A Saree Excuse

Ram and Ayyira's engagement dates had been announced, and their hearts fluttered with happiness. As part of the engagement ceremony, Ram's mother wanted to send a saree to Ayyira.

Ram immediately texted Ayyira, “Ayyira, I wanted to see you and give you the first saree with my own hands. Would it be okay if I come on Monday?”

“I will be more than happy, Ram.”

“I wanted it to be a surprise, but I'm not sure if you have a work shift on that day, so I thought of giving you a heads up.”

“Ram, your visit itself is a surprise for me, so don't think, just come over.”

Ram boarded the train. It was a double-decker train with sitter compartments, and the seats were so congested that Ram knew he would be awake all night due to the uncomfortable seating.

He texted Ayyira, “Hey, I just boarded.”

Ayyira was on her shift, yet she replied to him, “Good, take some rest. Dad will pick you up in the morning from the station.”

It was one in the morning when Ayyira texted Ram, “You didn't sleep, did you?”

“Yeah, it was a bit uncomfortable here, so I'm just passing the time.”

“Why are you taking this much strain, Ram? You could have just parcelled that saree.”

“The saree is just an excuse to meet you, Ayyira.”

She blushed and texted, “I know.”

“I love you,” texted Ram.

“Wait, what?” she replied, confused. Ayyira didn't expect Ram to say this so early; he always surprised her with little things, and she expected he would propose in a filmy style.

“I know what’s running in your mind, but they say if you feel it, just say it. I can do this a million times, in a million possible better ways but I can’t hold it anymore, so I had to express it,” he texted.

“Miss you,” she replied. They chatted until 5 in the morning, and then they drifted off to sleep. At 7, Ram reached his destination. Ayyira’s dad picked him up from the railway station, and Ram bought two roses on the way, one for Ayyira and one for her mom.

After reaching Ayyira’s home, Ram thought of waiting in the hall until she woke up, but her father insisted that he meet her and went and knocked on her room door. Ram went and kneeled beside her bed, holding the rose in his hands. She slept like a baby, wrapped in sheets. Though it was hot outside, her room felt like an igloo.

“I told you to switch off the AC in time,” her father complained, as he switched off the AC and woke her up before leaving the room.

She slowly opened her eyes and greeted him with a sleepy "hey" and "hi." She was in shorts and adjusted her bed sheets with shyness. Ram averted his eyes and said, "I think I'll go outside; you go back to sleep."

“No, stay,” she insisted. “Okay, here is a beautiful rose for my cute girl and a saree,” he said, pulling the saree from his bag.

“Ayyira, my mom told me to see your expression to know if you really liked the saree or not, but you know I'm very weak at understanding people's expressions and hints, so I'm gonna ask straight away. Be frank, you liked it, right?”

“I loved it, Ram. This is my first saree from my in-laws, so I'm sentimental about it too,” she replied, hugging the saree.

“Okay then, so here is your card,” he said and handed her one from his pocket. It had lyrics of a Telugu hit song printed on it, describing a woman, along with a Spotify code. She blushed and said, “I knew you would give me this.”

“Okay, guys, freshen up, and I will get breakfast ready,” her mom interrupted.

“Yeah, of course,” Ram said and left the room. He sat in the hall after getting freshened up, and he could hear songs playing from Ayyira’s room. They were from the album he had given her on the card. He wondered if this was their love language.

They both locked eyes when she walked out of the room. Ram knuckled his fingers against his head, a desi gesture to tell her how beautiful she was. He picked up an empty card from his bag, wrote "can't stop staring at you," and handed it to her. She smiled and brushed his hair.