Raining Love for Her by Kalai Selvi Arivalagan (digital e reader .TXT) 📕

snake.”

“Cool, cool.” Reema pacified her friend. “It’s gone.”

Holding hands together, they struggled to walk through the muddy rain water and reached the bus terminus in twenty minutes.

Luckily, Reema got her bus on time. She also got a place to sit, but after crossing half of the distance her way home, something went wrong with the engine, and all the passengers were asked to get down from the bus. Though it was only 6:30 pm, it looked pitch dark and the chilly breeze made her shiver. For some time, Reema could not tell where she was standing. An unknown fear gripped her for a moment.

There were only street lights on the main road. She could see two wheelers and four wheelers that struggled to move through the lashing rain in flooded roads. Not even a familiar face she could look for help. Not even a single empty auto could be seen there. The buses that crossed the place where the stranded passengers stood were already over-crowded and the engines of the buses literally struggled to push through the narrow space that was already congested with too many vehicles.

When the stranded passengers started to walk toward the next bus stop, Reema joined them. She did not want to be left alone in the dark. If she walked along with them, somehow she would be able to get an auto and reach home safely before it started to rain once again.

It took another long thirty minutes to walk to the nearby bus stop. No bus came there empty. Every bus that stopped at the bus stop was full to the capacity and people who were desperate to reach home did not mind hanging near the footsteps all the way. Reema decided to wait for a while. It took another thirty long minutes. Half of the crowd in the bus stop disappeared.

Chapter 3

Usually rain in the evening never stopped with the drizzle, and as time went on it turned into heavy rain. It slowly gained momentum and within minutes it flooded every nook and corner of the city. Most of the lamps went away and rain that caught people unaware made their life extremely tough to manage till they reached their home safely.

Even people traveling in the cars could not drive in the flooded roads and they left their cars locked in the side of the road. During rainy days most of the accidents happened. There were stories about people who locked their cars with the windows raised and waited for the rain to subside. But before the rain subsided, the people inside the car get suffocated and died. Initially, the police could not find out the real reason behind the deaths in locked cars. Later it was found out that the evolution of carbon monoxide from the running air-conditioner was the culprit.

It started once again to drizzle and the remaining crowd rushed to the bus shelter to avoid getting soaked in the rains. The umbrella that Reema carried was not of much help for it brought much of the rain water on her and made her shiver in the cold.

Rain can be a welcome break in Chennai. But the heavy showers always made Chennai a stinking cauldron and a night mare for the people who drive their two wheelers or four wheelers. Especially the low lying areas in Chennai changed into small lakes and it is scary to watch people who fell down along with their vehicles into the ditch that lied hidden under the water.

The rain water eroded away the roads and left pot holes everywhere.

When Reema called her mom, she asked her to take an auto and come home safely. After rains in Chennai, the normal routine life will go haphazard, for everyone wanted to reach home and no one wanted to be on the flooded road. The same thing applied to the auto drivers also. Only a few of the auto drivers took the challenge and used the situation to make some extra money. Yet, most of them did not want to get struck in the middle of pot holes on the road. Instead of getting into trouble by helping others to reach home safely, they preferred to go home early and be with their family.

The heavy showers slowly decreased into drizzles. The cold breeze that blew brought along with it a warm, appetizing flavor of some soup. The flavor slowly drifted toward Reema and reached her. The flavor made her feel hungry and she wished she would reach home at least in another one hour.

Reema looked around to see where the soup shop was. A few feet away from the bus stop, a man was busy preparing hot vegetable and mushroom soup on a push cart. The crowd at the shop helped the soup vendor to have a good business. Suddenly, Reema realized someone familiar in the crowd. Sitting on his bike, Vel was busy sipping his cup of soup.

“You are god sent.” Reema quickly moved toward Vel and tapped loudly on his bike. It took some time for Vel to recognize Reema in that place at that time.

“Oh, what the hell you are doing here?” Vel looked at her with a surprise.

Drenched to the skin, Reema was shivering in the cold and both her palms looked wrinkled and cold.

“Do you mind having a cup of my favorite soup? You can feel heaven.”

“True. If I have not seen you now it will be really hell for me. Thanks. But it will be great if you leave me at home now. I can join you later with your favorite soup.”

“So you found me because of the soup.” He gulped down the remaining soup fast with a smile and looked at her teasingly.

“It is getting late. Let us move before it started to rain again.” Reema wanted to leave that place immediately and reach home as early as possible. She suddenly felt she was so demanding and wanted him to do as she wished.

“Sorry, if I sounded demanding. I am scared of this lightning and thunder. It makes feel so shaky.” Reema apologized to him.

“I did not feel anything wrong. I will take you home before it rained once again.” Vel promised her.

On the way, it once again started to rain heavily. The connecting road to their place was almost empty, so only less traffic was there. But riding against heavy lashes of rain along with strong wind really tested one.

Though the road does not have any pot holes, the running water on the road made the ride difficult. As there was much chance to skid and slip on the road, the motor bike rider need to go slowly and cautiously. One slip, one great fall would happen.

As everyone was busy rushing to their home, no one had the patience to stop and see what happened.

“Hold your umbrella; don’t get soaked in the rain.” Vel had to shout to Reema.

Vel was wearing his rain coat and so he was protected against the lashing rain. Reema unfolded the umbrella and hold it above her head. But, for anyone holding an umbrella while riding as a pillion rider was not an easy task. Reema struggled to hold the umbrella in one hand and grip the bike with the other hand. She had to put in the maximum effort to balance herself on the pillion. The swirling flood water rushed ahead and disrupted the speed of the vehicle. It was really a task to go against the force of the nature.

The umbrella that Reema was holding on her hand could not withstand the slashing rain and the swishing wind tilted the umbrella and made it folded upwards. For sometime Reema struggled hard to keep her balance.

When Vel applied brakes to avoid a pot hole, the umbrella slipped from the hands of Reema and it flew away to some distance drifting backwards. People who followed Vel on their bikes had to do some stunts to avoid from getting hit by the umbrella that the heavy wind carried further.

The wind carried it further and the folded umbrella rolled down the flooded road and got stuck in the mud on the side of the road.

“My umbrella, umbrella” Reema shouted above the sound of the rain.

“Yes.” Vel stopped the bike and turned around to look at Reema. “Go and take it.”

“Let it go away. I don’t mind getting drenched in the rain. We will go home soon.” Reema shivered in the cold piercing wind added with the slashing rain water.

“I can wait. Go and pick it up. All the way you can’t come like that.” Vel ordered her.

Reema had to obey Vel. She jumped down from the pillion and ran towards the umbrella. When she picked up the umbrella, she was shocked to find some of the ribs of the umbrella were broken and it looked pathetic.

“Look at this. See the condition of the umbrella. I have to throw it only.” Reema replied to Vel.

“Yes, you can throw it once you reach home.” Vel started the bike, and asked her to hold the umbrella so that she could at least protect her head from the rain.

Reema started to feel embarrassed. Why should she get him also into trouble like this? Definitely, she must have got an auto or a bus if she had waited for some more time. Now it had become his responsibility to take her home safely without any problem. Reema realized how her mother was right and asked her to come by an auto or a bus.

As if reading Reema’s mind, Vel asked her. “Excuse me. Where do you live?”

“Just near the bus terminus.”

“Ok, which terminus?”

“Near the Adyar bus terminus.” Reema replied casually.

“Oh, my god, do you live there quite near my place?”

“We live near Aavin parlor.” Reema could not hide her surprise.

“Oh, that park. Sometimes, we all go over there to have our ice cream.”

The next five minutes they reached Reema’s house. Leaving her at the door step, Vel left immediately as he did not want to get caught in the rain that once again started to drizzle.

Reema’s mother was so shocked to see Reema drenched to the skin. When she told her mother that she came along with her colleague in the bike, her mother gave a stern look.

“What is the hurry? You must have taken an auto. Riding in this weather in the bike is not safe at all. Anyway thank god, you have come home.”

Reema felt relieved and went to change her dress which got stuck on her skin and showed her curvy features.

“Oh, my god, am I coming like this with him.” The thought made her blush and she could not avoid the rising excitement in her heart.

He must have seen me, but he did not show any reaction on his face. He must busy riding the bike in this bad weather. Yet, at heart Reema wished he must have seen me. Reema once again blushed and changed into a comfortable dress. Rain water still dripped down her hair and one stream of water from her forehead slowly came down on the ridge of her nose and touched her lips.

Chapter 4

Reema looked herself at the mirror. “Do I