Pranbir Short Stories

Engaged has a good ring to it

This chapter is dedicated to IshikaBhalerao.
Hope you will like it...

A crowded area.... You know what a crowded place feel like... somewhere that is filled with people, where it's difficult to breathe properly because the room's oxygen is being shared by so many people.
Strangers that are busy in their own work and are rushing around.

That was the exact same scene of Sarita Aunty's house. Loads of people were there: busy with their jobs. Some would think that Sarita Aunty got a new order...
She had indeed got one, but this one was special... and topped all others.
It was closer to her heart... and why not? After all, it was one of her favorite girls' engagement.
Two girls who became like her family: Shahana and Prachi. And now one was getting engaged tonight.

The house was in a chaotic state with decorations going on in the hall and Sarita Aunty and Pragya outside preparing the food items. They didn't get any other food catering. They wanted to do it by themselves, but none thought that it will be an additional stress.

Prachi and Shahana were helping with the decorations inside.
Shahana: "Where are the boys doing that?"
She pointed to an area where the decorations were left incomplete.
Prachi: "Why are you stressing so much? Relax, I will do it..."
She climbed onto the ladder and fixed the decorations despite Shahana's attempt to stop her.
Shahana: "Prachi, you are so stubborn."
The latter just smiled at her sister and completed the decorations.

Hours went on as the ladies completed every preparations for tonight's ceremony. And as, they finished, they had an hour to spare to get ready.

The two girls were helping each other getting dressed when they heard something falling.
Shahana, annoyingly: "These decorators cannot be trusted..."
Prachi: "You finish getting ready, I will see it. There is no need to stress about this, Shahana. How are you going to enjoy if you are stressed about little things like that. I will see it..."
Shahana: "But Prachi..."
Her sister was already out of the room before she could continue.

Prachi walked into the hall and her eyes went over everything. Everything was in placed and she moved outside to check.
There, she saw the flowers stand that had fallen from the ceiling.

She picked it up and thought what to do. She spotted the ladder that the decorators were using previously and moved it near the small steps. She placed it on the top one and climbed it. Balancing the flowers and herself, she readied the necessary height and began attaching the flowers to its original place.
At one point, she had to lean forward and tied the end of it. However, she didn't realize that while she had started to lean, her weight caused the ladder to move and it reached the edge of the stairs.

Prachi leaned further and the one leg of the ladder slipped the edge. This made her stumble and she felt herself falling down.
A small yelp came out from her as she anticipated the fall and her eyes closed on their own.

A few seconds later, she realized that the fall hadn't occurred and she opened one eye to look at the happening. But when she did, she was staring right back into the brown ones of someone.
And as the flowers hadn't been attached properly, the petals had started to fall out and it fell around them and on them.
The brown eyes stared at hers lovingly and in the most appreciative way.
The fear in her eyes had vanished as she knew that she was safe... actually safer than safe.

As she dived deep into those eyes, she noticed how they changed to a mischievous ones and knew he would say something.
"Looks like the bride was running away from her own engagement...."
A small smile came onto her face as she realized that he was joking.

He knew too well that she wasn't escaping their engagement... the engagement that they both have been waiting for. No secret one, but a real one with their families.