Love is Love: The Second Act 🏳️‍🌈

 The Second Act: Love, Action, Drama

 

Nikitha and another girl got in the car. While Nikitha took the passenger seat, another girl got in the back. The other girl had a guitar bag with her. Both of them were late already, and I was fed up waiting for them.

“Hello, Deepan! Pallavi has told me plenty about you! I’ve seen your recent ad on Nescafe too. You’re excellent!”, Nikitha told, looking at me. She was trying to be cheerful. I chose to be rude.

“Who’s she?”, I acted slightly irritated while pointing at the girl behind, even though I was filled up with anger. While Nikitha was trying to process my rude remark, the other girl introduced herself. Meh.

“Hellooooo! Am Siksha. Siksha! Am a close friend of Nikitha and Pallavi, and I’m the first person to know about their relationship. Yeah, even before they both knew about it. I told them ages back that there’s something! And guess what! I was a hundred percent right!”, she answered my 1-mark question like it was a 16-mark question. I just smiled at her and wondered what punishments this trip beheld for me.

“Deepan, can I ask you something?”, Nikitha asked. I nodded, without looking at her.

“You liked Pallavi right? Don’t mistake me, but am still asking. Why are you helping us?”, she looked at me. She must’ve thought I was irritated that things didn’t go as I wanted. Well, she wasn’t entirely wrong, but still. I turned to her.

“Your question has your answer. I liked her”, I said and continued driving. I sensed she was still looking at me. I looked back at her.

“That’s all, I don’t speak in paragraphs”, I told and looked at Siksha. She didn’t look offended but Nikitha became quiet. I don’t know why I was like that, but it just came out of me. I couldn’t handle myself.

She looked outside the window and leaned her head over the door. I felt instantly guilty and I wanted to apologize. But instead, I went on being ruder.

“Look, am still processing all this. You, who lived with this, may know how tough it is for a person to process. I’ve led a simple life so far, and I want it to be so, in the future too. When I realize that’s not the case, I’m struggling. I so badly want all this to be a dream. I want her to be back like who she was. I don’t even know if I should apologize for talking like this”, that’s the worst apology one could give.

“It’s fine. I’ve dealt with ruder people before, so, I didn’t feel anything when you were rude to me. My dad burned down the LGBTQ flag in my room, when I came out to him. He threatened me I’ll be the next to burn if I don’t change, apparently. A pervy old man recorded me when I had my first kiss, and posted it online. Every day, I lived my life with the fear that my parents would see it until the video was taken down. My best friend or I thought so, lifted my skirt to see if everything down is the same when I came out to him. They were disappointed, went on being ruder than you, but didn’t apologize, so you don’t have to”, she spoke out.

I looked at her. Her eyes glistened out of tears while she spoke. The streetlights lit half of her face and continuously fluctuated while the car moved. I couldn’t believe those eyes have come across all the disrespect and still chose to shine. She kept wiping her tears while trying to distract herself into the darkness outside the window. At one point, I started admiring her beauty, leaving behind the guilt I had in my chest. She had a tiny, small nose like my sister, and had her teeth arranged unevenly behind her perfect, soft lips. She looked gorgeous in the salwar she wore. Now I know why Pallavi told me not to sight-adichify her.

“The pervy old man might never apologize to you, for how conservative and fucked up he was brought up. Plus, he’s Pallavi’s dad, so bingo, he’s never apologizing”, I said, with my face straight. She looked at me shocked. “I didn’t know he was her dad, but what he did was morally…”, she thought I was offended. I signaled her it was fine. Her dad, my foot.

“About your dad, he’ll someday realize his mistake, probably when he realizes it’s not on you. Probably when he misses you. After all, you must be his sweet little daughter. He would’ve loved you for the 26 years he brought you up. He’ll not give up on you that soon, will he?”, I looked at her. She calmed down and looked at me.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said what I said”, I looked at her. She smiled at me the 'it's okay' smile.

“Now if you people are done with your apologies, let me play some music”, interrupted Siksha. She started connecting her phone to the car stereo. I sighed and continued.

“As of your best friend…”, I started, emphasizing a bit more on the ‘best’, a loud bang interrupted me. The car started playing ‘Arjunar Villu’, as the glass of the driver door glass shattered, due to the bullet that was shot from the car beside. I turned the car, and I collided with the car on right and got a look at the person who broke my window. He was a he, and he looked pissed off and looked more of an idiot. Hold on, is that a gun she’s having?

Nikitha used her right hand to release the lock of the handgun pistol and pointed it at that idiot’s car. Her eyes had this fire, which held tears, minutes ago. She looked straight at him and then turned to me.

“Don’t lose your control over the car, no matter whatever happens”, she told me, before firing at the car. She looked straight out of ‘Kill Bill’ and I wondered whether she had seen the film. She handled the jerk of the gun like a pro and planted her knees on her seat. He raced along with us and tried to shoot back. She shot his left hand I guess. I screamed louder than him, seeing the blood.

Uma Thurman from Kill Bill: Vol. 2

“You’re so dead, bitch!”, he screamed before he let his car on the sidewalk. I sped across the Kodambakkam High Road. I was shivering, and I was also concerned that Siksha would notice me shivering. I looked at them. Without uttering a word, I called Pallavi. She didn’t pick up my call.

“What was that?”, I screamed silently at them. Siksha played ‘Halamathi Habbibo’ before I banged the stereo in anger.

“Guess he didn’t forgive me like you said he wouldn’t. And this, It’s my dad’s gun. I stole it for safety, but didn’t think I would use it”, she said, packing her gun back into her backpack. Was she being casual after shooting a person? I mean, he deserves a bullet in his head for what he did to her, but still. And was I being rude to this Terminator? I turned back to Siksha. She was already lighting her cigarette.

“Sorry, I really need this. The nicotine in this cigarette helps me relax and stay brisk for the rest of the night. Also, it releases the pressure of the high octane fight sequence we went through just now”, she told me when I looked at her. I was disappointed. ‘Vasseegara’ interrupted her lecture. Nikitha’s phone rang, it was her dad. She muted the phone and kept it aside.

I turned to the road to Pallavi’s house. Pallavi’s mother was standing outside the house. I turned off the headlights, but she noticed my car. She walked towards us. Nikitha started correcting her hairstyle, and Siksha checked if she smelt anything of tobacco. I lowered the broken window.

“Hii daaa Deepan! How are you! And, congrats da!”, she told me. Imagine if someone is congratulating you at 2 in the night, that too when you’re supposed to help their daughter to elope with someone. Oh, wait a minute, now I understand. She left the whole explaining thing about Nikitha to me.

“You are his friends ah! These days friends go to any extent to help their people. Amazing! Am happy you people are helping Deepan and Pallavi to get together”, she told, as she boarded the car with Siksha. I saw it coming, even though I was confused. Pallavi was just creating different levels of difficulty for me. Nikitha looked at me. I could see she didn’t like what her mother told.

“I can see you’re okay with your daughter eloping. But where is she?” I asked her. She was applying foundation to her face, while she dropped the bomb.

“She left in the other car, with your friends, half an hour ago”, she said calmly. Nikitha’s phone rang again, and this time, she attended it immediately.

“You’re a disgrace. You can’t do what you want to do. And I’ll do everything to stop it. I’ll catch you and kill you both!”, her dad barked out so loudly, so that I was able to hear him even though she didn’t put on speaker mode. She cut the call without telling him anything and turned to me.

“She’s in danger. He’s dangerous mad”, she swallowed, as she told this.

“I don’t know about him. But am sure of one thing. I’ve known Pallavi for years. She’s not the one in danger, she’s the real danger”, I told her. Pallavi’s mother laughed loudly. I revved the car, ignoring her laughter, and kept the heroic momentum intact.

 

Let’s conclude with The Final Act, next week. Stay Tuned! 🏳️‍🌈