Small Story 744.

 Small Story 744

Life Is Beautiful – 89

An Evening Call

That evening, Ram received a call from Kaadhambari.

“Mr. Ram, sorry, Dad. Mummy and I were supposed to come there at 6 p.m., but we may be a little late. Mummy asked me to change the timing of your flight tomorrow. If you take the evening flight, you may reach Mysore quite late. I have just spoken to our travel agency and am waiting for their confirmation. I will keep you informed.”

She ended the call.

Ram was extremely happy. The affection and concern Vasanthi had shown in the past, when she had taken every possible precaution at KRS Dam to make sure he reached Bangalore safely, was once again reflected in her concern for him now.

She did not want to take any risk with his journey. With the evening flight, he would reach Bangalore late and would then have to travel to Mysore by taxi. She wanted her Ram to reach Mysore safely and comfortably.

“Oh, my lovely Vasanthi,” Ram whispered to himself with a smile.

About twenty minutes later, Kaadhambari called again.

“Hello, Dad. Tomorrow morning’s flight has been changed. We will be coming there shortly.”

Exactly half an hour later, Vasanthi and Kaadhambari reached the guest house.

Ram thanked them warmly for changing his flight schedule.

Kaadhambari smiled and said, “Dad, this idea was given by your wife—my Mummy.”

Vasanthi smiled affectionately.

“The flight is at 9 a.m. tomorrow morning. You will reach Bangalore around 2 p.m., and you can safely continue your journey to Mysore. There is no need for you to travel late in the evening,” she said.

Vasanthi had also brought two large packets of sweets for Ram to share with all his friends in Mysore.

They sat together on the sofa and spent some pleasant time talking. Vasanthi looked beautiful in a lovely green saree, while Ram was wearing his favourite blue shirt.

After spending nearly an hour together, they got ready to leave.

Kaadhambari told Ram, “Dad, Mummy and I will come tomorrow at 6:45 a.m. and take you to the airport. I have also informed Chief Atkinson and the other staff members, particularly Ali, about the change in your flight timing. Everything is taken care of. See you tomorrow, Dad. Relax now and get your things packed and ready. And please have dinner here in guest house tonight.”

Vasanthi also affectionately told him, “Take care, Ram. See you in the morning.”

They then left.

After having dinner, Ram returned to his room and watched television for a while. Suddenly, he saw a programme announcing the presentation of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award to his favourite Sandalwood actor, Anant Nag.

Ram was delighted.

“A truly deserving doyen,” he whispered appreciatively.

Just then, his phone rang.

It was Raj calling from Mysore.

“Hello, Ram. As per your email, you are leaving tomorrow, right?”

Ram replied, “Yes, Raj. There is a slight change in the flight timing. I am now taking the 9 a.m. morning flight and should reach Bangalore around 2 p.m.”

Raj sounded pleasantly surprised.

“Amazing news for me, Ram! I am in Bangalore today on some official work and will be leaving only tomorrow afternoon. I will come to the airport and pick you up.”

Ram was delighted.

“That’s wonderful, Raj. See you tomorrow. Bye!”

After ending the call, Ram sat quietly for a while, thinking about everything that had happened during the day—the love and concern of Vasanthi, Kaadhambari’s affection, the arrangements for his journey, the surprise meeting with Raj, and all the wonderful changes taking place in his life.

Slowly, he murmured to himself with a contented smile,

“Life is really, really beautiful to me.”

To be continued…

K. Ragavan

25-9-26