chuckle. " How do you know him ? Also all of this... " " He is my maternal uncle. I just met him a few days ago and coincidentally found out about you ".
Vasu hummed in response. " I remember my mother mentioning you, so I called ". Dev explained. " Oh ". " How is your family ? " Dev asked. " I don't have any ". " Really ? " Dev sounded a little too enthusiastic. He cleared his throat. " I mean... you've been single too ? " Vasu let out a sigh and explained his situation. Dev understood.
Vasu rubbed his temples. " Actually, I got an offer to go there as a branch manager but I was contemplating. But now after talking to you, I think I made the decision ". Dev's eyes lit up. " I am not going to tell him. You can talk to him when you meet ". " Fine ". There was silence again. " Thank you so much Nandu ". Dev smiled.
" It is nothing uncle. All the best ". Vasu chuckled. " Thank you so much ". He hung up. Dev immediately called Aravind and told him about it all. " This is almost unbelievable ". " I know right. I pinched myself to see if it is true ". Aravind laughed. They chatted for a while and hung up.
There were two more days before the start of college and they all met up to enjoy. " Cheers to our last happy day ". Arjun said and all of them laughed. Their college started after two days and they did not have many classes. Most of their time was spent on project. Everyone looked like they had no soul in their bodies.
When it was festival time and they had holidays, they were working through online. The project has to be done on time. Aravind and Dev were chill about it unlike others. They previously did a lot, so now their pacing was smooth. Dev was organizing the content into a document. Aravind was stealing glances at him from the side. He bit his lip trying to stop his smile but couldn't.
He moved forward kissing Dev on the cheek and went back to looking at the book like he didn't do anything. Dev paused and turned to look at Aravind who was smiling from ear to ear. " I swear I will eat you up one day ". Dev warned and Aravind chuckled. A blush crept up his cheeks. Dev shook his head with a smile and continued to work.
-MG