Predestined

| Matchmaking |

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Shehzad

I could sense it. My legal mind has been trained to read people well.

Shahista Mumani was trying her best to set me up with the bride's elder sister, Ayla. I also knew that Ayla had no interest in marriage at this point in her life. 

"Stand beside Shehzad." My uncle's wife kept encouraging her elder daughter, every time there was a family photo.

"Sorry, dude." Ayla whispered to me once. "Apparently it's illegal to have a desi wedding without matchmaking." 

It was the wedding day now, and Ayat had just arrived and taken a seat beside Affan. Ayat wore a heavily embroidered golden lehenga with a red dupatta with a red hijab covering her head, knotted at the nape of her neck. Affan was wearing a golden sherwani that complimented the bridal gown.

I walked down the stage after the photos were taken and glanced around. Like the mehendi event the night before, the hall was divided between the groom's side on one side and the bridal party on the other. Both sides were divided by the dance floor, and the aisle where all the entrances were made.

The bride's side males wore black sherwanis and the groom's side wore dark blue sherwanis, as a theme decided by both the bride and groom.

I felt a little bored, and sat down on the table on the bride's side, ready to pull out my phone. A golden chandelier hung over the dance floor, spreading out magnificent light over the beautiful hall. Today the hall was decorated in a modest, but beautiful theme. The stage was still adorned by the candles on one side, but this time, the upper beams of the stage were covered with red, pink and white roses, with strings of artificial jasmine flowers hanging out. This was on all three sides of the stage, apart from the front. The ottoman had been replaced by single white chairs with golden frames. 

But as I was about to scroll through my phone, I saw Sobia bending down to talk to her Nano, who sat close to the front of the stage. Wearing a peach lehenga with a peplum shirt that was heavily adorned with mirror work, Sobia looked like royalty. Her hair was hanging in loose curls around her face and flowed down her back. She suddenly reached out and lovingly pinched her Nano's cheek, making me smile.

A wise woman, my mother, used to tell me that the best way to judge a person is based on how they treat the help, or the elderly. "It's easy to lose your patience with the elderly, easy to forget that one day you will also get to that stage. Those who treat the elderly right are the genuine gems."

****

I found myself unable to decide between lamb biryani, or Naan with chicken karahi and a seekh kebab. 

Ayla came up beside me. "Zombie, move along. You can't stand staring at food all day. People are waiting in the queue, you know." 

"I don't know what to get. Why does the human stomach have limits?" I grinned at her.

"Because limits keep things in control. Anything without limits is bad for us, Mister Lawyer." 

I chose the Naan and chicken karahi, adding some salad to my plate and headed back towards the ballroom where the wedding was taking place. As I began to exit the dining area, I was surprised to see Sobia sitting on the window ledge, a plate of biryani set out beside her along with a glass of Coke with ice. 

"Have they ran out of seats in the wedding hall?" I joked, approaching her. "As far as I can see, the groom's side is practically empty." 

It was hilarious, because the bride's side had over three hundred guests, and the groom's side had approximately fifty.