So far,
At Shivani's parents' wedding anniversary celebration, Raji, Shakthi, and Bharathi attended and got introduced to Shivani's family.
Now,
After returning home, Raji, Shakthi, and Bharathi settled in.
"I'm going to sleep. If either of you need anything, tell me now—I'll do it before I go," said Raji.
"I don't need anything, Ma," said Bharathi.
"Raji, I'll have a glass of milk," said Shakthi.
"Alright, I'll bring it. Bharathi, do you want some?" Raji asked.
"No, Ma," replied Bharathi.
Raji brought Shakthi his milk and went to his room where Bharathi was already sitting.
"What gift did you give Shivani?" asked Raji.
"Wait a minute, Raji," said Shakthi as he pulled out his phone and showed her a photo of the gift he had saved.
"Bharathi, this is what I gave her," said Shakthi, showing it to him as well.
It was a beautiful wax sculpture of a fairy.
"It's really nice," said Raji.
"It's okay—not bad—but honestly, I expected something better from you," teased Bharathi.
"Alright then, what did Shivani say about it?" asked Raji eagerly.
"Wait, Ma! You sound so curious—as if you're asking whether he said 'I love you' and what she replied," joked Bharathi.
"Listen, both of you," said Shakthi seriously. "Shivani saved me from that accident, and for that, I only feel gratitude toward her. We're not even close friends yet, so please don't think otherwise, okay?"
"Yeah right, Ma—this same boy who's talking all seriously now will end up falling in love with that girl and marrying her one day," said Bharathi.
"Is that so? Bharathi, may your words come true!" said Raji with a smile.
"You two never change. I'm going to bed," said Shakthi and went to lie down.
"Come on, let's sleep too," said Raji, and she and Bharathi went to their room.
At Shivani's house, she and her parents were tidying up after the function.
While sorting through the gifts, Shivani remembered the one Shakthi had given her. Excited, she went to her room, brought it out, and unwrapped it carefully.
"Wow, it's so cute! I love it!" said Shivani, admiring the fairy figure. Her parents came over to look.
"It's beautiful! Who gave it to you?" her father asked.
"Pa, this is from Shakthi. He gave it to me as a thanking gift," said Shivani.
"It's very pretty, Shivani. Alright, it's late—let's finish the rest tomorrow," said her mother.
"Yes, we're all tired. Let's get some sleep," added her father.
"Okay, Pa," said Shivani, going to her room.
Later that night, Bharathi received a call from Shivani.
"Hello, Shivani? What's up at this hour?" he asked.
"Sorry, Bharathi—were you asleep?"
"No, I just changed and got into bed," he replied.
"I just wanted you to send me Shakthi's phone number. I don't have it saved," said Shivani.
"Why? Is it something urgent? Should I go wake him up and give him the phone?" teased Bharathi.
"No, no—it's nothing important. I just wanted to thank him for the lovely gift and maybe save his number," said Shivani.
"Okay, okay—I'll send you his number on WhatsApp," said Bharathi.
"Alright, Bharathi. Good night," said Shivani, hanging up.
After receiving the number, Shivani paused for a moment and saved it under the name "Dream Mate."
"I shouldn't call him now—he must be sleeping. I'll just message him instead," she thought and sent a text.
Hearing her message tone, Shakthi picked up his phone.
"Huh, an unknown number," he murmured, opening the message.
"Hi Shakthi, I'm Shivani. Nice and cute gift—thanks!" the message read.
He smiled and replied, "I wasn't sure if you'd like it or not, Shivani. Now I'm satisfied. I'll save your number too."
Shivani sent another message: "Shakthi, you haven't slept yet?"
"No, Shivani. My leg still hurts a bit. If I tell Raji or Bharathi, they'll both stay up beside me, so I didn't," he replied.
"You must have sat or stood too long. Nothing to worry—just place a pillow under your leg and lie down with it raised. You'll feel better," Shivani texted back.
"Alright, Shivani. I'll do that. Sorry for disturbing you, and thanks. Good night," he replied.
"No trouble at all, Shakthi. Do as I said, the pain will ease. Okay? Take care, good night," she wrote back and went to sleep.
Following her advice, Shakthi lay down as she had said. The pain lessened, and he drifted off to sleep without realizing it.
Next morning, after waking up, Shakthi immediately texted:
"Thanks a lot, Shivani. I did as you said—the pain reduced, and I fell asleep without even noticing."
Just then, Bharathi entered.
"Hey, I gave Shivani your number. Did she call?" he asked.
"No, she texted," said Shakthi.
"What did she say?" asked Bharathi eagerly.
"Oh, you're so nosy. She just asked the usual—'Did you sleep?' kind of thing," said Shakthi.
"Come on, tell me the truth," insisted Bharathi.
"She just thanked me for the gift, that's all," said Shakthi.
"That's how it starts, Mr. Shakthi," said Bharathi with a grin.
"Oh, says the guy who's been in love five times—talking from experience, huh?" Shakthi joked.
"No, my inner voice says she's the one for you," replied Bharathi dramatically.
"Is that so? I don't feel that way," said Shakthi.
"I feel it too," said Raji, who had just entered.
"Do you two have nothing better to do?" sighed Shakthi.
"You both know my situation completely, yet you talk like this. I'm not in the mindset for love. Shivani is a wonderful girl, but she deserves someone better. If she marries me, her life would be spent just taking care of me. She won't find happiness. I can't do that to the person who saved my life. Until I recover completely, I can't even think about marriage," said Shakthi firmly and walked away.
"Why does Shakthi always say the same thing whenever the topic of marriage comes up?," said Raji tearfully.
"Don't worry, Ma. The day will come when he himself will ask me to arrange his wedding to Shivani," said Bharathi, trying to comfort her.
Next day, Shakthi and Bharathi left for work, and Raji went to their shop.
Without knowing that Shakthi worked at that bank, Shivani went there to open a new account.
As Shakthi was busy at his counter, he suddenly noticed her.
"What is she doing here?" he thought, surprised.
"Tarun, can you cover my counter for a minute?" he told his colleague and walked toward Shivani.
"Shivani," he called out. She turned around.
"Shakthi! What are you doing here?" asked Shivani.
"I should be the one asking that! This is the bank I work at," said Shakthi.
"Oh, really? Sorry!" said Shivani.
"That's okay. What brings you here?"
"I came to open a new account in my name," said Shivani.
"Alright, give me your documents," said Shakthi, taking them from her.
"Nila, please give me a new account opening form," he called out to his colleague.
"For whom, Shakthi?" asked Nila.
"For her," said Shakthi, pointing at Shivani.
"Ohhh, isn't she the girl from your dream drawing?" Nila teased.
"Please, Nila, can you just be quiet for a minute?" said Shakthi in embarrassment, which made Shivani smile.
Shakthi filled in her details himself, completed all the procedures, and handed her the new account documents.
"Thank you so much, Shakthi! I didn't expect it to be done so quickly. Without you, it would've taken much longer," said Shivani.
"No problem. Shall we grab a coffee?" asked Shakthi.
"Sure," replied Shivani.
"Just a minute," he said, grabbing his bike keys.
"Tarun, I'm heading to the café nearby. Can you manage the counter for a bit?" asked Shakthi.
"Where are you off to? Alone?" asked Tarun.
"No, a friend's here—I'll be back soon," replied Shakthi.
"Wait—isn't she the girl from your dream?" Tarun called out loudly.
Hearing that, Shivani looked at Shakthi with a teasing smile. Embarrassed, Shakthi scolded Tarun and walked out.
"Hey Shakthi, remember how you got angry at me for showing your photo to my friends? Now you're showing me to yours!" said Shivani playfully.
Feeling guilty, Shakthi cutely held his earlobes in apology, making her laugh.
"Alright, let's go," said Shivani, and Shakthi took her to a nearby café on his bike.
To be continued...