44."Slapped By A Girl"

Currently, I am standing inside Sarath City Capital Mall, one of the largest malls in Hyderabad. The scene before me is both surprising and confusing. My dear friend Seenu stands stunned, holding his cheek, having just been slapped by a girl who now stands in front of him.

If you're wondering why this happened, join the club—I have no idea either. I had left Seenu to answer nature's call and had gone to the bathroom. When I returned, I was greeted by the sight of this unexpected confrontation.

Let me backtrack and explain how we ended up in this situation at the mall.

After I said goodbye to Anasuya, I made my way to the company. The drive back was uneventful, and I found myself lost in thoughts about the day's events. Anasuya's situation with her parents, our discussion, and the little kiss I had given her all swirled in my mind. Before I knew it, I had arrived at the company.

Parking the car, I walked inside, ready to get back to work. As I entered the lobby, I spotted Parimal at the reception desk, engaged in what seemed to be an attempt at flirting with the receptionist. He didn't notice me as I approached, so I decided to eavesdrop for a moment.

"Hey, do you have time tomorrow? We could go out for dinner," I heard him say.

The receptionist, ever polite, smiled and declined. "Sorry, sir, but I am already married."

Just then, she noticed me walking in her direction. She was about to greet me, but I quickly signaled her to stay silent with a gesture. I slowly came up behind Parimal, who was completely oblivious to my presence.

On the other hand, hearing that the receptionist was already married, Parimal quickly pivoted. "What about your friend you were chatting with yesterday? Is she single?" he asked, undeterred.

I decided to have a little fun and put my hand on his shoulder. He absentmindedly pushed it away, continuing his conversation. I did it again, and he pushed it away once more, growing irritated. For the third time, I placed my hand on his shoulder, and this time he snapped, "Who is disturbing me? Don't you know I'm the Agricultural Department head?"

As he turned around to confront the "disturbance," he froze upon seeing me. His eyes widened, and he stammered, "O-oo Boss! What are you doing here? I mean, when did you come back from Andhra Pradesh?"

I smiled, trying to hold back a chuckle. "Parimal, I came back yesterday. But I can see you're doing just fine."

The receptionist couldn't help but laugh softly at Parimal's sudden change in demeanor. He tried to recover his composure. "Oh, boss, I was just, uh, making sure the team is motivated."

I raised an eyebrow. "Motivated? By hitting on the receptionist?"

Hearing this, Parimal nervously replied, "It's not what it looks like, Boss."

I gave him a knowing smile. "Oh, you don't have to worry. I understand, man, I understand. So, where's Seenu?"

"Seenu sir is in his cabin, Boss," Parimal answered quickly.

I nodded. "Alright, I'm going to meet him." As I started to walk away, I noticed Parimal breathe a sigh of relief. I stopped suddenly and turned back, catching him off guard. "Oh, by the way, I can see you have a lot of free time. Please give me all the reports of your department and specifically about our new project, FarmDirect, okay?"

Parimal nodded eagerly. "Okay, I—"

Before he could finish, I cut him off, still smiling. "In one hour."

Parimal's eyes widened in shock. "What? In one hour? Boss, but—"

I kept my smile. "One hour, okay?"

Realizing he had no choice, Parimal swallowed hard and nodded. "Okay, Boss."

Hearing this, I nodded and started to walk away. As I walked, I heard the receptionist's laughter behind me. It brought a smile to my face, adding a lightness to my steps.

Continuing down the corridor, I made my way to Seenu's cabin. The hallway was filled with the familiar hum of activity, the subtle energy of a company hard at work. It was reassuring, a testament to the dedication and commitment of everyone here.

Coming up to Seenu's cabin, I knocked on the door. When I didn't receive any response, I knocked again but still heard nothing. Slowly, I opened the door and saw Seenu sitting in his chair, lost in deep thought. Smiling to myself, I approached him quietly and then shouted, "Bhoooooo!"

Seenu jolted back to his senses, jumping from his chair and landing on the ground in a scared heap. Seeing him like that, I couldn't help but burst into laughter. "Hahahaha!"

Hearing my laughter, Seenu looked up and shouted, "What the hell are you doing, Krishna? I nearly had a heart attack! Why do you do such childish things?"

Still laughing, I replied, "Hahaha, I'm sorry, Seenu. I knocked on the door but didn't get a response, so I came inside and saw you lost in thought. I couldn't resist."

Helping him up, I asked, "But seriously, what's going on? What were you thinking about so deeply?"

As we both sat down, Seenu sighed, "What can I say."

"How should I know?" I said, leaning forward with a smile.

"That's not what I meant," Seenu replied, rolling his eyes.

Waving my hand dismissively, I said, "Yeah, I know. I'm just trying to lighten the mood. So, tell me, what's bothering you?"

Seenu nodded and began to recount his story. "Some days ago, my parents went to see this baba named Ghantadaas."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Hahaha, what kind of name is that—Ghantadaas?"

Seenu shot me a glare. "Do you want to hear the story or not?"

"Sorry, sorry. Continue," I said, trying to stifle my laughter.

"So, that baba told my parents that now is the best time for my marriage. If I don't get married within the next three months, I'll never be able to marry anyone and will end up taking sanyaas," Seenu continued.

I looked at him incredulously. "And they believe in him?"

Seenu nodded. "Yeah, they believe in him and have started searching for a girl for me."

"Okay, so they're looking for a girl for you. What's the problem?" I asked.

"Yesterday, I went to see a girl they had selected," Seenu said.

I nodded, and he continued, "But before meeting her, I met some of my friends."

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"3RD PERSON POV"

Seenu sat in front of the tailor shop with his friends, a familiar hangout spot for their group. The tailor, an old friend, was busy with his work but occasionally joined in their conversation. The sun cast a warm glow over the bustling street, but Seenu's thoughts were elsewhere.

One of his friends, Ravi, nudged him playfully. "We heard you're going to see a girl for marriage today. Don't drink too much, bro. Go in with good manners."

Seenu chuckled, a hint of defiance in his eyes. "What do you mean, don't drink? I already had two glasses this morning."

The group laughed, but Ravi's face twisted in mock horror. "And you forgot about us?"

Seenu turned to him, a smirk playing on his lips. "Your stomach's already bigger than the Titanic from all that drinking. If you have any more, you'll be the one drowning."

The tailor, overhearing the banter, chimed in with a grin. "He's got a point, Ravi. You need to fit into those pants I'm making for you."

The group burst into laughter, the camaraderie lifting Seenu's spirits momentarily. As they continued their banter, a man named Deepak rode up to the tailor shop on his bike, accompanied by his wife, who looked quite heavy. Seenu squinted at the sight, his curiosity piqued.

"Hey guys, is that Deepak? Once upon a time, he was wandering around with beautiful girls, and now he's riding with a hippopotamus," Seenu quipped, drawing laughter from his friends.

One of his friends, Arjun, leaned in closer. "Yeah, that's Deepak. When his grandmother was about to die, she said she wanted to see her grandson married before she passed. So, his family arranged his marriage with that girl. Now his grandmother is dead, and he's the one suffering. If you do an arranged marriage, you could end up like him."

Seenu watched Deepak ride away, the weight of Arjun's words sinking in. "His double bed probably became a triple bed. What if my situation ends up like that after an arranged marriage?"

The tailor, who was also one of Seenu's close friends, paused his stitching to weigh in on the conversation. "Seenu, if you don't want to end up like Deepak, then do a love marriage."

Seenu stepped closer, intrigued. "Tell me more."

The tailor leaned back, his eyes gleaming with conviction. "In arranged marriages, every handsome boy ends up with a dull girl, and every dull boy gets a very beautiful girl. Those who say that matches are made in heaven, well, take these scissors and cut those threads. It's all wrong. Nothing like that happens. Love marriage is the best."

Seenu furrowed his brow, skeptical. "Why should I believe you?"

The tailor set down his scissors and looked Seenu straight in the eyes. "Don't you understand, Seenu? Arranged marriage is the worst, and love marriage is the best. In an arranged marriage, you're gambling with your happiness based on what your family thinks is best for you. But in a love marriage, you get to choose. You get to find someone who understands you, someone you genuinely care about. It's about finding a partner who complements you, not just someone who checks all the boxes on a list."

Hearing this, another friend piped up, "Seenu, aren't you going to see a girl today?"

Seenu nodded, and the tailor took the opportunity to elaborate. "Seenu, when you go to see her, remember that her parents will probably apply lots of makeup on her face and have her sit beside you. Then your parents will ask you how you like her. But, my friend, Seenu, don't fall for that fake beauty. If you fall for it and say yes, you'll suffer for a lifetime. Do you want that kind of life, Seenu?"

Seenu started to imagine a future filled with regret and unhappiness, and he shook his head vehemently.

Seeing Seenu's reaction, another friend tried to reason with him, "Seenu, don't take what he said to heart. Just go and see the girl—"

But before he could finish, Seenu cut him off, a determined look in his eyes. "There's a point in what he said. I should do something about it."

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"BACK TO PRESENT"

"KRISHNA'S POV"

As I heard what Seenu said, I let out a sigh and said, "Seenu, it's nothing like that."

Seenu's eyes widened with frustration. "What do you mean it's nothing like that? I saw it with my own eyes yesterday when I went to see that girl."

Raising my eyebrow, I asked, "What do you mean? What happened?"

Seenu took a deep breath, recounting the events with a mixture of exasperation and disbelief. "Yesterday, when I went to see the girl, I sat in the living room of her house with Ma and Papa. My Papa was talking with the girl's father. That was when the girl's mother came into the living room. Seeing her, I asked Ma who she was. Ma said she was the girl's mother. Hearing this, I was shocked and whispered to Ma, 'If the mother looks like this, then how does the daughter look?'"

Hearing this, I stopped Seenu and said, "What do you mean, 'if the mother looks like this'? Are you saying that—"

Before I could finish, Seenu interjected, "Yeah, it's exactly what you're thinking."

I nodded and said, "Okay, I understand. Continue."

Seenu nodded and continued, "Hearing what I said, Ma told me, 'Don't judge too quickly. First, see the girl.' I replied, 'If the book cover is like this, who knows what's inside?' Ma warned me, 'Seenu, don't ruin our reputation.' So, I became silent. The girl's father asked me some questions, and then the girl came out. She looked quite beautiful. As I was looking at her, Ma asked, 'Seenu, do you like the girl?' I was about to say yes, but then I remembered what my friends said about makeup."

Hearing this, I looked at Seenu, eyebrows raised in disbelief. "Then what did you do?"

Seenu sighed deeply and continued, "I told the girl to go wash her face and wear normal clothes. When she came back after washing her face and wearing simple clothes, I was shocked. The queen I had seen a minute ago now looked like a servant. Seeing her like that, I said to her parents, 'Give her a broom.' Hearing this, my father became furious. After that, we came back home. Once we were home, my father and I had a little argument, and in his anger, he said, 'I curse you! You will never be able to marry and will become a sanyaasi!'"

I couldn't help but laugh a bit at the absurdity of the situation, though I tried to mask it with a cough. "Seenu, that's... quite a story. But don't you think you went a bit too far?"

Hearing this, Seenu retorted, "What do you mean, too far? What I did was right. Imagine if I fell for that makeup face, and then saw the real one. What would you expect me to do?"

I nodded, acknowledging his point. "You're right, Seenu, but arranged marriages aren't always as scary as you think."

Seenu looked at me skeptically. "Oh? Then why do you want to do a love marriage?"

I smiled. "Your situation and mine are different. Look at our parents—their marriages were arranged, and after so many years, they're still happy."

Seenu sighed. "When they married, times were different. Now, everything's changed."

We both fell silent for a moment, the weight of Seenu's words hanging in the air. Seeing his dejected expression, I decided to lighten the mood. "Seenu, after work, let's head to the mall. Anu and the others are there. We can enjoy ourselves and maybe even search for a girl for you. What do you think?"

Seenu thought for a moment before nodding. "Okay," he said, a small smile forming on his lips.

I clapped him on the back. "Great! Now, let's get back to work so we can wrap up early and have some fun."

After leaving Seenu's cabin, I returned to mine and delved into my work. Surprisingly, after an hour, Parimal arrived with the reports. He looked exhausted, and as I glanced through the documents, I said, "Good work, Parimal."

"Thank you, Boss," he replied, relief evident in his voice. I nodded, and after he left, I continued with my tasks. Time flew by, and soon it was evening. Stepping out of my cabin, I went to Seenu's office.

"So, are you ready?" I asked.

Seenu nodded. "I am ready."

"Are you going wearing that suit?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

He nodded again, and I suggested, "Wear something casual." Seenu quickly changed into a normal t-shirt and pants, and we left for the mall. After a drive, we reached Sarath City Capital Mall. Parking the car, we made our way inside. Once inside, I called Anu. She said they were heading our way and asked us to wait.

I informed Seenu and mentioned that I needed to answer a natural call. And now, here we are, with Seenu holding his cheek, standing in front of a girl who looked at him angerly.

(Word's Count:-2612)