43(1)

43.

Kayanangai shuddered when she heard Aathiyan’s voice, it’s not him as he had already left the palace and this Kingdom. It’s the Devil.

“He’s not asleep?” he asked, looking at Arulvarman in the cradle. “Do you want me to put him to sleep?”

Kayanangai turned and said, “No, I will take care of him,”

But he didn’t ask her permission and took her son in his arms.

She watched him dread.

“He’s a cute child,”

“Give him to me,” Kayanangai demanded. “Don’t be afraid, I won’t do anything. If I want to hurt him, then I would have done it long back,” Nakan said.

Kayanangai got calm and she didn’t expect that her son would fall asleep in this Devil’s arms.

“See, even Aathiyan can’t do this simply like me,”

She didn’t answer because he’s right. Nakan placed her son back on the cradle and came closer to her.

She walked back only to stumble on the bed.

“What do you want?” she muttered.

“What else, I want to be with you,” he said.

“Why?” she frowned. “You have got what you wanted, why do you keep doing this to me?”

“You misunderstood, I said I want to be with you, I am not here to sleep with you,” he said and sat next to her.

“I am so tired of seeing you from afar,” he said and held her hand.

“What are you doing?” she scowled and wiggled her hand from his grip.

“Stop acting like my husband. I can’t take this anymore, please,” she cried.

“You are just confusing a lot,” he said, “Forget everything that’s stopping you,” he embraced her sideways. Kayanangai fought back but he didn’t let go of her. She eventually gave up and remained still.

“I just want you to listen to me,” he pulled out from the hug and said. Kayananagi looked at him. He looks like Aathiyan and he’s giving the love that Aathiyan didn’t show to her. She’s losing her mind, her heart is racing to be close with him, and excitement seeping all over her body. She couldn’t understand what she’s even feeling, is this even real?

He has been pulling her into something which she never wanted to enter.

“This guiltiness you are feeling right now is such a waste. No one will know about us,”

“What about my conscience? I did sin and the one person I don’t want to be aware of already knows everything, this is the worst of all,” she said.

“So what, did he ask you to leave him?” “He knows you didn’t do any mistake,”

Kayanangai can’t help but glare at him.

“Whatever you say to change my heart, that can’t happen,” she said and turned to the other side.

“Stop being like this, Kayanangai,” he said and turned to face him.

“Then what do you want me to do? Treat you like how I treat my husband? Just because you look like him doesn’t mean that you are him,” she frowned.

“That’s not what I want,” he said.

“Then?” Kayanangai was taken aback when he held her hand.

“See me differently,”

“What are you talking about?”

“Look at me as a person,” he asked.

She can’t help but roll her eyes.

“Then what else do I have to do?” she asked.

“That’s it,” he smiled.

“I’ll try,” she said, “Now I want to sleep but I can’t, can you do anything for that?”

“Of course, I will help you,” he said and held her hand firmly.

She looked at its eyes, they were so bright and made her forget who she was. She can look at those eyes all day, they were so mesmerizingly powerful.

“Close your eyes and you will see paradise,” he said.

Kayanangai did and she was standing before the vast blue ocean. No one was around her, she’s free and happy. She looked at the white sand beneath her feet, it indeed felt so real.

“What do you see?” he asked.

“Ocean,”

“Do you like it?”

“Yes,” she smiled.

“Then lie down and sleep. No one will disturb you,” he said near her ears.

Kayanangai laid on the warm sand, and after a long time, she slept peacefully.

The next morning she opened her eyes hearing the sound of the rain. She felt so calm and peaceful as she sat up on the bed. There’s no headache, nausea and she’s feeling the best. A smile spread across her face and she went to see her son sleeping peacefully.

“You woke up?” he said and she was startled.

“You scared me,” she said.

“Are you still scared of me?” he smiled. “I thought last night something has changed,”

She looked down, knowing that he’s right. “Have you slept well?”

“Yes, thank you,” she said.

“You don’t have to say such things to me,”

“Please, I don’t want anyone to see you around here, it will add suspicion. Everyone knows that he’s not in this place,” she said.

“No one can see me, except you,” he said. She nodded.

“I have to take a bath and don’t invade my privacy,” she requested and walked inside. She asked the maids to take care of Arulvarman if he wakes up.

Sitting in the hot bathtub, she looked at the falling rain. Last night was indeed great because she felt so calm and if she ever gets a chance she wants to visit a place like that.

She also realized that this devil doesn’t seem dangerous, it wants something and it has chosen Kayanangai for that. But still, she’s afraid to accept that it won’t hurt her or anyone else.

She came out of the bath after getting dressed and the maids brushed her wet hair.

She saw him, standing at the corner and looking at her with a smile. These reminded her of Aathiyan, the moment where they loved each other so much. Nakan came closer and as he said, the maid wasn’t aware of his presence, only Kayanangai could see him.

She gestured to him ‘what?’

He just gave her a mischievous smile and leaned closer to her face. Kayanangai didn’t flinch as she’s hesitant to utter a word.

He caressed her cheek and planted a kiss on her forehead. Her eyes widened and she had no idea what this meant. The devil strangled her in her dream and now it kisses her softly. All she wanted to know was what is the end for all this.

“It’s enough, can you bring my food and leave,” Kayanangai snapped.

Once they were alone, Kayanangai looked at him.

“What’s your name?”

“Are you suddenly curious about me?”

“Yes, answer me,”

“You can call me, Nakan,”

“Is that even your name?”

“No,” “I don’t have any name,” he said.

Kayanangai took a bite of the pineapple and squinted by its taste. “Do you eat?” she asks, getting that doubt.

Nakan smiled, “What do you think?” He left it for her to guess.

“You don’t eat and sleep because you are not a human,” she answered.

“Yes, that’s true,” “But I can eat and sleep like humans,” he said.

“Then do you want to have some?” she asked, showing the pineapple.

“Okay,” he took one and had it to show that he’s more like a human.

“Not bad,” he said after tasting it. Right now, she has so many questions running through her mind and she wanted to ask all of them.

“Should I have to be scared of you?”

“It depends. If you are good to me then I will be good to you,” he said. “Why… Did you choose me?”

“Because you are the one,”

“You keep saying that. I want to know the exact truth,” she said and her eyes asked for more.

“You can only stop my end,”

“I don’t understand,” she said, knotting her eyebrows.

“I need a child to survive,” he said.

“Are you not an immortal soul?”

“I am immortal, but to have all these powers I need more strength, I need a child from you,”

“Why me?”

“Because you are the chosen one,” he smiled, “I have been searching for you for a long time and found you in the arcade one day,”

Kayanangai wondered when that had happened. She has been to the market several times but never felt she has crossed paths with this Devil.

“I felt a spark the moment you crossed me, there I realized you are the special one I have been waiting for,” he said.

“When did this happen?” she asked.

“It was a fine evening time and Aathiyan was with you. I deeply wished I would have found you before your marriage, I was too late to reach you,” his tone had that regret. Kayanangai looked down and thinking why such an encounter even happened.

“How unlucky I am,” Kayanangai muttered.

Nakan smiled. “It’s too soon to come to that thought,”

“If I am the reason you are here then why did you choose this chaotic path? You brought so many problems, death and we have suffered a lot because of you,” she asked.

Nakan again smiled, “Yes, I could have chosen an easy way but there won’t be any fun in that,” “But you shouldn’t blame everything on me. A lot of problems would have never happened if Aathiyan didn’t get involved. He kept chasing me so to keep him away I made other problems,”

Kayanangai frowned upon hearing that. “But what do you want from him?”

“Do you want to know?”

Kayanangai nodded.

“It’s too soon to talk about those things,” Nakan said. Before he thought this child is enough for him but he has changed his mind lately. He wanted Aathiyan for that important reason.

“After I gave you this child, what will happen? What am I going to do? My life will never be the same,” Kayanangai worried.

“Everything lies in the choice you make. You can be with Aathiyan or I will give you the paradise where you don’t have to worry about anything or anyone,” he said. Kayanangai went deep in her thoughts, she’s slowly losing her mind in this tempting scenario he’s creating.

Nakan smiled seeing her face, “You still have a lot of time to take that decision,”

Nakan got up to leave.

“Where are you going?” she asked.

“I will be back soon,” Nakan didn't give many details. Kayanangai nodded, she doesn’t want to have any sort of attachment for him. She felt somewhat relaxed now after having this conversation.