After The Rain

Chapter Twenty-Five - A Thousand Storms

It was how we began. Your mouth against mine, your fingers tracing along the back of my neck.

You asked me to imagine what it must have been like, for the first two people who fell in love; before the word love was conceived.

You said it felt like that for you. Like we existed in a time before love - as though we were waiting for the word to catch up to the feeling.

- Lang Leav (How We Began)

~

The priest had suggested a date merely three days away and protests immediately broke again, this time from both families. And Khushi cannot even remember how many promises she made, and what exactly she said so they wouldn't postpone the wedding again.

All in all, she was now supposed to spend the entirety of her time either sitting down or laying down, and that under no circumstances was she to forget her medicines or scheduled meals. She had began to feel a little upset at all of this, having always wanted to bounce around and join in as everyone danced their way into madness during her sister's wedding. It was one of the things she was looking forward to. She wanted to just let loose and enjoy the day her Jiji finally got her happy ever after. Instead, she was stuck with a dozen tablets of medicines hanging over her head 24/7 and a very angry Bua-ji constantly reminding her of what terms she agreed to.

It's not like the families did not try to keep her involved. It was more the fact that she spent the bulk of her time too lethargic to do anything. She tried once to miss the medicine that made her sleepy, but the pain that throbbed through her body made her think against it.

When the big day finally came however, the sight of her sister as a bride-the world's most beautiful bride, might she add-all the discomfort and disappointment washed away instantly. Khushi would have gladly given up everything just for that sight, especially for the look of teary euphoria that broke on Payal's face when Akash descended the stairs and made his way to her.

Time after that was some of the happiest in Khushi's life. It no longer mattered that she was tethered to a chair, or that she could not participate in the fierce dance battle that broke between the bride's and groom's families after the ceremony. Everything was perfect. Her sister was married, finally.

It was halfway through the reception, when the high of euphoria started coming down, that Khushi could no longer ignore the mild currents of pain that shot through her body. Especially because they were no longer mild.

Sitting at one of the farthest corners of the hall, so no one would bump into her accidentally, with her mother on her side, she started registering the pulsating feeling in her right leg. She knew something was not right and as she subtly moved her lehenga-a light and dark green flowy material-she noticed that the red on the bandage was increasing.

She resisted the urge to curse under her breath and contemplated whether or not to tell her mother. Before she could decide, a relative came to the table to ask Garima to the dance floor. Garima refused but turned to Khushi when the relative-a plump woman in a dark purple saree that glittered with a hundred pearls-persisted, and asked whether she will be okay for a few minutes. Managing a tight lipped smile, Khushi nodded.

She waited for her mother to get across the hall and once Garima joined the rest of the party, she began standing up.

There was no point telling anyone, she thought. She just needed a bandage change, and she knew for a fact that the Raizadas have a first aid box in every room of the house. She could just sneak into the guest room, deal with whatever mess was going down her leg, and then re-join the party without causing an alarm that would likely put an early stop to the whole ceremony.