Malli couldn't just ignore her words. "She's the one who made me talk after three months, she's the one who made me stop blaming myself for my father's death, she's the one who made me return to my usual life, she's the one who made me look at something beside me where my father used to be, she made my mother smile when i was self loathing myself, she's the one who gave me courage to apologize my mother and grand parents, she became a part of my life before I noticed it. She, that Aparna, who was running and hopping all the day, is now looking like she almost swapped the soul with another person. Whatever she think of me again, I don't care. I will tell their parents about this primarily. What happens after that is what Lord Siva knows. I can't see her like this and moreover is that she doesn't deserve to be like this....." all these thoughts swamped his mind when he looked at the unfamiliar face of the familiar person. He took a glance at her and "Aparna, how did you hide it so well? If i were you , I would definitely have gone crazy thinking everything by myself. And... thank you for telling me this." he looked so glad that she shared with him something, "how are you now?" he added.
Aparna remembered the same question which she asked him when he finished telling her about his father. Her eyes widened and looked at him and their eyes met midair, her lips slightly curled into a smile, this time it is not a sad one but a smile of relief. She didn't reply him anything but just nodded her head with a little grin. He let out a loud sigh of content placing his right palm over his chest and smiled a little. They just sat like that for sometime without any words exchanged, "Aparna, can I ask you one thing? But answer me if you don't mind, okay?" Malli asked her while throwing some stones into the river. she nodded. "I know it's not possible but, is there anything I can help you with.... ?" he asked looking nervously. Aparna chuckled a little with her almost closed eyes as they were puffed from crying earlier, "did you really want to ask that question after all the words you told earlier?" she asked with her smile still retaining on her lips. Malli heart skipped a beat looking at her talking normally despite those puffy eyes. "what can I do when you are moping to yourself? I'm glad that I can at least hear you..." he expressed his helplessness. Her face shown massive distrust.
"Mallikarjuna, don't even think about going to my parents and tell them about this. I suddenly have a feeling that you might actually do that." she told him like a mild warning. Malli flinched and looked with a guilty countenance and an awkward smile at her "DON"T?" he asked with that awkward expression. "don't you dare unless you want to eat at my funeral" she said firmly. Malli "what's with that extreme expression? Don't scare me with those words. Also, I don't think I can eat at your funeral when my family will be busy preparing for my funeral." he uttered those words without thinking and gasped after hearing them himself and noticed Aparna staring at him intently and with a puzzled look. "hihihii..." he laughed so awkwardly.
Aparna "don't talk about death so casually. What if it's come true.?" she expressed her discontent about taking death so lightly. "you are the who mentioned it firstly. Don't blame me now." he retorted. "I said that to stop you from going to my father or brother and sell me out. And I didn't mention it casually. I'm serious." she replied sternly. "I'm serious too." he immediately replied her. Aparna looked at him perplexed ,"which part of that is serious?" she asked him sarcastically. "every thing." he replied her calmly making her feel guilty for the question she asked. "how come your family prepare a funeral when I'm the one who died?" she asked him with a bewildered eyes. "Of course not. They will be preparing one for me." he replied with a gentle smile as he looked at her. He was surprised to see the face of the person in front of him, streaks of tears fell through her cheeks, till it reached her chin before falling on to her arms with a tiny opening of her mouth in disbelief. "whhahhaaahttt happpeeneneddd?" he stuttered heavily with his hands moving in air confusedly, don't know whether he is trying to calm her or himself. "Aparna, Aparna...." he called her with trembling voice. It's not even a little earlier that she stopped crying. He made her cry again. he blamed himself again. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. I'm sorry.." he kept apologizing , his voice brought Aparna back to this world, "he's behaving like that again..what to do....?" she panicked at the site of him who was trembling like when she saw him for the first time. She was looking all around her looking for something to wake him up, she felt the wetness of her skirt, and looked into the river. She immediately got up and searched for a leaf which is wide enough to hold some water, she walked into the river and fetched some water, came to him and ppphhhhaaatttttt. She slapped him with the water which made him wide awake with a huge gasp. "Aparnaa...." he called her longingly looking into her eyes and extending his hand towards her. "wait.." she didn't notice his hand and went to fetch some more water, sat beside him whose eyes were still moist as if the tears could fall from them at any moment. she took his hand and placed the leaf filled with water, "drink it.... slowlyy..." while supporting his hand so as not to slip the leaf. He drank the water and took a few breaths, calmed himself a little "see, I'm not lying. I can't live without you." he told her as his right eye let go of the tear. "please, don't say that you'll die. I don't know what to do if I don't see you..(sniffle).. I barely made two weeks without seeing you (sniffle) and sat on the rock on hot days which i absolutely hate...(sniffle)" she kept sniffling her tears back as she talked. There is not much distance between them, he reflexively pulled her into his arms tightly and
she gasped,
stopped sniffling,
eyes almost popped out of the sockets,
her mind went blank and came to her senses shortly...
pushed him back.... with all her might causing him to fall on his back,
she ran away from there with all of her remaining energy without looking back.