The Bride Trilogy - Part 1 - The Chosen Bride

Chapter 1: Biwi Ho To Aisi

"Khushi didi.... Khushi didi", The little kid ran over as soon as she saw Khushi walking into the gates of the shelter home.

"Hi Babbli", Khushi bent down as the kid reached her, and scooped up the little 3-yr-old, giving her a whirl as Babbli giggled and squirmed in delight.

"Khushi didi, I know how to write now", she exclaimed in delight.

Khushi was taken aback by this statement out of the blue, "Really? That is wonderful. Will you write me a letter then?", she asked.

"Yes. I already made you a card for your birthday".

"Awwww, that is so lovely. Where is it? I can't wait to see it!"

"I'll get it for you", Babbli exclaimed, gratified with her Khushi didi's response. She wiggled until Khushi put her down, and ran away.

Sunaina, the caretaker there, smiled as she watched Babbli run away, smiling broadly.

"Good morning, Sunaina aunty", Khushi exclaimed chirpily.

"Good morning, Khushi. You came to drop off the clothes?", she asked.

"Yeah. Satya is getting the boxes from the car", she said, gesturing towards the watchman who was helping her with the bags, as she picked up the two bags she'd put down as soon as she saw Babbli running towards her.

"That's a lot of clothes, Khushi", Sunaina exclaimed in surprise.

"Yeah, the collection went very well this time. And we contacted St Teresa's school and they had their students bring their old clothes in, so we have a lot of kids clothes too this time", she smiled broadly.

"Thanks for all the work, Khushi!"

"Come on Aunty. This is nothing! You do so much for these people, this is the least I could do. I feel bad that I cannot do more", Khushi told her seriously.

"Well, those free checkups do come in handy, I have to admit. So if you could continue those....", Sunaina told her, tongue-in-cheek.

Khushi laughed, "But of course, Aunty! We'll do the yearly and the newcomers, and I can come in anytime if there are any emergencies", she promised.

They entered Sunaina's office, still smiling and chatting, and Khushi put the clothes down in the corner as told. Just then, Babbli ran up to her and showed her the card she'd made.

Khushi looked at the squiggles and lines that didn't make any sense, expecting nothing more from a three-yr-old, but the love that went into the thought overwhelmed her, and she bent down and hugged the thin, malnourished kid with the huge smile on her face.

By force of habit, she did a quick overall check of her ribs and shoulders and was gratified to feel the healing bones.

Sunaina smiled at her gesture, "How's she doing?", she asked quietly.

"Looks like the ribs have healed. I'll check her breathing in a bit. Has her weight increased?", Khushi asked, smiling at the little girl.

"Yes, by two whole kilos", Sunaina told her proudly.

"DaiMa gave me a huge omelet this morning, and I ate all of it", Babbli told her proudly.

"DaiMa has taken it upon herself to ensure that Babbli reaches weight way before the timeline you gave us", Sunaina told Khushi.

"Not too fast, Aunty. Otherwise her system won't be able to handle it", Khushi warned.

Sunaina just nodded in understanding.

"Will you come play with us, Khushi didi?", Babbli asked her.

"I need to talk to Aunty here and then I have to meet a few other people. But after that, I'll come play with you guys for a bit, ok?", Khushi told her.