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Freedom
of expression thro' wrought iron To enjoy the
pleasures of simplicity, subtlety and minimalism in one's home is
to enjoy the ambience At Article
14, where the promise of freedom of expression is their motto, there
is a selection of simple lines and designs of wrought-iron furniture
to suit every discerning homeowner. An in-house
design team helps with ideas and selections to suit each individual
in making his or her house a home. With almost 95 per cent of the
work done manually by expert craftsmen, Article 14 offers a lifetime
guarantee on structure corrosion-ree outdoor furniture, in any colour
or shape. Wrought-iron furniture is mainly used for ethnic settings using fabrics of subtle colours but mixed with wood, glass or cement, it can be incorporated with beautiful bright colours to bring out the spirited side of you. Blessings
from the sea Before he fell
asleep, Avinthe's thoughts went back to the events of the day. He had arrived
at the hotel at about three in the afternoon to participate in the
three-day workshop arranged by his company for its executives. Avinthe
was not at all thrilled when he heard his roommate would be Kanishke.
Kanishke was the studious, serious type who walked around gloomily
prophesying doom to everybody who took life too easily. Even though
Avinthe too did not care much for drinking and restricted himself
to a bottle of beer and never smoked, he loved music and dancing.
So, when he heard that there would be a band playing at the Blue
Lion, the open-air restaurant in the hotel, he had asked Kanishke
to go to sleep leaving the door unlocked. But, having danced to
his heart's content, when he climbed upstairs 15 minutes before
the clock struck midnight, Avinthe had realised he could not remember
the number of his room. He was sure
the room was somewhere in the middle of the corridor but he could
not remember if the number was 274 or 276. He tried the knob of
274. He thought
if the door was unlocked, it would be his room. When the door opened
to his touch and when he saw the figure covered in a white sheet
lying on the bed, Avinthe gave a sigh of relief. He was in the right
room. Kanishke had kept the door unlocked for him. But, just as
Avinthe made himself more comfortable on the bed and closed his
eyes, he felt someone touch his shoulder. "You are back. How
was the dancing?" asked a girl's soft voice close to his ear.
Avinthe sat up on the bed as if someone had stabbed him. He saw
a slim figure in a pink nightdress staring at him open mouthed.
It took him a fraction of a second to realise he was in the wrong
room. He groaned and ran his fingers through his hair, but before
the girl could scream and bring the hotel down, he muttered, "Sorry,
sorry. I have made a mistake," under his breath, wrapped the
bed-sheet round his waist, gathered his clothes from the floor and
backed out of the door. Closing the
door as quickly as possible, Avinthe lent against the wall of the
corridor, still clutching the white bed- sheet to his waist, unable
to believe what had happened. He was grateful there was no one in
the corridor. Cursing hotel bedrooms for looking alike, he hurriedly
got back into his clothes, folded the bed- sheet and kept it at
the door and went in search of the receptionist to find his room
number. Still disturbed
by the mistake he had made, Avinthe scanned the faces around him
the next morning at breakfast wondering if he would be able to recognise
the girl if he saw her again. Would she recognise him? If he heard
her voice he would know her, he thought. But he could not dwell
on his speculations for long. Chaminda, another of his colleagues,
jolted him back to the present. "Something funny had happened
to Niluka's sister yesterday," said Chaminda without preamble,
seating himself in front of Avinthe with a plate overflowing with
food. Avinthe waited till Chaminda settled down and asked, "Who
is Niluka?" "Niluka is Mr. Wijesundere's eldest daughter.
We followed a computer course together long ago, and last night
she agreed to be my dancing partner." Chaminda paused, stuffed
huge pieces of bread and sausages into his mouth, muttered, "This
stuff is good," under his breath. Then he continued, "Niluka
is sharing a room with her younger sister and last night Niluka
had asked her to keep the door unlocked so that she could creep
in without waking her up after the dancing. You won't believe this
Machang, at about twelve, Niluka's sister had woken up to find a
guy lying next to her. She says he had looked scared, muttered,
'I'm sorry' and backed out of the door as fast as possible. I wonder
who the guy was." Chaminda began
to concentrate once more on the pile of food in front of him. His
last words disturbed Avinthe. Excusing himself, saying he wanted
to get a cup of tea, Avinthe walked out of the dining area. The workshop
was scheduled to begin at nine. Realising he had half an hour, Avinthe
walked towards the beach. He found a white beach chair under a Kottamba
tree and sat on it. He was careful not to crumple the red checked
shirt and kakhi trousers he was wearing. He wanted to look neat
and dignified for the presentation he was supposed to make in front
of the CEO at the workshop. Keeping his
arms on his knees, he stared at the blue ocean in front of him which
looked like a piece of paper with silver dust sprinkled on it. Suddenly
a thin figure in a red t-shirt and figure hugging pants came into
his view. He watched the girl as she walked along the edge of the
water, stooping now and then to pick a shell. He could not see her
face. He wondered if this was Niluka's sister. The workshop
came to an end at four. When Avinthe walked with a cup of tea and
a piece of cake into the dining area searching for a table, he heard
Chaminda calling him. "Come on, I want to introduce you to
someone," said Chaminda pointing to the empty chair beside
him. "Meet Niluka and her sister Kesha." "Hi,"
said Niluka greeting Avinthe with a friendly smile. Avinthe grinned
at her in return and hurriedly kept his cup of tea on the table.
He realised his heart had begun to thump loudly and his hands had
begun to shake. He was scared the cup and saucer would make a clatter.
Kesha! He wondered if she would recognise him. But to his relief,
she took a quick look at him and lowered her head and began to tear
a packet of sugar into her cup of tea. Avinthe sat on his chair,
next to Chaminda. He stole another quick look at Kesha and realised
she was the girl he had seen on the beach that morning. She looked
awfully young and self-conscious as she kept stirring the tea in
her cup. "Are we going dancing tonight too?" Avinthe heard
Chaminda ask Niluka. "I can't ask her to leave the door unlocked
after what happened last night," said Niluka turning her eyes
towards her sister. "Bring
her along with you," suggested Chaminda. "Kesha don't
you like to dance?" he asked the girl. Realising three pairs
of eyes were watching her, Kesha gave the first excuse she could
think of, and mumbled into her cup of tea, "I don't have a
partner." Chaminda gave a loud laugh and thumped Avinthe on
the back. "Avinthe will be your partner. He loves dancing,"
he said grinning at Niluka. For them, the problem was solved. Avinthe wondered
if she would really come for the dance. He suspected she would come
not because she liked to dance but because she did not wish to spoil
her sister's fun. "What?
Still here? Is something wrong?" asked Kanishke coming into
the room and squinting at Avinthe through his small, gold-rimmed
spectacles. "Aren't you going dancing tonight?" he asked,
searching for his toothbrush. When he got
no answer from Avinthe, he disappeared into the bathroom saying,
"I'll leave the door unlocked." Avinthe decided
to go downstairs. He realised he was too hungry to skip dinner.
He had decided to meet Kesha. Even if she did not wish to dance,
he could still have a chat with her. When he finished
dinner and entered the dancing area, he saw Chaminda, Niluka and
Kesha seated at a table in the far corner. Chaminda waved to him
impatiently. The moment Avinthe reached them he said, "What
took you so long? We couldn't leave Kesha alone." Then, grabbing
Niluka by the hand, he began to make his way to the dance floor.
Niluka looked worried for a moment. Obviously she was having second
thoughts about leaving her sister with a stranger. "I'll be
alright," Kesha assured her sister. When they were
alone, Avinthe took a quick look at Kesha. She had her eyes on the
glass of orange juice in her hands. She looked timid and shy. How
does she manage to work at the bank if she is so shy, wondered Avinthe.
He knew she had recognised him when Chaminda had introduced him
in the afternoon. "I'm sorry about what happened last night.
I couldn't remember my room number and my friend had promised to
keep the door unlocked." He held her gaze when she looked up
at the sound of his voice. "All these hotel rooms look alike
and I thought you were Kanishke..." His voice trailed off when
he saw her smile, then she covered her mouth with her hand and began
to giggle. All of a sudden,
Avinthe realised what a funny figure he must have made last night,
clutching his clothes and backing out of the door with the white
bedsheet behind him. He too began to laugh. "Thank you for
not telling Chaminda I was the guy in your room," he said,
pleased to see that now she kept her eyes on his face and that there
was a mischievous sparkle in them. "If you don't wish to dance,
shall we go outside and sit on the verandah?" Avinthe asked
her. She nodded and said, "Yes, I love to listen to the sound
of the sea." Seated under
the palm leaves with the moon and the stars above them, they talked
about their work and their families. On Saturday
evening, they sat on the beach to watch the sunset. Avinthe lay
on his back, resting himself on his elbows. Kesha sat close to him
with her legs drawn up to her chin, drawing figures on the sand
with her finger. He watched her hair blowing in the breeze. Suddenly
he grabbed a strand of hair and gently tugged her head towards him.
"I have something to boast about to my friends," he said
with a grin. "I can tell them I have slept with you."
Kesha looked startled for a minute, then, without returning his
grin she turned back to what she had been drawing on the sand -
two circles - one within the other. "Can you guess what this
is?" she asked him. He studied the two circles for a few seconds,
threw back his head and laughed, "A ring". But Kesha still
remained serious. She gazed into Avinthe's eyes and said, "What
you said about sleeping with me... Have you done it before? I mean...have
you...?" Her voice broke off without completing the sentence.
Avinthe knew what she was going to ask him. He turned his head away
from her and stared absent-mindedly at a crab walking sideways towards
the waves. How did a guy answer a question like that? What kind
of an answer did a girl expect? Just then,
Kesha tugged at his arm. "Look at that wave. If it comes up
to my ring and erases it, it's a sign to say there should be nothing
between us. If it doesn't..." They watched
the wave become white foam long before it could reach the ring.
Kesha turned towards Avinthe and waited for his answer. The moment
was so poignant, they forgot everything else around them. It was as if
they were the only two left on planet earth. Avinthe turned and
looked at Kesha. He decided to tell her the truth. "I 'll be
26 this year, but I have still..." Avinthe stumbled for the
right words. "I have never..." He looked deep into Kesha's
eyes without finishing the sentence. Kesha understood.
Her face broke into a beautiful, happy smile. She squeezed his hand.
He had given her the best gift a girl could ever get from her partner.
Together, they turned once more to look at the sea. Another wave
came crashing towards them, but petered out before it could reach
the two circles on the sand. They interpreted it as a good sign.
The sea had given them its blessings. |
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Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers
Ltd. All rights reserved. |
By
Mihiri Wikramanayake
of
space and liberty.
