The next morning, Chennai woke with a soft drizzle, and Mani wandered toward the city square, notebook in hand. He had been thinking of Madhu, her shy smiles, and the riverbank where little fish danced in the sunlit current. But today, his eyes caught someone else — a presence that seemed to glow like sunlight breaking through clouds.
"You come, oh beautiful one with a radiant smile;
You come, oh graceful one who speaks kindly;
You come, oh one with enchanting eyes;
You come, oh delicate, lovely one."
It was Sunitha, a Telugu girl visiting Chennai for the first time. She carried a sketchpad, lost in drawing the patterns of rain on the pavement, yet her gentle eyes sparkled like moonlight. Mani's heart skipped, and he whispered to himself:
"You are like a golden young girl from the heavens, descending from the clouds with a heavenly glow."
As he watched, random friends appeared — Ranganathan and Akshara laughing under an umbrella, Bharath splashing through puddles, and Laya holding back Shalini from ruining her hair in the rain. Each of them added life and laughter to the city streets, but Mani could not take his eyes off Sunitha.
"Your eyes shimmering like moonlight, the glow of your face reminds me of a full moon night. Oh heavenly beauty, at first glance I was spellbound; my heart raced like the toll of a temple bell with a single breath."
The crowd seemed to blur around him. Even Krishna and Ashik, teasing and joking, faded into the background. All Mani could see were Sunitha's eyes, bright and soft, and her lips, delicate like strawberries.
"Your lips and your eyes — are they sharp blades or soft beauties? Your beauty has overwhelmed me — I'm captivated. I want a photograph, an autograph with you, I wait eagerly."
Sunitha glanced up from her sketchpad and smiled. The world felt suspended. Mani's pulse pounded like temple bells in a festival. Gajanan, noticing the intensity of the moment, whispered to Monal, "Look at him — completely lost."
Every step Sunitha took seemed like music, each glance like a spell. Mani wanted to speak, to approach, yet words fled from him like shy birds. He only whispered in his heart:
"There is some magic in you, some spell that pulls me in; seeing you, my heart feels like a grand festival. All my senses are made restless — don't tease me with your eyes like missiles."
The rain lightened, leaving glistening streets and puddles reflecting the skies. Mani knew this encounter was another verse in his life — random characters passing in and out like musical notes, but Sunitha's presence was a bell that would echo in his heart for a long time.
"Oh heavenly beauty, at the first look I was lost; with one breath my heart beats like a bell."
And with that, the city seemed to hum — bells in temples, laughter of friends, raindrops falling — all harmonizing into a melody of chance encounters, beauty, and the beginning of something transcendent.