Ishtam : By Shireen M

Hello...Hi...orey subbarao...ekaada edchaav ra..." yelled Anitha as she walked into Susheel's room.

Anitha and Susheel were best buddies. They were a group of 6, 3 girls and 3 boys and they did their schooling and college together. After college, everyone went in different directions in search of their dreams and Anitha and Susheel ended up in the same city.

Anitha wasnt so keen about working so she stayed with the parents and Susheel was preparing for his MBA and was taking classes in the same city.

"enduke alaa gonthu chinchukuntaav" replied Susheel as he walked out of the bathroom

"Elaa talupulu baarla terichi ekkadaki poyaav ra" she questioned

"ayina ikkada ethuku povaadaaniki emi undani " he replied

Susheel lived in the same apartment building as Anitha's parents and most of time Anitha used to bring him food. Anitha's parents like Susheel and had a good impression about him.

"Edi tiffin edi" he asked as he looked at her hands holding a photo.

"Amma chestundi, ayyaka teesukoni vastha le , idi choodu " she handed him the photo of a guy. The guy looked smart was standing beside a BMW convertible wearing fancy sunglasses.

"Evaree dasara bullodu?" he laughed

Anitha was mad, she pursed her lips to one side, went and snatched the photo from Susheel's hand and replied "Naaku kaaboye mogudu"

"Enti...., neetho pellaaa.....paapam pasi vaadu" he started to laugh aloud.

"enduku...naakenti " she was defiant

"Avunu neekenti...neekem ledu talli, paapam vaadike " he still was laughing.

"chi po...neeku cheppadame naa tappu , ayina nannu chesukovaali antae entho adrushtam undaali " and she walked away.

After Anitha left, Susheel's laughter was gone too.
It was as if suddenly somebody put a big boulder on his heart. He sat down, as if the life in his legs was zapped. Why was he feeling this way. They were just friends, he never looked at her that way. Suddenly a feeling of helplessness came over him.
God, he was in love with her, or was it just the thought of losing her. He tried to get his head straight. He told himself, they were just friends, why was he thinking like this. This was not right. She probably doesn't feel about him the same way.He told himself, he will concentrate on his exam and divert his mind from her.She was a friend and she will always remain a friend, he told himself.
He got dressed and when he was ready to leave Anitha's mom came with tiffin.
"Thanks Auntie" he sounded grateful. He realised how nice he was being treated by her family and it was not right to think of her like that.It would be betrayal.
"Parledu baabu...kasta padi chaduvu tunnav..baaga tinaali mari" she said lovingly.
Anitha's mother Saraswathi was a house wife and loved to cook and feed everybody around her. She was popular with her neighbors as she would share with them anything special she made. She had special place for Susheel in her heart as she had only daughters and he was the kind of son she would have wanted.
He rushed to class, whole day he ignored any thoughts in his head about Anitha. He tried to concentrate on his class and reminded himself of his goal of making it big in Management. His goal was to study in IIM Ahmedabad and work in world class companies.Right now nothing was more important than doing well in his CAT exam. He was not going to ruin his career and friendship because of his stuipid feelings.

That night, he heard knock on his door, he saw Anitha with tiffin box in her hand.

"Enti ee roju talupulu vesukoni mari chaduvu kuntunnav" she sounded casual as usual

He did not reply. He was struggling not to see her, ignore her and act as if he was busy with his books.

"Subba rao gaaru, meeru tini pedithae memu tiffin box teesuku velthaam" she asked.

It was a routine, she or her younger sister would bring dinner and he would eat dinner talking to them.And mostly it was Anitha, and it was their ritual at the dinner table to talk while he ate his dinner

"Amulya ...raaledenti" he enquired about her younger sister, not knowing what else to say

"Adi , cinema choostundi, pavan kalyan cinema gaa, kannaarpa kundaa choostundi" she replied

She set his table, filled his glass with water and sat in the chair opposite to him.She was chatting as usual about all the things she did in the day, about how the Sumitra aunty lied about her age,and Sesharao in third floor was having an affair.
"Sumitra Aunty talaki dye vesukovadam valla panammayi andariki cheptundi ani danni pani lo nundi teesesindi ata" she chuckled

For her, it was normal routine, to tell her everyday activities to Susheel.

"aa sesharao tappu kaadu, vaadi pellam tip top gaa ready ayyi edurintlo pakkintlo timepass chestae, vaadu maatram em chestaadu" she was continuing with her monologe and did not notice he wasnt listening to a single word.

It occurred to him, that it will all be over, when she will marry and be somebody else's wife . She will set the table and give company to her husband.And she probaly be telling all her funny stories to him. A sudden pang of jealously cut through his heart.

He started to eat, not a single morsel of food would go past his throat, he was feeling nauseous, he couldn't eat.

"enti , ontlo baaleda" she asked, as she noticed him not eating

"ledu...manasu baaledu" he replied softly

"enduku...ee roju class lo emaina ayyinda" she asked with concern

"nenu padukuntaa...nidra pothae set ayipotundi le" he got up from the table.

She cleaned up the table, and started to leave. Susheel was standing there waiting for her to leave.

"Nanna ni adigi tablet emaina teesuku raana" she turned around and asked

"immhmmm" he nodded as if saying no

She closed the door, behind her back, he wished he could close the doors of his heart too . The pain was increasing by the minute. Why was he feeling all this now. He tried to sleep, but dint close his eyes for a minute the whole night.

Next morning, as usual Anitha brought tiffin for Susheel and found the door locked.
It was strange, he never left that early. She was worried, he dint feel well the night before and left so early. Something was surely not right, she sensed.

They had been good friends and he never hid anything from her. She knew who his first crush was and he even told her about how Sunanda had put her hand on his thigh when they all went to watch movie in 3rd year.

She came and checked every 2 hours to see if he was back. He did not come back until 10 pm.She came in and he was getting ready to sleep.

"Annam tinava?" she asked

"ledu, bayata tinesaanu" he replied

"oh...mari cheppi undochu kada...amma nee kosam annam pampindi" she showed the tiffin box in her hand.She felt Susheel suddenly had become more reserved and wasn't even looking at her

"Oh...sorry..." he replied ending the conversation.

She did not feel good, her routine was broken, she was waiting to tell a lot of things that had happened. It dint feel right.

"Tondaraga velli poyaavu..podduna" she asked before she left

"imm...." he replied not wanting to give her any reason.

She knew something wasn't right. She was losing a friend and was feeling terribly lonely.She went back home with full tiffin box and a heavy heart.

Saraswathi saw the tiffin was full asked
"Enti Susheel annam tina leda?"

"Ledu...bayata tini vachhadanta" she replied with irritation

"ayyo...aa abbayiki bayata food padadu gaa" Saraswathi said

"Emo...naakem telusu...nee vanta ika nachatledu emo" she was fuming and left for her room.She lay in her bed and kept thinking what happened that upset Susheel.

She couldnt sleep. Next morning, she woke up late. She remembered Susheel and rushed to see if he was still there.

As she was about to go, Saraswathi called and said
"Ammulu tiffin teesuku vellindi le "

She ignored her mother and went up to Susheel's room. He was sitting there eating tiffin and laughing and talking to Amulya.

She walked in and he got up and said "Vellali raa ammulu...class ki late avutundi" and washed his hand, totally ignoring Anitha.

She dint get it. Why was his ignoring her.She decided she had to talk to him. She was waiting for him to come home at night, and the whole day she decided what she wanted to ask and rehearsed it in front of the mirror. She first thought she would ask without anger , about what happened, if he had trouble in his studies , then she thought, he is my friend and he has no right to behave to me like that, so she will be mad at him.

She saw light in his room and rushed to her mom.
"Tondarag tiffin kattu...Susheel vachesaadu "
Saraswati packed dinner and she rushed to his room.

He saw her with food and said "pettesi vellu, ippudu antha aakali ledu, tarwaatha tintaanu" and went into bathroom

She stood there, not understanding why he was behaving like that with her.She stood there for 15 minutes waiting for him to come out of bathroom, he dint come. It was becoming obvious he did not want to talk to her. The question why was haunting her.

With each passing day, he tried harder to ignore her. And she was trying of ways to talk to him. The more she wanted to talk to him, the more he ignored her.Almost 2 weeks passed, he was ignoring her big time.

Every time she brought food, he would ask her to keep it and go. But when her mother or younger sister brought it, she would eat laughing and telling them jokes.

She never felt this lonely. She kept playing over in her head things that happened in last 2 weeks and wondering what she did or do to upset him so much. The guilt that she might have done something to really upset him was killing her.She had never seen a Susheel like this. She called Anupama a lot and was talking to her. Nobody was seeing any change in him except her. He was even calling and talking to other friends in the same way as before.

She told herself, if he dint care about her, then she will not care about him too.She stopped taking him food or even stopping by to talk to him.

Another 2 weeks passed by. She overheard her mother telling her father
"Susheel vachhe nela aakhari velli potaadantandi...exam ayipoyyaka, valla orelli akkada untaadata, results vache varaku"

She got up and went to Susheel's room and opened it.She had to talk to him. She couldnt let it end like this. This was too much.She had every right to know what she did that upset him.

He was sitting at his writing desk, engrossed in his books

"ahem..." she cleared her throat
He turned around to see her. She had lost weight and there were dark circles around her eyes. His heart sank to see her like that. Why is she looking like that he thought.

"raa...enti itu vachaav" he asked going back to his books

"assalu enti nee problem" she confronted him

"em problem " he replied still flipping pages of his book, acting as if he didnt understand what she was talking about.

She went close to him, closed the book. And put her hand on his hand, so he cant open the book.His heart was racing, she was so close, she could smell the sandal soap with which she took bath.He did not lift his head, he feared, he wouldn't be control himself if he looked into her eyes.It was torture for him. As much as he wished she stayed close to him, he wanted her to go away.
"Enduku nuvvu nannu avoid chestunnav" she demanded
he got up and moved away from her and casually said
"ninnu avoid aa , lede.." he tried to sound normal
"chestunnav" she was firm
"ledu Anitha, exam daggaraku vastundi andukane konchem tension anthae" he tried to reason with her
"ledu...edo undi...naaku teliyaali, nenu emaina ninnu hurt chesaana" he asked, with the sound of innocence in her voice. She really wanted to know and wanted to mend their worsening friendship.
"ledu annana" he yelled at her, not knowing how else to react.
Tears started rolling down her eyes and she left.He stood there, wondering he was so harsh to her . He had to do it, as he had no answers to her questions. It was getting hard, to avoid her , to answer her questions. Wasn't love supposed to be sweet and make you happy. Why was it causing so much pain, was there no solution.
He even thought for a minute if he should express his feelings to her, it will be better than having to suppress them and torturing himself.

He wished it was all over soon and he could finish his exam and go.Run away from this situation and never have to see her again. Every time she saw her, the thought that she was not his and will never be his was killing him. He decided to stay away from her and never express his feelings

Days passed by, Anitha was getting quieter and was not eating well. The bubbly and energetic gal was now a dull and quiet person. Everyone in the apartment building was noticing and asking her and her mother if she was not well.Anitha had lost interest in Sumitra Aunty's lies and Sesharao's affair. Nothing was of any interest to her. She stopped even going in the direction of Susheel's room.

Susheel's exam was finished , her mother told her.
"2 days lo valla ooru veltaadu anta" Saraswati said casually.Anitha did not react.

That evening, Saraswati made payasam, Susheel's favorite and asked Amulya to take it to Susheel. She was again hooked to watching pavan kalyan's movie.
"nenu vellanu...akka nu teesuku vella manu" she did not take her eyes of TV
Saraswati turned to Anitha "Nuvvu vellu talli..." ,she pleaded

Anitha disinterested took the tiffin box and went to Susheel's room. She decided she wasn't going to talk to him, she would just give payasam and come back.The doors were open, she walked in, he was sitting at the table. She quietly kept the box on table
"payasam" she muttered and she turned back to leave.

He walked before her and closed the door before she could walk out. She was shocked, what was he doing, why did he close the door. She was a little scared.

"enti..." she tried to sound brave. Her heart was pounding.

"Nuvve gaa avoid chestunnanu annav...anduke ..." he started to walk towards her

she looked at him wide eyed shocked, she wanted to scream but couldnt. He came closer and she was shivering

"Neeku reason ento teliyali annavu gaa" he was so close, she could feel his breath on him.She closed her eyes tight and bent her head down. Her brain was not functioning, she dint know what to do

"please...vadiley" she somehow managed to say

He let go of her, walked back, opened the door. She ran from there as fast as she can.She went to her room, closed the door, and try to get her breath back. She was still shivering. What just happened, she couldn't believe. Why did he behave like that. What is going on , she did not realize.

She walked from one corner of the room to another, for no reason. She did not come out of the room, till next morning. For a minute, she was happy, and then she was mad at him. This was all confusing, his behavior wasn't making any sense to her. He wasnt even talking to her and now he's doing all this.

When Saraswati came in to call her for dinner, she was about to go and then she heard Susheel's voice and said
"Enduko tala baaga noppi gaa undi...annam vaddu" she tried to sound real
"Sare le, kaasepu ayyaka paalu taagi padiku" Saraswati left.

She was in no position to face Susheel now. And why was he eating at her house today. She was tense. She stayed in her room whole time he was there, she could hear his voice and an occasional chuckle.She cursed him for what he did.

Next morning, Saraswati came and woke up Anitha.
"Entamma intha poddune..."she had only slept for one hour
"le...Susheel vacchadu" Saraswati said
"Enduku..." she asked, apprehension in her voice very clear
"Ee roju valla ooru velli potunnadu anta, cheppi velladaaniki vacchadu" Saraswati explained
She reluctantly came out of the room and said her bye formally to Susheel. He left

After 2 weeks, Anitha overheard her parents talking
"Vaallu ee roju saayantram vastaam antunnaru...rammani cheppana" her father was saying
"okka saari danni kooda adigithae baaguntundemo " Saraswati replied
"immmm" her father said

Anitha knew what that conversation meant. Everyone around was already asking about her marriage.She knew this was bound to happen sooner or later.

Saraswati asked her if it was ok an alliance to come and see her in the evening.she said "nee ishtam amma"

In the evening, she wore a maroon saree with gold border. The gold blouse against her wheatish skin made her glow. Her mother adorned her with gold ornaments.Her father saw her, kissed her on the forehead and said "Naa bangaaru talli".

She sat there in front of those people, with her head down and was too shy to look at the potential groom. The groom was looking at her without batting his eyelids. It was obvious that he liked her. He was an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad and was well placed career wise.

The groom's parents asked Anitha's parents, "maa vaadu ammayi tho personal gaa maatladaali antunnadu"

They all agreed to leave the living room and sitting in the verandah. After they all left
"Hello" said the voice on the other side.
"Hi" Anitha said

"Mee gurinchi adige mundu naa gurinchi cheppadam correct" he started to speak

"Peru Satish, Ippudu General Manager gaa pani chestunnanu, girl friends leru, appudappadu drink chestanu"

"Naaku meeru nachaaru, mari nenu meeku nachithae tirupathi konda kaali nadakanai vastanaani mimmalni chooda gaane mokku kunnanu"

Anitha couldnt stop her chuckle, and looked up to him. He was a smart looking guy, wore glasses and had a sweet smile on his face.

"Ayithae meeku ok ne kada, naatho tirupathi konda ekkadam" he asked looking into her eyes.

She nodded saying yes.

The alliance was fixed and the date was set. The invitations were out and she called all her friends to invite to the wedding. She remembered Susheel. She wondered if she should call him. She liked him but hated to think how he treated her. She called Anupama to tell about her wedding.

She called Anupama and told her about Satish and how he impressed her the first time they met her. She was smitten by him. He treated her as princess. Sent her flowers out of blue, drop at her doorstep to just say hi.Bubbly and energetic Anitha was loving life again, but still couldnt open up completely to Satish. The wound that Susheel made wasnt healed yet.

Anupama sounded surprised. "Neeku already set ayyi poindi gaa pelli...ippudu kothaga cheptunnavu enti"

"Naaku pelli set ayyinda...evaru chepparu, naaku teliya kunda naa pelli evari fix chesaare" she was laughing

"Neku america sambandam okati fix ayyindi ata ga " Anupama explained

"America sambandhamaa...entee picha gaa maatladdu tunnav" she was no longer laughing

"Susheel cheppadu, neeku america sambandham fix ayyindi ani" Anupama explained

It hit Anitha, everything now made sense. How her joke changed Susheel's attitude. She had taken Sumitra Aunty's brother's photo and played a prank on Susheel, just like they used to play pranks on each other and Susheel reacted to it in an unexpected way. All along she kept thinking she did something wrong to hurt him. She also realised that he did it out of jealousy, and the question popped in her head, was he in love with her? If yes, why did he never tell her?

She wanted to talk to him. She reached her phone book and looked for his number. Called his cell phone, it said the number was disconnected. She called his parents, they said , he got his admission in IIM Ahmedabad and is there and is still in process of settling down and did not have a phone yet.

She was so restless to meet him, talk to him. she was thinking of ways to reach him and then realised that Satish is from same college and he could help her trace him. But she held back, how will Satish take it, what if he gets doubt.

But anyways she asked Satish "Naa friend okadu mee college lo chaduvu tunnadu, tanani pelli ki pilavaali"

"Anything for you " he replied

"Thanks" she was relieved he agreed

"Boyfriend kaadu kada? " he asked out of blue.

"ledu" she said trying to sound honest.

Satish, called some of his friends and traced Susheel's number.Anitha's heart was pounding as she picked up the phone and dialed his number.

"Hello" she heard his voice

"Nenu...Anitha" she said

There was a long silence, nobody spoke.

"Naaku pelli fix ayyindi" Anitha broke the silence

"Enti...." Susheel asked to make sure

"Neeku choopinchina photo Sesharao baavamaridi di, Sumitra Aunty maa intlo marchipothae ninnu edipiddam ani...." she explained

"Anitha....." There was a desperation in his voice and the line was cut.

She cradled the phone back. There was a sadness in her.

The phone rang, she jumped to pick it up, hoping it was Susheel.
"Hello..Susheel" she said trying to catch her breath.
"Satish madam...alaa peru marchi potae elaa" Satish said on the other end of the phone
"Oh...sorry" she tried to apologise
"Mee friend tho maatlaadava, vastunnada pelli ki " Satish enquired
"Yeah..." she said, hoping Susheel will show up for her wedding.

She was in a strange situation, her anger for Susheel was gone, she somehow liked how he was jealous about her. How much she wished he hadn't taken the joke seriously, and just once, he could have expressed his feelings to her. She realised, she was in love with him too. When the anger was gone, love surfaced. Now, she had Satish and her parents and his parents. The wedding date was fixed. What was she going to do. Her thoughts were driving her crazy.

She wanted to talk to Susheel, was afraid, he wont talk to her. She knew she cant hurt her parents, she will have to marry Satish, but one last time she wanted to talk to him.

Next morning, the door bell rang, Amulya opened it.
"Susheel " she yelled with surprise
"Hey Ammu" he said

Anitha's parents were all happy to see him and glad to know he made it into his dream college and wished him loads of luck.

Anitha just stood there watching him talk to her parents and Amulya. And she thought what a big fool he was to believe in her joke and walk out of her life without even telling why he was upset.

Susheel looked at her, gave a faint smile. Words were not needed, their feelings for each other were evident.

Susheel and Anitha went out to restaurant. Anitha in the back of her head knew, this could probably be the last time she would meet him. In a fortnight, she will be Mrs.Satish and having feelings for him would be sin.

They ordered food and neither of them spoke about her marriage, he was telling her about his new college and she updated him on Sumitra Aunty and Sesharao.

"Sesharao pellam ki inka vaadi affair gurinchi teliayadu" she said trying to keep the conversation going

"Kondaru anthae...naa lanti moorkhulu untaaru" he replied
"isukani cheti lo entha gattiga pattuko daaniki try chestae adi antae tondaraga cheti lo nundi jaari potundi" he continued
Anitha was sitting there, she knew what he was getting to.
"Dhairyam cheyyalsina time lo cheyya ledu....ippudu adugu tunna..." he stopped

Anitha looked at him wide eyed. She couldnt believe what he was trying to say
"enti nuvvu antunnadi " she almost wishpered

"Repu vacchi mee intlo maatlaadu taanu...ippatiki minchindadi ledu" he tried to convince her

"adi jaragadu" she wished she was wrong

"Nenu ee sari kooda try cheyya kunda pothae, nannu nenu kshamincha lenu..please"

She wished, he could do some magic and things will turned around and they can be together.

They left the restaurant, Susheel held Anitha's hand and said "ee saari nuvvu vadala manna vadalanu"

Next morning, Anitha was anxiously waiting for Susheel, she knew, it would be a big mess. She couldn't imagine how her parents will react and how Satish and his parents will react. She was hoping for a miracle.

Satish was in a business presentation and his phone beeped, he usually switched the phone off in meetings, he apologised to others and checked the phone for the message, smiled and switched it off and continued with his presentation.

Susheel did not show up, it was going to be lunch time. The phone rang and Saraswati picked up the phone and sank in the sofa after saying hello. She cradled the phone and sat there without saying anything. Anitha thought, it must be Susheel. Maybe he decided to tell on the phone. Saraswati got up and walked towards Anitha. Anitha was scared her mother was going to be upset. Instead she came and hug her.

Anitha was surprised. This was not the reaction she expected from her mother. She expected yelling and a lot of drama. This was going so smooth, she couldn't believe it.

Saraswati said "Devudu elaa raasi petti untae alaa jarugutundi"
Anitha was getting happier and happier.
"Intha chinna vayasu lone Susheel elaa manaki dooram avutaadu ani anuko ledu" now she was trying hard to fight her tears.

"Entamma...enti nuvvu anedi" she was convinced her mother was mistaken
"Accident ata...bangaaram laanti pilladu" Saraswati said
Anitha froze, she couldn't register anything around her. What was happening.This was not supposed to happen.
Susheel cannot die...he cannot leave her abruptly again .


She cried and cried until the tears in her eyes were exhausted. Satish stood by her in the grief. She asked her parents, if they wanted to postpone the wedding if Anitha wasnt feeling well. Her parents said "Ayyi poina daani gurinchi avvalsilna danni enduku postpone cheyyadam"

Wedding happened as scheduled, all the guests came and praised Anitha's parents on how lucky they were to get Satish as son-in-law.

After 3 days , Anitha and Satish, went to Swtizerland for honeymoon. At the airport, Satish's phone beeped again and the message read ."Payment Received".

Satish and Anitha checked into their hotel. It was a beautiful day in Zurich. They stayed at the Hotel Savoy near Bahnhofstrasse, it was lively, people out in the street, restaurants had opened their patio and everyone was having a good time except Anitha. The last 3 weeks in her life were like a bad dream. She wished she could wake up and things will be normal as they were. Satish was a great support, he was with her in her grief, when she was withdrawn and quiet, he gave her space.

Satish setup his clothes in the closet in the hotel room. It was a beautiful airy suite. Had a comforable king size bed and beautiful art work adorned the walls. It could easily be one of the romantic rooms the hotel had. Satish always wanted the best and he spared no expense in getting what he wanted.

After setting his clothes,he went to take a shower.

Anitha sank in the sofa, lost and lonely. Her heart was still full of grief with the loss of Susheel. She wished all she heard was wrong and Susheel would show up in front of her. But she knew it was a hope that will never come true. The mehendi on her hands and feet reminded her that she had another man's name written all over her, her mangalsutram was a constant remainder of her new responsibility as a wife and the toe ring that hurt was a lesson that how much ever it hurts, the relationship was as real as the pain.

She got up, opened her suitcase and set her clothes in the closet beside Satish's clothes. It was now evident she was to share everything with him, the closet space to her own 'self'. The thought sent shivers down her spine, this was the part she was dreading.

She liked Satish, but there was no love and her heart had still not overcome the loss of the loved one. What was she going to do.
Just then, Satish came out with a towel wrapped around his waist.she looked at him and quickly bent her head and acted as if she was setting her clothes and hoping he wont come any closer to her.
"Vellu, nuvvu snanam chesi raa, fresh gaa untundi" he said as he was drying his head .
She took her clothes and ran into the bathroom to get away from that situation.As she stood in the shower and the burst of cold water hit her head, it felt good. She stood their under the shower, until she heard the knock on the bathroom door.
"You OK, velli antha sepu ayyindi..emaina problemaaa? " Satish asked
"immmm...ledu....ayipoindi vachestunna" she was brought back to reality, she hurriedly finished her bath and changed into her clean clothes in the bathroom. She tied her wet hair in the white turkey towel and came out.
Satish was dressed up and was spraying his perfume.He saw her come out and said
"Tondaraga ready avvu, bahnhofstrasse lo shopping baaguntundi, dinner kooda akkade chesi vachhedam " and sat down on the couch to wear his shoes.
She got ready, she had wore her red chudidaar, and got ready without any makeup. She looked to get dressed, but today was not one of those days.She did not even pack her clothes,Amulya packed all her clothes and she did a good job of packing her clothes, matching accessories.She took out her red bangles that Amulya packed with her dress , but decided not to wear it, left it at the dresser. She was too lazy yo tie her hair in any style ,she just left it open.

As they got ready to leave, Satish noticed the bangles on the dresser and asked
"Ivi vesukovaa...nee dress tho baguntaayi "
She nodded her head "vaddu...mood ledu"
He did not insist "Ok", he replied with a forced smile
"by the way...red color neeku baaga suit avutundi, you look stunning" he couldnt stop complimenting her
"Thanks" she said as a formality.
The weather was perfect. Satish couldnt stop staring at her. Everytime their eyes met, he would look away. The tension between them was getting obvious. As they walked around the expensive designer shops, Anitha was looking at the displays in the windows like a small kid.As they reached the Tiffany's , she stopped for a few seconds to look at the gorgeous diamond chandelier earrings. Satish, caught her hand and almost dragged her into the store. Anitha wasnt sure what was happening.
"Can I see those ear-rings in the display,please" he asked the lady at the counter.
The elderly lady, brought the earrings from the display and put on the red jewellery cloth, they shone beautifully.
"Pretty earrings for the pretty lady" she remarked as she looked at Anitha
"Ayyo..naaku vaddu" Anitha turned to Satish and said
"I'll take those " he said ignoring what Anitha was saying
The entire day, they spent roaming around, Satish kept buying her expensive clothes, purse, jewellery, perfumes. Anything she looked for more than 10 seconds was hers.
She was getting overwhelmed at what he was doing. She was now scared to look at anything, for she knew he would buy it for her.
She noticed how beautiful the place was, the architecure was magnificient. Everything looked perfect, for few moments she was transported to another world, where her pain and worries were all gone.
They stopped to eat dinner at the famous Cafe Spruengli. She was starving after the day of walking and she hadnt eaten well for days. She looked at the menu and saw it was all in german.

Satish looked the menu and as the waiter stopped by, he started order something in german. The whole day has been surprises after surprises for Anitha, she had never met a man like Satish. She was staring at him as he was speaking fluent German with the waiter

"Danke" he said to him and turned to wide eyed Anitha.
"Neekosam kooda order chesesaanu...parwaa ledu kada?" he asked
she nodded her head as if saying yes.

The food was delicious, the chocolate desert he order was the best she ever ate. On their way out, he bought her a big box of their famous chocolates, she held onto them as a little girl would do.

They returned back to their room, and Anitha was back in her little worrisome world again. During the day she forgot what happened to her in the last few days.

"Nuvvu relax avvu...nenu ippude bayataki velli vastaanu" Satish said and went out.

She wondered where he was going and he returned in half hour,with a gift bag in his hand. Yet another gift she thought, a corner of the room was full of shopping bags.

He came close to her and said
"Special gift, with love " he had a naughty smile on his face
She took and went to put in the same pile as other shoppign bags
"Ledu...open chesi choodu" he insisted
She opened it and saw a beautiful red lingerie. She froze, she knew what that meant. She did not move.

Satish, came closer to her and asked
"neeku nachinda..."

She started to cry. Satish was taken aback.He stood there, while she cried for full 5 minutes.
"I am sorry...kaani I cant" and she went into bathroom and closed the door

She went and cried her heart out. A little later, she heard a knock and the door opened.
"Vacchi paduko, nenu couch meeda padukunta" he said and went back.

She did not come out for another one hour. When she came, she saw was sleeping on the couch. She quietly crawled into bed and curled up and slept.

She woke up with the bright sun filling the room, as she looked at the bed side clock, it read 10:26 . She was so tired of the flight journey, walking whole day and an emotional evening, she overslept. She looked around and Satish wasnt around. She wondered where he was and if she messed up last night. She sat on the bed, put her hands to her head and thought, what a mess she has landed in. She was punishing Satish for no fault of his, she thought.


She got off the bed, and noticed a big bunch of red roses nicely set in the vase, she walked up to them and they smelled heavenly and she saw a small note, stick to it, she looked at it and a faint smile came on her face.The card read,
"I am Sorry...Wont happen again.Waiting for you in the lobby, rats running in my stomach :(".

She wondered if it was right for her to behave like that with her husband. It was their honeymoon after all and she was spoiling it for him.


She got dressed up, today she wasn't so disinterested, she wore her blue chudidaar today, wore her matching accessories.The blue kada she wore complemented her outfit very well. She took a portion of her hair in the front and tied it back in a blue stone clip and let her remaining hair fall over her shoulders. She put on a nude gloss and went down to the lobby.


Satish was having his head down in the newspaper.She went close to him. Smelling the perfume, he lifted his head up and his face lit up in his cute smile.
"Breakfast..." he asked
"immm.." she replied.

They went into the hotel cafe for breakfast. It was decorated fit for a queen, being in that place made Anitha feel special. Every little nook and corner had been beautifully decorated, original art work gave the place a unique look, the tables were big and the chairs luxurious. As they sat down, she noticed the cutlery was of the finest quality.

Em tintaav..."Satish asked, as the waiter stopped at their table with a big smile
"Ikkada idli dosa undaavu gaa" she asked with a sarcastic smile.
He laughed...and said, "idli dosa kaavala?"
He got up and said "pada" and rushed her out of the hotel, the waiter kept looking at them and concluded that they were crazy and went back to his work.

Satish called for a cab and said something to the cab driver in german.
"Ekkadiki" Anitha asked Satish
"Tiffin tinadaaniki" he replied with a smile
the cab rushed past big streets and went into a quaint little street and stopped.
"Digu" satish told Anitha, as he got down and paid the cab driver the fare
Anitha was all confused about what was happening.

As she got off the cab and looked at the right side, she saw a small indian restaurant, she was surprised.
They went in, it was simple place,, basic tables and chairs and all the people looked south indian.She looked around and saw a big life size piture of Tamil Eelam leader Prabhakaran.She then realised it wasnt indian but srilankan restaurant.
They sat down and the steel cutlery was a contrast to the fine silver cutlery she saw in the cafe in the hotel.
While Anitha was observing the surroundings, Satish ordered for idli and dosa
The food arrived and they both slurped on hot idli and dosa, it wasnt the most tasty but felt good after eating european cuisine. They ordered nice hot tea to finish their breakfast.

"Thanks...nenu orrike annanu...nuvvu ilaa" Anitha said as they walked out of the restaurant
"Toast and scrambled eggs order chesthae nuvvu malli edustaavu emo ani" She knew what he was hinting at
"I am sorry" she said, really meaning it
"Its ok, nene konchem tondara paddanu " he replied back.

They kept walking on the street till they came to lake zurich, they walked towards it and sat on the bench there.The silence between them was getting intense.
"Adi..nenu...neetho.." Anitha broke the silence
"Vaddu..." Satish's voice was firm
Anitha was surprised, she didnt know why she stopped her like that
"Nee past tho naaku samabandam ledu...I want to be your future" she said maintaining his firm tone.This was the first time Anitha saw Satish so serious. She decided not to talk about her past with Satish ever again.
They sat there looking at the water for almost 30 mins.
"Repu Mt.Titlis ki veldaama?" he asked
"immm" she replied
The whole day was filled with silence, with both of them speaking few words to each other. That night, he slept on the couch and she slept on the bed.
Next day, they got ready early in the morning and set off to Mt.Titlis. As they reached the big huge mountain covered in pure white snow, Anitha was so happy.It was the first time she was seeing snow, she had only seen such a beautiful place in movies. But no movie or photo can capture the feeling and the beauty of this mountain.
"Ahhh..."Anitha said as she clasped her palms to her face
Satish was looking at her adorbaly, as she was getting excited as a little girl.They took the cable car to the top of the mountain.The cable car was revolving in the air as it went up and she was giggling and at times, she would unknowingly put a hand on Satish.
While she enjoyed the Alps, Satish was enjoying looking at her.
They got to the top and went to the ice cave, there were sculptures made of ice,
Anitha turned to Satish "Fridge lo nadustunnatu undi kadaa..." and was laughing
Initally Anitha wasnt so keen to be photographed , and with her excitement she was posing in front of every sculpture.And Satish was more than happy to click her pictures.

They came out and decided to try their hand at skiing, Satish was well versed, Anitha was a first timer, she put on her ski gear and was not even able to walk. She held Satish's hand to walk and was giggling like a little girl all the time. Once Satish let go of her hand, thud...she fell and was laughing like crazy

"Naa valla kaadu babu" she gave up,

For the rest of the day, she was on the inflatable tube and kept going down the slopes, over and over. Like a small kid, she did not want to stop.After a while, she pulled Satish and said "Nuuvu raa"
And in the next tube, they both sat in the same tube and that was the first time Satish was ever that close to her.

They had nice warm lunch in the restaurant there, they sat on the deck overlooking the snowy mountains and ate delicious fondue.On the way back, Anitha fell asleep.

Next day, they went to Lugano, saw the Swiss Miniature, open air museum, here everything big was made in miniature size, Anitha was excited, after the museum they went to Lake Lugano and at the quaint corner, they saw a wooden path built on the lake.They both went on it and at the end of it, sat down and took their shoes off and put their feet in water. At that moment looking at the beautiful lake Anitha wanted Satish to put his arm around her. All the new places and Satish's unfaltering attention had made the intense pain of losing Susheel to a dull ache.

Next 2 days, they went to Geneva, did lots of shopping, saw the UN building with amazing artwork. Went to lucerne and the country side of this beautiful country can make anyone fall in love and Anitha was no different. She was hoping Satish would make a move to come closer to her, but he maintained his distance.

It was now time to leave.
"Repu afternoon 2 ki flight...so ee roju night packing chesukoo, repu zurich lo shopping cheyyavacchu" Satish said
Anitha felt a tug in her heart, the beautiful trip was coming to an end.Satish was a great husband, she thought.
"mee amma vallaki, Amu ki emaina konaali kada" he was going on talking, as he was taking clothes off the closet and placing it in his suitcase.
For dinner she wore her offwhite georgette saree with silver work on it. Let her hair open, the smell of her floral shampoo was still fresh in her hair. Satish was finding it hard to take his eyes off her, but kept looking away as she saw.
"Pada, dinner tinesi vaddam" he got up
"ikkade order cheddama..."Anitha asked
"Ok" Satish said, his throat was getting dry
He called room service to order food, they ate the food in the room. Satish concentrated on his food, he dint want to make a move that will push Anitha away from him. In the recent days she had started to open up to him and he did not want to do anything to ruin that.
Satish was feeling hot, being in the same room as Anitha, while she looked so sexy was getting hard for him.
"Walk ki veldaama" he asked, hoping the cool air outside will divert his attention off his gowife.
"Ok" Anitha smiled.He noticed she was not the same Anitha he saw all these days.It was as if she was teasing him.
They walked on the street, everyone was looking at her, she was looking like a bombshell. Satish glanced at her sideways and the georgette saree was hugging her body showing off her perfect figure, her hips swayed sexily as she walked and the peeping of her waist was killing him. He wanted someone to pour ice cold water to cool him down.

While Satish was fighting his urge to not touch Anitha, Anitha was wondering, if she wasnt looking good enough for Satish to come and hold her and he did not even for one time say she was looking good. As a matter of fact, after that night, he never commented on her looks.

They got back to the room, Satish, rushed under the shower to cool himself off, changed into his night suit and got ready to sleep on the couch.He closed his eyes and tried to sleep, but the sexy image of Anitha was making him restless.He felt a tap on his arm, he turned around to look and his eyes were wide.

There Anitha was standing, wearing the lingerie he bought, her chiseled body enhanced the beauty of the lingerie and every curve of her body was driving him mad. He sat there staring at her mouth opened wide
"Ippudu emi cheyyalo...nene cheppala" Anitha was blushing red
He leaped on her and both fell on the bed and that night Anitha became Mrs.Satish.

Next morning, Satish woke up and saw Anitha sleeping like an angel beside him. He went close to her and kissed on her forehead. He did not sleep whole night, ever few hours he would wake up to make sure, she was still beside him and hug her tightly to keep her close to his heart.Anitha woke up feeling Satish's lips on her forehead and smiled at him.

"Good Morning Angel" Satish said lovingly to her
Everything had changed, the distance between them was gone.She was now his, in ever aspect, physically and mentally. He won over her.
"hmmmmmm..."Anitha said as she put her head on his chest.


The whole morning, they did not go out of the room, they hung the "Do Not Disturb" tab outside their hotel room door, to make sure even the housekeeping guys did not knock the door. Satish had Anitha for breakfast, morning snack and lunch.


The time was 1:00, they both hurriedly got dressed and put their clothes lying outside and squished them into the suitcases and ran out of the room, to make sure, they did not miss the flight.
"Schneller,Schneller" Satish kept telling the cab driver to go faster.
At 1:33, they somehow made it to the airline counter. The lady at the counter had a stern face, looked at both of them, catching their breath,
"2 minutes late and the baggage would have been closed" she said with her english laden with heavy german accent
"Sorry" Satish managed to say

After the formalities and their baggage checked in, they ran to their gate, as their plane was already boarding.
They got into their plane, got settled into their cozy and comfortable first class seats and then looked at each other and started laughing.They were like teenagers in love.

When they had to change planes in london, Anitha quickly managed to buy gifts for her parents and Amulya.She bought perfume for her Dad, and a nice crystal embedded watch for her mother , and a big makeup set for her younger sister. She picked up lots of chocolates for herself and Amulya, they both loved chocolates.Satish did not leave her for a second, always held her close to him. He was the happiest man on earth and Anitha was glowing in love.


Once they landed in Hyderabad, they came out and Saraswati noticed Anitha was glowing. She remembered how pale she looked when they were leaving for the trip. She was worried, how she was going to take Susheel's death. As a mother she knew her feelings of her daughter, though Anitha never confessed anything about Susheel to her. She could sense something between them and in her heart she was ok with Susheel being her son in law. But destiny had something else in store. But she was now glad how Satish was making her daughter happy.


As they got home, Anitha excitedly showed all the gifts Satish bought for her, and gave them their gifts and she wasnt tired of talking about Satish.She would go on about Satish this....Satish that.. She was madly in love with him and everyone around could notice that.


Satish rented a bunglow couple of streets away from Anitha's parents apartment building, so that she could see her parents whenever she wanted. They both got busy buying things for their new house.EVery evening after Satish came back from work, they would go shopping for their home. She hand picked the fabric for her curtains, the furniture was stylish and was imported from italy, the show pieces in the house were original work of art. She decorated the house tastefully, it was a cozy and comfortable place. Anything she wanted , Satish would buy it for her, there was never a "No" for her in his dictionary.Anitha was enjoying setting up her home.Even if she asked for moon, he would somehow manged to get it for her.

She was trying to be a good wife, learnt all his favorite recipes from her mother in law and would cook for him his favoite dishes everyday. She would take shower and dress pleasingly for him by the time he came home.For dinner, they would feed each other with their hands and every night was a night of romance for them. Anitha would take care in decorating the bedroom everynight.There would be fresh flowers, nice air perfume , clean sheets on the bed and an inviting wife, Satish was on cloud nine.

Satish was working hard to make sure Anitha got the lifestlye she wanted. He was very hard working and was climbing the corporate ladder very swiftly. His dynamism and pleasing personality won him a lot of supporters at work.He setup a study in his house, to make sure, he can do office work at home.If he worked hard enough, by the end of the year, he can get that post of Vice President he has been eyeing for a long time. That would mean, he can buy a big bunglow in the city and upgrade to a more expensive car.

One morning, Satish was getting ready to go to work, and Anitha lovingly said
"Ee roju office ki vaddu le..." Satish smiled at her, she was tempting him.But he had an important meeting in the office and couldnt afford to miss it.
"Office lo meeting undi Ani...vellali" he tried to explain to her
She curled her lips, went and sat on the sofa and switched on the TV. There was some program coming with hindi movie songs.

Satish thought, her anger will be gone in a little bit, but he had to attend the meeting.
"Evening tondaraga vachestaanu le..." he tried to console her as he wore his shoes.

hamma hamma hamma hamma hamma......

The song from the movie Bomaby started to play in the TV. Anitha got up and stood on the sofa and started to do exactly like the actress on TV as the song kept playing

Ye pehli baar mile tum pe ye dam nikle
Tum pe ye jawaani dheere dheere ma dham machle re

Anitha sexily swaying her hips, put her chunni on her head and was taking it off her head same as the actress was doing it,

Satish looked at her, and put his both hands on his face and was peeping at her, between his fingers

Khili chaandni jaisa ye badan janam mila tumko
Mann me socha tha jaisa roop tera aaya nazar humko

Her chunni was gone,and her hands up her air as she continue to move her waist

Khuli zulf mein teri aankhon mein madhosh ho gaye
Gore gaal pe bheege honth pe yaara fida ho gaye

She had by now, taken her rubber band off and her shoulder length hair was let loose. Satish went to grab her and she started to run away from him.And just as Satish caught her, the door bell rang. They both sighed and Anitha put her chunni back on and tied her hair in ponytail and went to open the door.

She saw a man in his early 40's , thick hair combed and set nicely backwards ,looked like even the wind cannot move a hair on his head. He was wearing a checkered shirt and khaki pant and aviator ray ban sunglasses

Anitha looked at him questioningly as if was asking who he was

"Myself...Prasad...Inspector Prasad" he said taking out his glasses.

"Evaru Ani.." Satish came from behind
"Myself...Prasad...Inspector Prasad" Prasad said to Satish

Vara Prasad was a man of medium height, darker complexion, but his eyes were as sharp as eagle's eyes.He looked a very confident man, knew what he wanted and did exactly what he pleased to do.

"Hello" Satish said wondering what an Inspector was doing at his doorstep.
"Lopalaki raavochaa?" Prasad asked, it sounded more than a formality than a request and he walked in the house without waiting for them to say yes, and started to looked around.
Anitha and Satish, walked behind him, looking at each other and wondering what was happening.
There was a whirlwind of thoughts in Satish's head.This was not part of his plan and the inspector was not supposed to be here. Now that he and Anitha were having a good life, something like this was not acceptable to him.

"What can I do for you inspector?" Satish asked politely maintaining his calm
"Anitha....?" Prasad asked looking at Anitha, asking as if she was Anitha

"Yes..tane Anitha, my wife" Satish said protectively
"Madam..metho konchem maatlaadali...Sir, if you dont mind" looking at satish, it was clear he wanted to talk to Anitha without the presence of Satish.
Satish did not like that idea and wanted to be present when the inspector spoke to his wife, but decided not to create any tension or doubt.
"Ok...sure.Office ki call chesi, I will be late ani cheptaanu" Satish said politely, his face showed no emotion.
"No..Mr.Satish, meeru office ki vellandi......dont worry, mee wife safe gaa untundi" Prasad was pretty straight forward and blunt.

Satish reluctantly picked up his bag, and came closer to Anitha and said
"avasaram ayithae call cheyyi" and left for the office, as soon as he got in the car, he started to make some phone calls.

"Meeku Susheel telusaa" Prasad asked Anitha after Satish left, looking straight in the eye
"imm...telusu, memu friends" Anitha replied, worry in her tone was evident
"friendsaaa...leka" Prasad stopped but the tone of his voice asked the question
"Just friends" Anitha's voice was firm
"Kedar..ikkada local Daada, dabbulu teesukoni murderlu chestaadu, accidents cheyyadam vaadi speciality" Prasad started to explain
"Vaadi accident style same, mee friend accident kooda ade style lo jarigindi" Anitha was listening with her mouth open.

She never would think, Susheel's death was a murder and not just an accident.
"Mee friend Susheel accident vaadu chesaadu emo ani naaku doubt" Prasad continued
"Susheel ki ee orrilo telisina vallandarini contact chestunnam" he explained the reason for his coming.
"meeku evari meeda ayina doubt undaa" he asked Anitha
Anitha was standing there motionless
"Madam are you ok?" he asked. Anitha was not moving
He went close to her and in louder voice asked
"Anitha....you ok?"
Anitha came out of her lost world.
"oh..." she said regaining her senses
"please sit" Prasad asked Anitha showing in the direction of the sofa
Anitha followed his instructions and sat down on the sofa, her whole body was shivering, the though that somebody killed Susheel was making her dizzy.

Inspector prasad, sat down on the chair opposite to her and gave her a few moments to regain herself. He could by now understand that the fact that Susheel was killed, was not something Anitha knew or doubted. Her reaction also made him think if they were just friends.He thought, he did a good thing by asking Satish to leave.

Prasad looked at Anitha as she said "Champesaara?". the pain in her eyes was welling up into tears, as she tried not to cry in front of a stranger.
"Sorry Madam..." Prasad gave her his condolences

"Meeku evari meeda ayina meeku doubt" Prasad was a professional who wanted his job done.
"ledu" Anitha's voice was meek

He decided Anitha was telling the truth and decided this was not a good time to ask more questions.So decided to come back another time and this time he also wanted to talk to her husband Satish.But decided he will dig out some information about Saitsh before he comes and meets him.

"Ok Madam, thank you for your co-operation, meeku emaina gurthu vastu, call me" he said handing out his card and walked out of the house.

The whole day, Anitha kept wondering who would want Susheel dead and the thought of Susheel brought back all old memories. Memories that were buried beneath her happy married life were making her eyes teary and she cried the whole morning. She decided she will go to her parents house, being lonely, her thoughts were killing her.

She hugged Saraswati as she went to her parents house
"Emaindi raa" her mother asked affectionately as ever
She couldnt hold her tears
"Satish emaina annada" her mother was getting worried.

She sat down and told her mother what happened that morning.Saraswati was surprised to know that Susheel's death was not an accident. Her thoughts wandered and for some reason, her gut pointed at Satish, but she dismissed it telling herself she was thinking too much.And also Satish was taking care of Anitha so well, she almost admonished herself for having that thought.She consoled Anitha and said
"Ayi poyina danni maarcha lem, dhairyam gaa undu"
Anitha stayed at her parents house, until Satish came to pick her up.

He did not ask her anything, until they got back home.
"Emannadu inspector" he asked, as they opened the door
Anitha told him everything. "Murderaaa...." Satish acted shocked.
Anitha started to cry.He hugged her and said "ooruko..." .She was so glad, he was there to support her.She was glad that he was there with her, otherwise it would have been so hard for her to deal with a news like that.
That night, he fed Anitha dinner with her hands and tucked her into bed and kissed on her forehead and said
"Good night...sleep tight". Anitha fell asleep, she was tired after crying whole day

Satish went into his home office, closed the door behind him and opened his suitcase and took the blue file and put it on his desk.

That was the history of Inspector Vara Prasad.

Vara Prasad was born August 18 1965 in Atmakur, in nellore district to Krishna Devi and Gangaadhar. Gangaadhar was a clerk in the mandal office. An honest man, he instilled the right morals in his son. Vara Prasad was a responsible son, respected how his father worked hard and never took any bribe. At a young age Vara Prasad decided he wanted to become a police officer and worked towards it. He went to the local govt school and govt college and topped the IPS. He got the job but was intially posted in the naxalite area because he did not give any bribe. Vara Prasad was courageous and never feared death, he took up every challenge given to him and always solved the case he was given.In his 18 years service, there was not one case he took up that was unsolved.He was respected by some and hated by some in the department.His no bribe policy was not popular among bribe taking officers.
Prasad was married to Lakshmi 10 years ago, a simple house wife who supported her husband in all he did.They have 2 children, two girls, 8 and 6.One thing he loved was bond movies.Every time a bond movie was released, he would go first day first show. He had DVD's of all the bond movies and on days when he is tired of the corruption around him, he would come home and watch a bond movie and be all geared up to catch the bad guys. They were his source of inspiration.
Satish, finished reading and was looking at his mobile to beep.

Prasad was in the movie Theater watching movie with his wife and daughters, when his mobile started to ring, he walked out of the theater and came back in 10 minutes and sat beside his wife. Laksmi noticed the look on her husbands face and knew it was not good news. She decided not to ask him right away and waited until they got back home, finished dinner.After the girls went to bed, she sat beside him and very politely asked
"Phone enti...emaina problemaa?"
Prasad looked at his wife lovingly, he knew she always waited for the right time to ask the question. Never in a hurry to find out everything.
"Transfer" he replied
"Oh..." Lakshmi said, she knew what that meant, changing the schools for the girls, moving and settling down in a new place.
"Naxalite area" he continued
Lakshmi did not reply, after a few seconds of silence, she turned to him smiled and said
"Em parwaaledu, meeru akkadaki transfer ayyaru ani telisthae, naxalitelu ikkadaki transfer ayipotaaru lendi" and they both laughed.
"Thanks" prasad said to Lakshmi holding her hand, she made it easy for him.He was concerned how Lakshmi would take the news.

Satish was sleeping peacefully after seeing the message about Prasad's transfer. He knew atleast for time being, he had averted the problem called Prasad. He also managed to get the most corrupt police office in Prasad's place. He was determined that he will not let anything hinder his happiness. He turned to look at Anitha, she was sleeping innocently, her face pale.He put his hand on her forehead and started to pat her.


Prasad couldnt sleep. He was running back the events in the past few days in his head. Someone he met in the previous few days had to be behind his abrupt transfer. He thought about the local politician he met, he thought about Kedar ,whom he was investigating and suddenly came to his mind image of Satish and he recollected the conversations he had with Anitha.He could make a connection between the politician , Kedar and Anitha . All these people were somehow connected. He knew this was not one of the case he was going to leave unsolved. He decided he would use his loyal friends in the city to keep a watch on these people. No-one gets away on the case he is entrusted. He turned around and looked at Lakshmi's peaceful face as she was deep asleep. He was grateful and lucky to have a wife like her who was a great support.He put his hand on her forehead and his heart was filled with gratitude and love.


Next morning, Anitha woke up. She was feeling dizzy, the events of yesterday, still had their effect on her. She went into kitchen to see Satish, making breakfast
"ayyo...nuuvu...enduku" she rushed to take control of the kitchen
"shhhhh..." Satish, forced her into her room and bathroom. She took her brush out, put toothpaste on it and said to Anitha "Tondarag brush chesukoni raa...breakfast ready" and left her to get back to the breakfast he was making.

Anitha looked herself at the mirror above the sink.She was looking like mess, but the love Satish was showering on her, made her feel bad. She thought, she was being unfair to him by thinking about past.But still, the pain of knowing somebody killed Susheel was hard to take.
She got freshned up, and went to kitchen, Satish, by then had setup the table with breakfast. As he saw her come, he came and pushed the chair out , and said "Please Madam"
"Mee order madam" he asked like a waiter in a restaurant. and indeed he had put a napkin on his shoulder like a waiter.
Anitha smiled and asked "menu lo emi unnayi"
"im...plate lo upma, cup lo upma , garita tho upma " and went on ...
Anitha laughed ayithae "prematho upma teesukuraa"
Satish, started to serve upma on her plate and a watery chutney he made. As soon as she put a spoonful in her mouth, her expressions changed, he had put too much salt and the upma was half cooked.
"elaa undi" Satish was already feeling like he was the great cook
"immmm..."Anitha was feeling it hard to tell the truth.
"Neeku notlu nundi maata raavadam ledu kada...." his smile was still there on his face
She took another spoon and took it to his mouth and said, "ee super upma nuvvu tinu mari"
As soon as it took it in his mouth, he spit it out.. "chee intha chetta upma evaru chessaru...evaro naa meeda kutra panni natlu undi" he started to complain jokingly
"undu nenu velli edo okati chestaanu" Anitha got up to walk towards kitchen
Suddenly she felt dizzy and collapsed.
Satish rushed to her, and picked her up and lay her on the bed. Quickly reached for the phone and called for the doctor.
The doctor came in and checked Anitha and asked her a few questions.As the doctor came out of their bedroom, she walked to concerned Satish and said "congratulations...meeru tandri kaabottunaru"
Satish's happiness knew no bounds. He was the happiest man in the world.He rushed into the bedroom and sat beside Anitha and slowly put his hand on her stomach and smiled at her.

Anitha smiled back at Satish. Anitha was very happy that their symbol of love will now growing in her. Saraswati and her husband rushed as they heard the news and hugged her daughter. Saraswati was going to be a grandmother and her joy knew no bounds. It was a different feeling to have your own children, but see your child become a mother herself was a joy that she couldnt be expressed in words.
Saraswati started giving advices to her, not to do this, not to do that, not to stress too much
"Amma..." Anitha complainingly said
"neeku teliyadu...ilaanti time lo chaala jaagratha gaa undaali" and she smiled at her, put her hand on Anitha's forehead and continued "santosham gaa undali, ekkuva pani cheyyakoodadu, repati nundi nenu annam pampistaanu, nuvvu emi vanta cheyyaku". Saraswati did not heed to any complaints Anitha was having
She turned to Satish and said "Baabu, meeru ee time Anitha ki ee maatram kashta petta koodadu, daani kantlo kanneru assalu raa koodadu"
Saraswati in her excitment couldnt sit in one place, she was doing something or the other in a hurry.
Amulya was so excited that her sister was going to have a baby.
"Akka...nenu ippude cheppestunna, papa ayina babu ayina peru nene select chestaa...neeku asale taste ledu".

Her father, looked at her lovingly, the little girl who slept in his arms, the girl who he taught to ride bicycle, the girl who would never leave his finger when they went out had become so big to become a mother.She was still a little girl in his memory.

Anitha was enjoying the attention and the love she was getting, she almost forgot the day before and the agony it had brought her.Today was the new beginning, a new life was growing in her and the motherly love overpowered all the other feelings.
Satish did not go to office and her parents stayed over whole day. She was not allowed to get up. Everything was brought to her, she was treated like a queen.

After everyone left, as they lay in bed, Anitha turned to Satish and asked
"ammayi kaavala abbayaa"
"hmmmm...ammayi" he said
"ammayi enduku...naaku abbayi kaavali" she said curling her lips
"neeku abbayee kavaali anappudu mari nannu adagadam enduku" Satish replied
Anitha smiled, went closer to him, put her plam on the side of his face and said "naaku nee laanti manchi abbayi kaavali"
A sharp pain went through Satish's heart and he somehow managed a smile.

Prasad and Lakshmi were packing all their stuff. They finished it all. The girls were not happy to go to new place, they did not want to leave their friends.
Lakshmi explained to them that they will find new friends in the new place and the girls listened to their mother and nodded yes.
The little one, went quietly and packed her toys in her school bag, to make sure, they were not left behind.Lakshmi smiled at her and hoped that their stay in a dangerous naxalite area will pass without anything bad happening to any of them. She had heard the horror stories about the naxalites killing the police and their family, but she knew Prasad will do everything to protect them.She placed her trust in him totally.
As they were about to leave , Prasad came to Lakshmi and said "nenu ippude vastaanu" and went out.

He went to meet his friend Raghu, who worked in CBI.Prasad knew that if any police officer took up this job, he would be transferred too, so he wanted someone that the police department did not have control on to work on it. Raghu was already investigating the local politician charges and PRasad thought it would be the best way to uncover information about this case as well. Raghu was an undercover officer, who was a great con artist.As a cover up he was working in the local postman. It was perfect cover up to knock anyone's door.He was a 6 feet tall handsome guy with dark brown eyes. But he could pass off as anybody he wanted to. He dressed down and looked like any postman would like, an average looking guy. His good looks were played down by his bad hair style with few artificial grey hair by a white dye and his poor dressing style.When he walked aroung in his postman attire, nobody would give him a second look. When working on the field at the undercover police office, it was important not to stand out, not for your looks or for your actions.But when he was clean shaven, and well dressed, he could steal any girl's heart in a second.He was one of the most respected CBI officers, youngest of all but brightest of all his colleagues.
Prasad explained to Raghu the events that took place and give him all the information he knew. Prasad's current assignment was to investigate the local politician, he was acting on the leads that Prasad was giving on them and was gathering information about the relationship of politician and the local goon Kedar. It was obvious that Kedar had political support but in a corrupt society it was hard to get any proof and implicate them in the court of justice and it was Raghu's job to get the proof that would vindicate both Kedar and all the people who paid him money to commit crimes.

Raghu started his work, he had a long list of names, he had "Anitha and Satish" far down in the list. Prasad did not stress that this couple could have a major connection, but he knew with his experience, that the least doubtful were the ones to look out for. He decided to get some information about this couple and whether they were worth pursuing or if Prasad's doubt was just a doubt.

"Postman" Saraswati heard the voice at the door
"Amma Anitha ki telegram" Said postman as Saraswati opened the door
"telegramaa..."Saraswati was surprised who would send a telegram to her daughter
"Anitha garu unnaramma" the postman asked again
"ledu...undi..kaani ikkada kaadu, ayina telegram evaru" Saraswati was getting concerned
"Come soon, mother serious" ani undamma telegram lo, the postman read the telegram for Saraswati
"Enti...asalu evariki baabu telegram,peru sarigga choodu"
The postman checked the piece of paper in his hand and read an incorrect address.
"tappu address ki vacchayya babu...adi ee address kaadu" Saraswati was relieved it was not for her daughter Anitha
"Amma garu, konchem neellu ippistaara, ee yenda ki gontu yendi poyindi" the postman asked requestingly
"sare undu" and Saraswati went inside to get water for the postman
"Ammagaru konchem fridge water ivvandi" shouted the postman from bheind.

As soon as she turned, the postman swiftly took out something from his bag and quickly looked around, got in the house and stuck something under the sofa and quickly returned to his original place and started to look through the bunch of letters in his hand.

Saraswati retuned with bottle of cool water and a glass and the postman drank water and said "Thanks amma" and left.

Anitha's morning sickness was getting worse, Satish was taking care of her like a little baby. Saraswati would come by every day to cook and make sure she ate something.As the days and weeks passed by, her condition was getting better and with lots of help from her mother and lots of love from her husband the days were passing along quickly.
Raghu was recording the conversations from Anitha's parents house and nothing suspicious came up till now, but wanted to keep a watch and he decided to pursue the couple themselves and decided it was time he paid them a visit.
Anitha was in her third trimister and her tummy had come out and she was visibly pregnant. One day after Satish left for work, she was sitting and watching TV, she heard the bell ring. She opened the door to see a 6 feet guy, nicely oiled hair combed with a parting in middle. He was wearing a formal shirt , trousers and a tie, they all looked cheap. And his oversized glasses were hiding much of his upper face.
"Good Morning Madam" he greeted and as he opened his mouth, Anitha noticed his protruding teeth.
"Good Morning" Anitha replied
"Madam...My name is Venugopal madam,I am coming from ICICI Bank, would you like to apply for a credit card madam" the guy went on without worrying if Anitha was paying attention.

Anitha was thinking, not again, they were just pestering people over phone, now they are even sending people to houses, she thought
"Vaddu babbu..." and she tried to close the door
"Madam...please, we have free gifts also madam, if you apply today, you also get a free gift madam, a hot box madam" he showed as he opened the bag he was carrying
"Vaddu baabu, mee gift vaddu, mee card vaddu" Anitha was now getting irritated
"Madam, please madam, meeru teesukoka pothae" he started and it looked as if he was going to say something but stopped himself.There was a clear sorrow in his voice.
Anitha was getting confused "meeku vaddu antae card vachaaka cancel chesukondi madam, please ippudu meeru teesukuntaene naaku comission vastundi madam, aa comission leka pothae .." the truth in his voice was undeniable.He did not offer any reason, but the way he spoke, convinced that he needed money badly.
Anitha's heart melt and decided she would help him.
She offered him money, he took offense and said "naaku daanam vaddu madam, sare meeku credit card vaddu antae" and he picked up his bag and turned to go back
Anitha felt bad. "Sare, card teesukuntaanu le" she replied and he turned back with a genuine smile.

She let him inside the house and he sat on the couch, at the edge of the seat and was his sharp eyes were scanning the whole house. It was evident that the owner of the house had a lot of money, every thing in the house was expensive, the persian carpet on the floor, the cystal vase on coffee table showed the fine taste in art. As he moved his eyes towards every corner of the room, his photogrpahic memory was taking notes in his head.
Anitha filled in the forms and handed it to him. He meekly smiled and said "Thank you very much Madam"
He bent down to take the Rs100 hot box to give Anitha her free gift. She smiled and said,"Vaddu le...". Teh sales guy knew the gift he was offering was not fit to be in that house, so without any protest he kept it back. And he thanked her again and again and walked towards the door, Anitha walked behind him, as he reached the door, he said "Oh ...naaa helmet" , he remembered the helmet he forgot on the couch. He quickly ran and as he picked up his helmet.He left thanking her again, until she got tired of his thanking her.

When Raghu got back, he sat down to make notes of his observations at Anitha's house.He was mad at himself, he had a perfect opportunity to stick his wireless sound transmitter in her house but he did not do it. Somehow, Anitha's warm smile and good nature and the way she trust him and let him in their house stopped him from spying on them.He decided Anitha did not have anything to do in this case and he decided to concentrate only on Satish and leave Anitha alone.

Anitha told the events of the day to Satish after he came back from work. He laughed at her and told Anitha "ayina alaa vachina vallani andarni intlo ki raanivaku." But he wondered since when banks were sending people from door to door. This was the first time he was hearing about it.But he brushed it off not paying too much attention to it.

After a fortnight, Raghu had all the information he could gather about Satish. Born in a middle class family, he was a very smart and intelligent guy. He academic record was amazing. He was a great athelete too and winning was his habit. He was captain of hockey team in his college.And as long as he was in college, his team had always won. He made it into IIM Ahmedabad and was so great in his MBA that he was offered 6 jobs before he graduated. He picked the one which was highest paying and which had scope was growth. Raghu noticed, everything Satish did, he calculated two steps ahead of it. His record was spotless and clean. He was going through his bank information and investments. He was a smart guy, at one point Raghu admired Satish's financial acumen, it looked like he knew where to put his money where. Satish also had a swiss account, which was not uncommon for someone who had high aspirations and such a big paycheck, except for a mistrend. He had made a huge sale of his shares when the market was not great and made huge transfer to his swiss account. It somehow dint seem right to Raghu. It looked like Satish needed a really big amount at that time and it was reason enough to investigate him further.He was looking at some pictures that he had clicked of satish and he looked sheek, his sunglasses to his shoes, everything showed class and his personality was undeniable.

He decided to keep monitoring Anitha's parents house voice recording. Until now, nothing suspicious had come up and it sounded like a regular household. Raghu told himself, he would wait for a few months , if nothing comes up, he will get rid of the device he planted in Anitha's parents house.

Anitha was getting close to her delivery date and the 9th month was getting hard. She was getting tired sooner, had a hard time sleeping on the bed, her back was killing her. She hoped the baby would came out sooner than the doctors told and was waiting to hold the baby in her arms.Satish was coming home early from work to make sure, he was around when his wife needed him. Saraswati was counting days when she will hold a grandchild in her lap.

And the day arrived, Anitha's water broke at 11 pm, she woke Satish up, he panicked. He quicly called Saraswati and got his car out. As soon as Saraswati arrived, they helped Anitha into the car and rushed to the near hospital. Anitha was in labor for 6 gruelling hours . The doctor said, it cant be a natural delivery and they had to take her to do ceasarian. Satish was sweating outside wondering why it was taking so long. Saraswati was sitting there and saying her prayers, Amulya was sitting there promising god that she will give up pawan kalyan movies for 1 yr...immm, she thought that was too long...9months...imm, this was long too...6 months, this is still hard....immm 3 months, yeah this was doable if Anitha and baby are fine.Anitha's father was walking up and down the hallway. After what seemed like eternity.The doctor came out and asked for Satish.All the four waiting, came towards the doctor in anxiety. The doctor smiled and said "Abbayi...congratulations.."

Satish quickly asked the doctor, "Anitha , elaa undi".
Doctor replied that she is fine and in a little bit they can go and see both mother and son.Everyone there let out a sigh of relief, the long wait was over for them.
Satish was happy that Anitha's wish had come true. They had a boy and in his heart he hoped he would be just like his mother.
After they were told that they can go and meet, everyone began to rush, Saraswati, held her husband and Amulya and signed them with their head to let Satish go first.They both understood and stayed back. Satish rushed to Anitha's side, he sat beside her, held her hand and asked "elaa undi" .she replied in a tired voice "anandam gaa undi...mee pratiroopam choosaka noppi antha poyindi" hinting about the baby.Anitha was so glad she had a baby boy, she prayed all through the pregnancy to have a son just like her husband.
And just then the nurse, brought over a small baby bundled in pure white cloth and handed it to Satish.

As he took the fragile little being into his arms, something stirred his heart. He dint know what to feel, it was combination of happiness and anxiety.The fact that the little one belonged to him was wonderful. It was his own.After the initial moments of apprehension and anxiety, the fatherly love kicked in and he held the baby close to him and promised to himself that that he will do anything to make his son happy and will never let pain or hurt come any closer to them.

Satish was feeling more responsible.The parental love was now stronger than any other emotion he had ever felt.

Amulya had decorated Anitha's house witha lot of ballons and and all the flower bouquets and greetings that Satish's collegues had sent, she decorated them in every corner of the house.

And true to her promise all her pawan kalyan DVD's were gone in the bottom of her shelf, and all her chiranjeevi movies came on the top and she secretly in her heart hoped no Pawan Kalyan movie would be released for next 3 months.

Satish's parents were there too.Satish had called them to let them know about Anitha's delivery and asked them to come over, but they said, they will come later as Satish's father couldnt leave his work.But they started as soon as they heard the news to surprise his son and bless their grandson.

Anitha and the baby came home along with Satish and Saraswati, as they walked into the house Anitha was surprised to see the decorations Amulya did. Satish was surprised to see his parents.They did not tell him about their coming and he felt very happy to see his parents.After a long time, he went and hugged his father, at that time he realised how much his Dad must have loved him, he alwayd thought that his father never loved him and now that he himself was a father of son, he knew how much the heart of the father feels for his son. His father, patted his back and understood the emotion his son was going through.

As the baby and the mother settled in, everyone sat around them and was suggesting names. As they were all suggesting names, Antiha said "Su...." and stopped, Satish knew what she was suggesting and there was anger in his eyes.
He walked away from the discussion. Anitha noticed it and did not say anything further.
Saraswati suggested the name "Srinivas", because was devotee of Lord Venkateswara
Amulya suggested "Kalyan",proving her loyalty to her favorite movie star
Anitha's father just was watching all the events without offering any suggestion.

Satish's mother noticed Satish was not there, so she called him to join the discussion. He was sitting in his home office, to show as if he was busy with work.
His mother came in and asked "Emaindi raa...ikkada enduku vacchi kurchunaav...nee koduku ki peru cheppava?"
"Meeranadaru aa pani kaanichestunnaru gaa..." his voice was clearly showing irritation
"Emaindi nanna" his mother knew, something had upset him
He realised he was being unreasonable to his mother, and "Emi ledu amma.." and got up, put his hand around her shoulder and walked to the group where there were still names were being suggested.

Satish's mother realised that some name that they had suggested had upset her son and decided to clear the situation for him and as they reached the group sitting around Anitha,she declared that Satish's choice will be taken and asked her son to choose a name.
"Nuvvu cheppu Satish, nee koduku peru enti?"
Satish had no idea, he did not want to give the chance to Anitha, because he knew what her choice would be, so to be safe, he turned to his mother and said
"Nee ishtam amma...nuvvu yee peru antae aa peru" putting the responsibility on her

"Sathvik" she announced and looked at Anitha and asked "neeku istham ayithae ne" making sure that her daughter in law was ok with the name.
Anitha knew Satish was upset and to please him, she happily accepted the name.Anitha's parents and Amulya also liked the name and they all agreed it was a great name and and hence Anitha and Satish's son was named "Sathvik".

Life had changed after the Sathvik came, Anitha and Satish hardly had any time to talk to each other. Someone or the other was at home all the time. Satish's parents decided to stay over for a few weeks to spend time with their grandson a. Anitha was learning how to give baby bath, changing diapers and she was getting tired and had no time left to care of Satish. Before the baby had come, she would always make sure, Satish had his favorite food on time and everything was in order for him. But now the baby was the highest priority.But presence of Satish's mother was helping a bit.She made sure Satish was eating on time, though he missed Anitha's presence while eating. At time Satish also felt a pang of jealousy that he wasn't getting enough attention from his wife. But the jealousy would be gone when he would take his little son in his arms and when Sathvik flashed his cute smile Satish, forgot all ill feelings and tiredness and held him close to his heart.

Along with his promotion to being a Dad, Satish also scored the position of VP at work. Sathvik proved to be lucky for him, every deal he made at work was turning to success and money flowed like water.His joy knew no bounds, Satish loved his family, his work and his life. This was as best as it could get.


Prasad and Lakshmi had settled into their lives in the new town.Lakshmi prayed everyday that her husband and kids be safe and hoped they could get out of the danger zone.Prasad was as dedicated as ever, he was the target of the naxal leader, as he was working on convincing the naxalites to join the society and fight for their rights, instead of killing people to send their message across. He was a favorite of a lot of naxals, because of his non corrupt and honesty and a lot of them were on his word surrendering and giving up their arms and this had irked their leader who was losing control of his own troops. And the naxal leader was determined to stop him.And he knew exactly what he had to do to stop him.

Raghu was hard at work, he wouldn't get anything on Satish so far, it looked like he was not involved.He decided to take the transmitter from Anitha's parents house and decided to call it quits on Satish after watching him for a week.

Lakshmi was getting worried. Her older daughter Suma,should have been back from school by now and still there wasn't any sign of her. The school bus must have come already.She was standing right at the door, and with every passing minute, her tension was mounting. The little daughter Sakshi was playing with her toys inside unaware of her mothers worries. Now Lakshmi couldnt wait any longer, she came inside, picked up the little daughter and went to neighbors house and asked the lady standing outside
"Mee ammayi school nundi vachesindaa andi?" hoping she would say no.
She was hoping that the school bus broke down and all the kids were delayed
The lady replied, "vachesindi andi...vachi chaala sepu ayyindi"
Lakshmi's heart froze,she did not want to think of anything bad. She just called the auto and rushed to police station. She did not even bother to lock her house.Prasad was not there, the constable there saw Lakshmi and went to her and asked "Emaindi ammagaaru, itu vachharu enti".
"aayana yeri?" she managed to ask, she was sweating and her younger daughter Sakshi was quiet as she saw her mother worried.Her big eyes were staring at her sweating mother.

The constable realized that something wasn't right , he asked Lakshmi to sit in Prasad's office and sent her a glass of water and then rushed to sent a wireless message to where Prasad was.
When Prasad got the message, he was confused as to why Lakshmi had come to police station. She had never done anything like that, he hoped everything was fine.He rushed back to the police station.
As soon as he reached, he saw Lakshmi sitting in his room, almost shivering, as he walked in, she ran to him and started to cry
"Yemaindi Lakshmi" Prasad wondered as he just saw Sakshi. His mind was thinking about Suma and why she wasn't with Lakshmi.
"Suma..." Lakshmi tried to speak "school nundi raaledu" and continued to cry
"School kelli choosava" Prasad asked
Lakshmi nodded her head as if saying No.
Prasad almost got mad at his wife "First akkada choodakunda..." he stopped because he knew Lakshmi was worried.

And they all got in his jeep and he drove as fast as he can to the School. As they reached there, it had an abandoned look to it, there was no one there. Prasad jumped out and went in and saw the clerk was sitting in the administrative office.
"Andaru vellipoyaara" he asked as he marched inside looking around
The clerk stood up seeing a police officer and replied "Avunu sir.."
He explained how all the buses were on time and how all the kids were gone home.
Now Prasad's heart was sinking, he hoped to find his daughter waiting at the school and hoped nothing bad had happened.His worst fears had come true, Suma was missing.

Lakshmi's tears wont stop, Sakshi started to cry seeing her mother cry. Prasad dropped them home and asked Lakshmi to stay home, just in case Suma would return. He called all the police stations in that area and alerted them of a missing child. Photo of Suma was faxed to all the offices, all the checkposts were asked to check every vehicle to look for a 10 year old girl.Prasad in his heart knew who was behind this and hoped Suma was safe and she could come home unhurt.

After he dropped his wife and little daughter home and rushed back to the school and took the addresses of all Suma's teachers from the clerk and went to each of their homes to check if Suma was in school. All the teachers vouched that she was in all the classes. He figured she must have been taken after school.That was easy, with the rush of kids going home, parents coming to pickup, the vendors selling stuff on their carts, no one would notice nothing unusual.His mind was quickly thinking who could have done that and if it was for ransom, he should have received the message for money and in his heart he told himself, he would sell himself if need be to bring his daughter back home.
Lakshmi sat in her pooja room, praying that her daughter come back home safe. Prasad did not come home all night. He was doing all he can to find out about the whereabouts of his daughter. At middle of night, a man walked into police station and asked for Prasad. The constable, asked him to stay and went in to tell Prasad about the man who wanted to see him. Prasad rushed out, he saw no one.He saw a piece of paper on the chair, he rushed and picked it up, it was a plain piece of paper with the logo of the naxal movement in that area, his doubts had come true.It was them who had his daughter.
Prasad sat down with his palms to his head. The sense of anger, guilt and sadness came over him. He was angry at those people who had to use a little girl to get back to him, guilt because he couldn't protect his daughter and sadness at the thought that he might never see his daughter again.He blamed himself for failing to be a good father.He wondered where his daughter and how she was being treated and how afraid she would be feeling knowing she was taken by naxals.He hated the very thought of it, the face of his daughter was in front of his eyes.He wanted to cry but no tears came , but just a sharp pain in his heart.The constable just was staring at him as he sat there motionless.

Satish was enjoying the happiness of being a father, playing with his son early in the morning.Anitha was smiling as she saw the father and son bonding.She felt happy and in her heart prayed for her happy family to stay that way forever.
"Office ki vellava" Anitha asked Satish who was in mood was getting off the bed
"imm...veltaa" he said disinterested
"Ley...late ayipotundi" Anitha insisted
He got up dressed and went to office. It was just another day at work and he longed to get back home to be with his son.
Raghu was looking for right time to get into Anitha's parents house.When Saraswati was alone at home, he posed as a Sadhu and asked for alms. He knew from the recordings that Saraswati was a very god-fearing person and posing as Sadhu was easiest way to be able to get a chance to remove the wireless voice transmitter he had earlier put.As he hoped, Saraswati rushed inside to get raw rice and fruits to put in his 'joli'. Raghu had ample time to take the transmitter off. As she offered alms with complete devotion he raised his hand and blessed her in loud voice.
Satish came home in the evening and picked up the newspaper, he hadn't seen whole day. It was usual elections stuff in the main pages, as he was browsing through other pages, his eyes stopped at a familiar face. There was a passport size photo of Prasad and a news article that read "Polic officer's daughter Missing".

Satish read the news article, sat there for a few minutes ,put the paper down and rushed into bedroom to see Anitha and Sathvik playing. He went and grabbed Sathvik and held him close to his heart. Just the thought of losing his son had made him so scared that he had to go and hold him close. Anitha was surpised at Satish's action.
"Yemaindi neeku" she asked
"Emi ledu" he replied still looking at his son lovingly.It was the first time he ever prayed for anyone other than his own family, he prayed that the Inspector's daughter comes back home safely.
It had been more than 24 hours since Suma went missing and Lakshmi hadn't slept or eaten since. Raghu heard about the incident and offered his help.It takes years for any undercover officer to infiltrate the naxal camp and he couldn't do much at this time. It was naxalite area and these people were angry lot, using violence to compensate for the atrocities committed on them and their families. They often forgot pain cannot cure pain, anger cannot promote peace. Living in difficult conditions these people try to achieve something that can be achieved without violence by living in society.

As hours turned to days, the hope for finding Suma was getting bleak. Everyone in the police force was putting in their best efforts but in the thick of forest every effort was proving futile. These naxals knew every part of the forest like the back of their hand, the caves, the underground holes were not easy to detect.


After a week, a phone call came from the combing operation team and Prasad and other officers rushed to the spot. The leader had been killed in the encounter but before dying he had ended a life of a little girl who was his captive ,someone who didn't even know what her fault was and why she was being punished.


When prasad arrived, he saw his little girl, lying on the ground, still wearing her school uniform,the innocent look on her face. Prasad fell to his knees and started to cry. His cries were resounding in the silence of the forest.The pain in his heart was like his heart would burst. His loss moved everyone standing around him, it brought tears even to the toughest of officers.


The pain of seeing his child lifeless was too much for him to bear. The purpose of his life seemed to be lost.The girl who's face lit with a smile when she saw her Daddy was lying their without a smile and he couldnt do nothing about it. All his honesty couldnt save her. He kept thinking, she did not hurt anybody, then why was she had to die...why...why.He kept blaming himself, he felt he failed as a father.


One of the officers, went close to him, helped him get up .The officers completed the remaining formalities. Lakshmi was devastated, the baby she had in her for 9 months in her womb and took care of her for 10 years had left a big void that can never be filled. Her tears were dried, Sakshi kept asking "Akka yeppudu vastundi" breaking hearts of people around. The little girl who had a long life ahead of her was robbed of it. The irony was that the little girl's journey on earth was ended by atrocity of someone who was fighting against atrocities.

Satish had been following the news closely and when on TV he saw Prasad, his hair disheveled, his confident personality reduced to a meek persona, his eagle like eyes had dark circles showing how he hadnt slept in days. Satish couldn't see the images on TV, he felt sick,he went into bathroom and suddenly a feeling of guilt came over and he knew he was responsible for it, he was responsible for the death of a little girl and he was responsible for the agony he caused the father of the child and as a father he knew the pain. He couldn't control his tears, he opened the tap and cried aloud.

Satish wasn't able to sleep or eat. He stayed with Sathvik whenever he was home. He held him close. Anitha did not understand his behavior.She thought Satish was behaving weird.He was not able to concentrate on his work either. Everyone around him noticed he was more nervous and was lost in his thoughts. He was not the same Satish, he was becoming an introvert.

Satish's conscience was punishing him. Every day his body become the court of law, his mind the lawyer, his memories the evidence and his heart was the judge. The scene played in his head, his crimes were described the way only he knew, and the verdict was always the same 'GUILTY','GUILTY','GUILTY' and his punishment was life with guilt and life with fear of losing his son, life with fear of being hated by his family when they will discover what he did.

As days passed Satish was losing weight, his eyes were sunk in the sockets and his attachment to his son was increasing by the day. Anitha was getting worried at Satish's plight.She wasnt sure what was happening, the happy go lucky and dynamic Satish had reduced to a guy who would get scared with the sudden sound of closing door. She tried talking to him, but he was closed to the world, he wouldnt even sit and talk to her for 5 minutes. The man she married was lost and was replaced by someone she did not recognize.She confided in Saraswati about what was happening.

Saraswati, organized poojas and tried to tie all kinds of 'tayatu' to Satish, but nothing changed. At work, his boss and his colleagues were losing confidence in him.They were having dicsussions about replacing Satish, and his boss even suggested him to take a vacation so he can feel a little bit better

As Sathvik grew, so did Satish's insecurities. He couldnt bear his guilt and decided to tell everything to Anitha, maybe then his heart would feel better, he thought. He did not have the strength in him to tell his crimes to her face and decided to write her a letter.

As he wrote all he did, the memories of Suma's death came back and the thought of how Susheel's parents must have suffered because of his selfishness made him feel ashamed of himself. He decided to end his life.He decided that was the only way he could end his misery. He called Anitha's parents home, he did not want Anitha and Sathvik to be alone when he died.He put the letter on his desk in home office confessing all his crimes, he took out his gun , and one last time, he decided to look at his Son and hold him, before he killed himself.He went into the living room where Sathvik was playing.As he picked Sathvik, Sathvik said "Da...".That was his first word, he was trying to call him 'Daddy' , his joy knew no bounds and he couldn't go on with his plan to kill himself, he wanted to live, live for his son.
His thoughts were wandering, he was contemplating telling everything to Anitha, but he knew she would walk away with Sathvik and he wouldn't be able to bear being away from his son. Living like that he is was nothing better than hell.What if he told the police and confessed, he thought, but Sathvik will always have the mark on his life, that his father was a killer.No, he cant do that, even if he couldn't give him a good life, he did not want to give him a shameful life where he would hate his father every single day of his life.
He felt a hand on his shoulder, Satish jumped and saw Sudarshan, Anitha's father.
"Meetho maatlaadali" he asks with same respect he gave his son in law
"cheppandi" Satish replied
Sudarshan asks Satish to come to his home office and as they both get in, he closes the office door behind him and walk close to Satish and show him the letter Satish had written to Anitha and forgotten on his desk.
"Adi...." Satish tried to explain but stops
Sudarshan sits down and in his calm demeanour "Meeru chesina tappu ki yentha mandi ki siksha padutundo telusa?"

Satish sat there, his head bent down, while Sudarshan continued talking "Naa kotooru, manvadu, mee amma nanna..."anger in Sudarshan's voice was clear

"yennallu tappincho galaru, yee roju ayithae andariki telustundooo, andaram intha visham tini chaavalsi vastundi"

Satish did not reply, he was feeling bad, hearing those words.But there was a strange relief too, somebody was yelling at him for his mistakes, he no longer had to hold it all in his heart and abuse himself.

"ee vishayam ikkadi tho antham avvali...evvariki teliya koodadu" the father in Sudarshan was protecting his daughter and her family.

"Nenu ilaa brataka lenu...raathri nidra pattadam ledu, Sathvik ki edo ayipotundi ani bhayam gaa undi" Satish broke down into tears,

"Nenu chesina tappuki naa koduku ki yekkada sikhsha padutundoo ani prati roju narakam anubhavistunnanu" he told all his insecurities to his father in law.

"Visham telisi taagina, teliyaka taagina, daani pani..........." he stopped, sat silent for a few minutes, regained his clam and said "Ayipoyina danni gurinchi yemi cheyyalemu, ippudu avvalsindi chuddam.."
Sudarshan said as he put his hand on Satish's shoulder.He tore the letter Satish ahd written and took a promise from Satish that he will never talk about this anywhere.

Sudarshan and Satish started a charity fund and gave donations to Orphanages and every girl Suma's age who needed help was given help. Satish saw Suma in every girl he saw in Orphanage.Every time he brought them gifts and they would all have smiles on their faces and tell him 'Thank You', he hoped his sins will someday be forgiven. Sudarshan and Satish visited Susheel's parents, Satish couldn't bear the sad look on their face, on a false pretext helped them financially and made sure they could live comfortably for the rest of their lives.

With Sudarshan's support, Satish was gaining the will to live. He had taken long leave from work on request from Sudarshan and that turned out to be good, as he was gaining his confidence back.Anitha was glad to see her father and husband bond and Satish was getting better.Satish got back to work and continued his work, there was a definite change, he was nicer to people, spent more in charity than on himself and Anitha noticed that and never complained about it. Time passed, his wound was healing.
Sathvik was 3 years and had learned to speak some sentences. Satish and Anitha, decided to celebrate Sathvik's bithdays, his 2 birthday's were quiet, because Satish didn't want anybody but himself with his Son all the time.Satish got a call at office.It was his son Sathvik
"Daddy...naaku superman kaavali" he said in his cute little voice
Sathvik smiled and replied "tappakunda kanna...saayantram teesukoni vastaanu"
That evening, he started from office early, went to the toy store, got all kinds of superman toys in the store.And rushed back home to show the toys to his son.
In the excitment, Satish did not notice the speeding truck coming towards him, in the nick of the moment, he turned his steering and his car went and hit the tree and he fell unconscious.
Sudarshan,Saraswati,Anitha holding Sathvik rushed to hospital, the doctors had taken him to the operation theater, noone was telling them anything.Anitha was crying, and cursing herself for asking to celebrate Sathvik's birthday, it would have been better if they had done it quietly as they did before. After a few hours, the doctors come out and say Satish's life is saved and he will be put in ICU for 24 hours observation.

hey are relieved, Sudharshan, asks Anitha and Saraswati to go home and he will stay in the hospital in the night. Sudharshan woke up with the noice of commotion and noticed that nurses and doctors were rushing towards Satish. They were trying to revive him and he was watching it all from the glass door.A few minutes later, they stopped and the doctor came out and told Sudarshan
"Coma loki vellipoyaaru, mentally alert gaane untaaru, but physically emi cheyyaleru, kallu muyyadam teravadam tappa"
Sudharshan, went in, sat beside him and completed his incomplete sentence
"Visham telisi taagina, teliyaka taagina, daani pani adi chese teerutundi"
Anitha was relieved that Satish was alive, but couldn't bear to see her husband lying as vegetable.His eyes were blinking and there was so much pain in them.
Satish was able to hear everything, see everything but couldn't move a finger.Every time he saw Sathvik, he wanted to reach out and hold him, but couldn't do it. He wanted to console his crying wife, but all he could do was blankly stare at her. He wished he was dead, but he was trapped in a dead body with alive mind.He was given the worst punishment, to see his family but not feel them, hear them but cant talk to them, can see their tears but cant wipe them, can see their laughs but can't laugh with them.In the court of God, no crime goes unpunished and so was his.
What happpend to others
Elsewhere in another hospital hundred's of kms away ,Prasad and Lakshmi were welcoming their newborn daughter, and as they held her close to them, they named her 'Suma'
The politican was arrested and released on bail and blamed opposition for framing charges against him.
Kedar was killed by someone unknown and the rumours said it was politician who got him killed, before he would open his mouth.
Raghu continued to work as undercover cop and was helping police gather evidence, but in a corrupt world, his work made a little difference.