Love Aches by Kalai Selvi Arivalagan (ebook reader for pc and android txt) 📕

“I don’t want to get ……” Sharon hesitated for a while to type that word, but typed it.

“What???” Charles at the other end of the chat said loudly. The person who was sitting next to him in the airport lounge gave him a stare.

“Sorry” Charles signed off the chat and closed his notebook.

Whenever he started to chat with Sharon, it always ended in exchange of strong words and both of them left the chat hurt and depressed.

Though Charles handled such emotional situations delicately, Sharon refused to come out of the mind block she was in. He could sense something wrong at the back of her mind that needed immediate help. But who is going to help him to find it out.

Their relationship developed in a peculiar situation with a strange note. They were not looking for any kind of bond to develop between them or selecting their life partners.

One Sunday when Sharon was drying clothes in the terrace, Charles along with little kids was playing with the kite.

Charles let the kite fly high and taught the kits how to steer the kite in the direction of the wind. Sharon stood there watching the kites fly high in the sky.

She walked into the terrace around 2 pm in the afternoon. The sea breeze from the coast helped not to feel the hot sun rays. The hot afternoon moved into the cool evening. Yet, she stood there so engrossed in watching the flying kites.

“Sharon” Her mother called her from the stairs.

“What are you doing there? It is so long” Sharon started to move toward the entrance of the terrace.

One of the kites which flew high got tangled with the rope of the other and broke free. It wavered for a while and started to move down and reached Sharon.

“Excuse me, can you please pass that kite” Charles called Sharon.

Sharon lifted the kite in her hand. The sail material of the kite was silky and soft to touch.

The kite with a twined heart shape had a mask of wolf on that.

When Sharon lifted the kite, she felt a shiver down her spine. The eyes of the wolf looked maliciously at her and its mouth showed an evil grin at her. With shaky hands she threw the kite at Charles. Charles grabbed the head of the kite and saved it from getting torn.

“Can’t you give it carefully?” Charles frowned at her.

“It looks evil, oh my god” Sharon screamed and ran down the stairs.
Charles stood stunned for a few minutes for he did not expect such a reaction from Sharon.

“Sharon, what happened?” Sharon’s mother questioned her.

“Nothing, nothing” Trembling she answered with the words escaping in single syllables from her mouth.

“Ok, sit and relax. Then tell me what happened” Her mother’s comfortable words helped her to settle down slowly.

When she told her mother about the kite and the way it looked at her, Sharon’s mother could not stop laughing.

“You are not a little kid. Why to get so scared?” She asked her.

“Don’t know. But still could not forget the evil look from its eyes” Sharon told her trembling with fear.

After looking at the wolf mask on the kite, she searched for information about wolves. The lives of wolf fascinated her much.

When she read through stories about werewolves and how they transformed on full moon nights into wolves raised her curiousness to know more about them. With her head full of thoughts about wolves, Sharon went to sleep.

It was a full moon day. The whole place was lit bright with the silver rays of the moon. Milky white rays of moon crept through the bars of the windows and touched Sharon sleeping peacefully on her bed.

The rays caressed her smooth cheeks and the breeze rustled playfully on her curly locks of hair on her forehead.

Suddenly the silence of the late night got disturbed with the powerful howl of a wolf like sound. Sharon awake from her sleep looked around. She could hear the howling sound from her neighbour’s house. The howling sound told her the loneliness of the wolf.

The howling had a rising and falling tone with a long slide at the end. From what she read about wolves, she could identify it as a lonely call inviting mates to break its loneliness.

Sharon got down from her bed and looked out of the window. Though her mother had told her many times not to peep outside the window during late night hours for something can frighten her and make her feel jittery.

Sharon closed the doors of the windows slowly. While she was closing the doors, she could see Charles sitting at the balcony and talking to someone over his mobile.

Sharon looked at the clock. It showed 2 am.

The next week when Sharon went to the terrace to dry clothes, Charles was there along with little kids flying kites.

Sharon dried the clothes on the cloth-line and started to move downstairs.

“Hello” Charles called her.

“What made you scream like that last week?” He questioned her.

Sharon looked at him without any expression.

“Ok, do you come online?” He posed his next question.

Sharon nodded her head.

“Ok, then we will talk over there. Note down my yahoo id” Without expecting an answer from her, he gave his yahoo id.

That night when Sharon logged into the yahoo messenger, she added his id to her contact list. Charles felt happy and started to chat with her from that day.

Initially it took days for Charles to break the ice and make her chat with him frequently. Sharon after logging in, she will not stay in the chat room not more than half an hour. If Charles insisted her to be online for some more time, she will immediately sign off and go away from the chat room.

One day while chatting Charles requested her mobile number. Initially Sharon hesitated to give him the mobile number.

“Sharon, why do you hesitate to share your number with me? I would love to talk to you over phone. I want to hear your voice.” Charles pleaded with her.

“No. I am comfortable chatting with you." Sharon replied.

“So, you don’t want to meet me in person?” Charles questioned her.

“No need. I am looking at you every day. You look like an overgrown baboon.” Sharon typed casually.

“Omg! What makes you tell like that? You are really mean.” Charles replied shocked.

Sharon could not help laughing. “Don’t think too much about you.”

“Please, allow me to talk to you.” Sharon reluctantly shared her number with Charles.

The day when Charles called her over phone, his voice mesmerized her. The voice sounded so manly that caught her heart and she could immediately feel the same frequency in their connected hearts. His voice suited his personality so well and it blended with him at all aspects.

Charles had the charm to impress all people and his voice vibrated the cheer and enthusiasm always. Sharon had seen him and now the voice captivated her more. The manly voice possessed her and she could feel the vibration it spread across her nerves from head to toe. Sharon never called him, but desperately wished he would call her every day.

“How much do you like me?” Charles asked Sharon during a chat.

“What a stupid question to ask” Sharon replied back.

“I did not ask anything unusual” Charles replied.

“But I think this is a stupid question from you” Sharon typed back.

“Whatever it may be, answer my question. How much do you like me?” He asked again.

“Hmm, I may need time to answer this question” Sharon answered.

“Take your own time. But give an answer that I like to hear” Charles replied her.

Two days later when Charles called her, he asked her the same question. The same question repeated again and again made her feel irritated and she did not answer his question over phone. She was silent for more than two minutes. Then Charles realized the question irritated Sharon. The conversation ended abruptly. Sharon also realized that her silence hurt Charles and he will not talk again until she answered the question.

Days went on without any further interaction. Both of them avoided being online and Charles never called her over phone. Sharon logged in early and signed off before Charles logged in. Charles was furious at heart for the way Sharon neglected him. Time also favoured their separation for they never met each or see each other while at home. Charles returned home late and left home after Sharon left for work.

The next Sunday when Sharon went to the terrace to dry the clothes as usual, her eyes literally searched for Charles. Only little kids were flying the kite and she could not find Charles among them. Sharon called one of the little boys and enquired him why Charles was not there.

“He has gone to UK. He will come after six months” The answer shocked Sharon.

“How mean! He did not inform me” Sharon fumed with anger. That night when Sharon logged in,
Charles was already waiting there.

Sharon did not wait Charles to start the conversation. Without any formal greeting, she bombarded Charles with numerous questions and finally told him he is just like any other man in the world.

“Done” Charles checked with her after she poured out her anger through words.

“It is not my fault” Charles replied her.

“Oh, then is it my fault” She asked him.

“What I asked is not anything abnormal. It is a usual question”

“If you don’t like me, tell me yes. What is the big deal?”

“You are a man. Sorry, I forgot that” Sharon fired at him. The conversation took a different turn and started to show its ugliness.

Sharon could not hide her pent up feelings and lashed at Charles for no reason.

“I hate to be a girl” Sharon fumed.

“I don’t want to get.....” Sharon hesitated for a while, but typed that word.

“What??” Charles was shocked to get such a vehement response from Sharon. Sharon signed off without waiting for him to reply.

“Cool, cool. Things will be back to normal” After sending the offline message Charles signed off and closed his notebook.

“Sharon has a story to tell me” Charles wanted to know what it was.

Yet, will Sharon be ready to share it with him.  Only time can reveal the secret.