ARJUN SMITH
I was standing in front of the wedding hall, in my traditional attire, the shirt was okay and I don't know
when it will fall from my waist. It was like wearing a towel around my waist but it was thin and silky.
When dad saw my uncomfortable face he said, "Hope your having fun. Wearing veshti is very
comfortable, right?" he said looking down at my veshti.
"No! It was uncomfortable. Couldn't I just wear a tux or something even like, sort of men's chudithar?" I
said.
"Do you forget that your mom follows the South tradition of India and so is Anushiya?" He said her
name with an American accent which was quite funny like I pronouncing the same name. "And don't
forget that I was also in that situation before on your mother's wedding, can't forget that I was her
groom on that day." He said and let out a throaty laugh.
I gave him a small smile.
This wedding maalai on my neck was hurting and itching. Apart from this torture, they told me to hold
dumbbells called wedding bouquets. I tried not to show my angriness to anyone until I got married.
While standing outside an inch away from the main hall, a girl came towards me. I remembered that girl
she's the bride's younger sister and holding a plate in her hand. I was thinking why she's holding a
plate in her hand, did she forgot to eat her breakfast? I was seriously thinking about what she's going to
do. Until she did some O' shape with that plate in front of my face, her hand was moving up and down
as she rotates her hand. Once she finished rotating she took the vermilion from that plate and placed it
on my forehead with her right hand as I bend my head to make it easy for her to reach for my forehead.
As you guys can see that I'm not that arrogant or head-weighted person. I still respect others. And I still
have some humanity left in me from somewhere in my heart.
Once her younger sister finished her job she looked at me with a confused look. I was thinking what did
I do wrong? We both were starring at each other, confused for seconds.
"You've to give your sister-in-law a gift or money to let you go inside to the wedding hall to marry my
sister. I don't leave you inside until my hands get full." She smirked at me.
I turned my left to see my mom who was already giggling as she looking at the bride's younger sister. I
sighed at my mom to do something. She tucked her hand into her handbag and picked something up
and gave it to me to give her.
She accepted the gift from me as she smiled and gestured me inside.
I sat on the groom's chair on the wedding stage waiting to get this marriage drama to be done. The
priests were saying some mantra as he poured oil or ghee in the little bonfire, I don't know correctly but
that's was he was doing from the time I got here.
A fifteen minutes later the priest shouted, "Get the bride to the wedding stage, it's getting too late." So
she said this was also the tradition here to get married before the evil times begin so the bond between
husband and wife will last forever. I don't care about good or evil time to get married. My mom was the
one who forced me to get married and I'm not interested at all. And yeah I also know that I was the one
who accepted to marry her because I'm not born to get rejected. I was born here to reject someone. If I
got rejected by this homely-culture my status will fell from the Himalayas. I was considering this as a
challenge that I was going to win not a wedding at all. Who cares about that dump wedding?
Then she walked to the stage and stood in the middle of the stage and greeted all of the guests who
came there to bless us. She not even looked at the crowd she was anxious. I thought greeting
everyone was her mother's idea. Then the priest told me to sit beside her.
As I sat beside her she ducked her face and her hand made a fist. There was only two meaning for that
either she was angry with me or she was hurt by me. In either way, I don't care. I smirked as I was
going to win the challenge that she never knew was happening.
Then the priest handed over me the wedding chain and told me to wear it on her neck. The chain was
very hard and made of gold. As my hand move towards her neck, I saw her closed eyes and her
cheeks were flooding with tears and she was crying, for marrying me? I paused my hand didn't know
what to do. Guests around me were staring at me like I was a villain.
"What happened?" her mom asked, confused and anxious.
I didn't say anything I just looked at her and sighed to see the bride. She saw her daughter smiled at
me. "This is the tear of joy when women get married" she as she looked at me still smiling.
I nodded and hooked the chain. Then we exchanged that wedding maalai. That was it. We were a
married couple, now.
ANUSHIYA SMITH
I was crying and I couldn't stop it. He stopped his hands halfway to my neck when he saw that but
amma told him that this was the tear of joy. And also he knew why I was crying even though he didn't
care about my tears and hooked the chain on my neck.
That's it.
We were married.
That's how it was, now my last name changed from Vishwanath to Smith.
Once we were done with the wedding photography we went back to the wedding hall. I was crying on
my amma's shoulder because he'd to fly back to New York for his business meeting this Wednesday. I
was crying not because I'm to miss him, I was crying because he's going to take me with him and I'm
going to miss my family. That's when I realized being a girl you've to sacrifice things for your loved ones
with your whole heart.
"Shall we?" a silky smooth voice asked me. I don't have any idea about this voice and I'm not familiar
with it very often. I looked up from my amma's shoulder to see that silky voice's owner.
He was standing in front of me and held out his hand. First of all, I was totally surprised. Second, I
didn't like, him to get upset as if I didn't take his hand. Like I said he was a gentleman.
I don't know what was happening around me the vision in front of me was blurred. I can only see his
hands because my eyes were filled with tears. I looked up to see his face without that blur. I whip my
tears off and saw his deep dark blue eyes with my emotional eyes. And took his hands and stood on
my legs.
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