MIRA

42. Preeti's Engagement💍

The Monday after Vikranth's call, Mira woke up with an immense amount of energy. She got ready for work with a lot of enthusiasm and even found time to cook poha for brunch. When Preeti came to the kitchen that morning, she found Mira humming to herself and  stirring vegetables together in a pan. Mira told Preeti to keep any leftover poha in the fridge and left for work.

At work, everything seemed to move smoothly as Mira swiftly dealt with all the marketing reports for the last few years and updated everything with efficiency. In fact, the whole week went on like this as Mira begin to appreciate all that she had been blessed with. She would often find herself singing or humming a romantic song at home, looking at herself in the mirror for longer than usual and admire her own appearance...she felt like she was still sixteen rather than going on twenty-six! It didn't stop there, she even shared positivity and self-love quotes on Instagram during her lunch-break at work!

One evening as Mira was walking home from the bus stop on her way back from work, she noticed the evening sky painted a beautiful palette of pink, yellow and orange. She quickly snapped a photo of the sky and posted it on Instagram that night, saying 

'When the walk home from bus stop is worth it...:)'

She was surprised when Vikranth's comment popped up first in her notifications as he had put a surprised face emoji in the comments section and later texted praising her photography skills. Mira got excited and asked,

Mira: So when are you coming to Bangalore?

She watched nervously as Whatsapp displayed, 'typing' for a good thirty seconds before he replied,

Vikranth: Soon :)

An understanding had developed between Mira and Vikranth whereby they wouldn't need to apologise to each other for late replies because no matter what, there would always be a reply from the other side.

***

Preeti's engagement weekend was already here and Mira thanked her luck that she got the Friday off from work so she could leave for Chennai. Preeti had left a few days before and promised Mira that she would send her cousin Chitra to pick her up at the airport. Unlike Bangalore, the sun in Chennai was scorching. Mira felt sweat on her skin the moment she walked out of the airport in Chennai.

Preeti and Harish's engagement was to be held on Sunday and their respective families agreed on it being a small family affair in the presence of mostly close relatives of the bride and groom and their selected close friends. Mira was welcomed by Smitha when she entered their apartment in Chennai who asked her to freshen up and have lunch. She also informed her that Preeti had gone to a boutique to get some last-minute alterations done.

When Preeti was back with her cousin Shruti from the boutique, she nearly pounced on Mira when she hugged her and whispered in her ear, ''Thank god you're here bro...''. It was later that Mira learnt about Preeti's frustration with being around her cousins who would always interrogate her or advice her about the whole 'Love marriage' thing. He cousin, Shruti who was a few years older would only be the one that supported her in all this. So Preeti decided that she only wanted Mira and Shruti around for the next two days.

***

More relatives arrived the following morning at Preeti's place, it was now congested and packed as Preeti's mum ran around like a lunatic looking after the relatives. Her father was also so busy that Mira had only seen him twice at home since she arrived. Mira spent most of the day meeting Preeti's relatives. In the evening, they all went to a temple nearby and offered prayers.