Miracle Marriage

Chapter 2

Unpredictable Events

I and Durga gazed out the window at the groom and his family as they arrived in a white ambassador car. Our eyes scoured the crowd for the groom.

"Dho! (there!)," Durga pointed her finger at someone.

"Mappileya? (Is it groom?)" I asked her, glancing in the direction she pointed.

"Illai (no) his mother I think," she replied with a grin.

"Kalutai! (donkey!) Who needs to see Akka's mother-in-law, I want to see the doctor Mappilai," I said keenly.

"Then let's watch from the door side, he will sit in front with his mother, right?" Durga responded by eating a laddoo (a sweet) off the tray that passed by, smiling with her mouth full of laddoo.

"You are not that much Kalutai after all," I happily patted her shoulder and headed to the front hall entrance. Everyone took a seat. They began conversing about family matters, something I am not interested in. My gaze was drawn to the person seated next to my Akka's prospective mother-in-law. He is the one. He is the groom.

He's a little older, but not like the elder people I know. He's rather handsome. He stands taller and is dressed in a crisply pressed shirt and trousers. His beard and moustache are fading black and white, and his hair is combed backwards. He has a gentle and calm demeanour. His smile is also kind. As expected from a respected doctor, I want to be like him. I'm thrilled to be meeting him, and he'll soon become family. As Durga says, I may be the luckiest girl in the world. They called my sister out as I and Durga were observing them from inside, simply sticking our heads out like tortoises. As he peered inside the home, the groom noticed our heads and made a surprised expression with a tiny grin. Durga withdrew her head inside when she saw the groom's smile, but I waved my hand to him. His grin widened slightly as he returned the wave. Suddenly, my Amma towed me back since I was blocking the path, and we proceeded to the hall with my Akka and others. I took a seat next to my Appa with Durga.

"Ma, what's your name?" Groom's mother asked my Akka.

"Suriya Sundarmani," my Akka responded graciously. The entire interview process was tedious. Both families competed in glorifying the bride and groom. I glanced at the groom who was simply smiling at others. He had a tired expression as if he wants his mother to stop telling his heroic hospital stories. I want to laugh so badly at his expression at the same time I feel bad. Whenever our eyes met I smiled widely at him, and he returned that grin.

"Sundarmani, we like your girl and we like to proceed with this alliance, what do you say?" the groom's mother inquired.

"We are also happy with this alliance, let's proceed with it," my parents, Akka, and others were all pleased, but I was the happiest of them all. Following that, they exchanged wedding agreements, and my family hosted them for a feast. The wedding was set for one week since the groom couldn't take any longer leave.

"Dei, Where are you going?" Durga inquired as I dragged her through the halls. I was looking for the groom because I wanted to ask him a lot of questions. Finally, I spotted him outside with my Akka, chatting about something. We approached them.

"This is Sathya, my younger sister and Durga our neighbour and her best friend." We were introduced to the groom by Akka. He gave us a warm grin. Amma's voice halted me as I was going to question him about obtaining a doctor's degree.

"Mappilai, Suriya... come inside and have food. Everyone is waiting for you," that's how I blew my chance. But that's okay since he'll be my brother-in-law and I'll be able to chat with him a lot. We all sat down after they left our place and chatted about how kind and courteous the groom is. My Amma liked him better than my Akka. I didn't notice any joy or enthusiasm on Akka's face, her smile doesn't have her usual energy; I think she was bashful.