She was known to be a good girl, but those who knew her say she is a bad girl with crazy thoughts. She was excited to have fun in the marriage she was about to attend, only to realise it's going to be hers.
He was a bad boy with no one by his side...
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I was always the second option to my parents. She was always their first priority. It was as if I was their backup just so that they put it on me if she somehow fucks up stuff.
She was given the choices while I had been given what's left out of it. Now, it was again me having to deal with this, the consequences of her actions.
She had been fixated on getting her career in the law, as a lawyer. So, just before the marriage day she got up and left not thinking about the people or the things that could break because of her.
I understand that her career is important for her and for that matter to everyone of course. But she had failed to make it realise that to our parents, so her next decision is to up and leave?
"What are we going to do mom?" I asked my mom who was crying uncontrollably.
"They must have planned this together, both had things that they could lose by this marriage" my aunt voiced her thoughts.
"What? Your daughter must have started this. My son would never have agreed to this, she must have convinced him to do this". I cannot believe that Rohit's mother could say something like this.
"Why are you trying to paint this on my daughter? He had a girlfriend, while all my daughter wanted was a career. She had the most to lose in this marriage!" my father even after all this was defending her.
I cannot say if it was me who would have done something like this they sure would have blamed me rather than defending me. Standing there I was trying my best not to cry, my eyes were filled with unspilled tears and they were blurring my vision.
"I cannot believe I was about to marry my son into such a rudely behaving family" said Rohit's father.
"What do you mean? Huh?" my father exclaimed furiously.
"Please, both sides calm down. We now should see if we can convince our bride and groom to come back. If we cannot, we should figure out our next move if not people will talk badly about both our families. Our guests still don't know about this stuff so we should figure out a way to save our faces" said our uncle calmly. Both sides seemed to agree and were thinking about what to do next.
"Pari, get ready you are going to sit and marry" my mom's words made no sense to me and my tears started to spill and flow onto my cheeks.
"What?" I almost whispered that my throat was hurting even when I spoke.
"Yeah, Advik she is right now we should think of a way to save this marriage. Our family has been kind to help you all these years. It's time you paid us back in some way, we raised you. So marry her and by doing so you are saving our family name in the society and also paying back our kindness" Rohit's mothers words made Advik surprised.
He was in disbelief just like me. We both were going to be the sacrificial pigs.
Still, I was a coward and could not speak against my parents. I was not even given a choice, I was to do what my parents wanted me to do just like I have been doing all these years. All because of a mistake I had made once in the past.
The incident that made my life like this came in front of my eyes.
When I was ten and my sister was twelve. I had forced my parents to take us to the neighbouring park.
When we were there, me and my sister were on the slides. But I slipped from the top of my slide, my sister in the process of helping me had fallen from the slide onto the ground beside the slide.
When I had opened my eyes all I could see was blood and my parents rushing her to the hospital. She had spent months recovering. My mom had stopped talking to me until she recovered ^^All because of you, I wish it was you and not her^^ she had yelled at me.
After that I had never talked against them, just never raised my voice against their decisions.
"So you want me to marry her and repay you once and for all, huh?" Advik's words brought me back to the present.
"Aright, then I will marry her then". He was clearly mad and he did not even look at me while I stood there, tears flowing down from eyes without stopping.
That is how I found myself sitting beside him, taking our wedding vows.
All the time he refused to look in my eyes. I kept trying to stop myself from breaking down and just crying out loud.
He took the yellow thread with a turmeric piece tied in the middle. The sounds of instruments playing and the chantings of the priest got louder. He raised his hands, taking the thread around my neck and tying the three knots.
Just like that everything around me blurred out.
I came to have fun but now I am married. My whole life was going to change and what would be of my dreams, my goals.... my ambitions...
I started to slowly let go of my tears that I was holding back all along.
My eyes were slightly red as the photographer made me and him stand side by side along with my parents and my now in-laws.
"I am going to take her to my house, we are going to stay there for a few days and then leave for Beangaluru. I hope that's okay with you uncle and Pari, is it okay for you?" he asked and my parents just nodded as did I.
I was deeply sad and was trying to take in what was happening around me.
He helped me with bags to keep them in the car. We said our goodbyes to our parents and were on our way to his house.
