Not-So-Girly-Girlfriends #MissionDesi #YourStoryIndia

Getting the Permission

Alisha

"You girls cannot be serious," said my mother.

"The wedding is in one and a half months and you girls want to go out on a picnic doing stupid things? Not to forget that you all sneaked out of the house in the middle of the night and came back at 10 a.m. Seriously?" my father scolded.

The night was pretty good. We all were hyper excited about the plan we had made and it was a really good distraction but god knows how we all dozed off there itself. My parents had sent a search party for all of us. They literally thought that I ran away. I should have, really.

"The girls must be joking," said mom.

We all are standing in a horizontal line facing my parents. This brings back the images of the past when we all used to stand like this in front of my father when our neighbor here used to complain about us, to our parents, for having robbed his mangoes. We knew robbing was wrong, we were 15+, duh! And we also knew that we will fall into trouble but that did not stop us. Every time we came here, we jumped through the compound wall and entered his huge backyard and threw stones at his ripen mangoes and eat them before anyone noticed. It wasn't that we didn't get mangoes. There used to be a big box full of mangoes, sufficient for all of us, in the kitchen but the thrill of either throwing stones at the tree to make the mangoes fall or climbing up the tree to get the mangoes has its own fun. Its better and delicious than any other mango we eat from those at home. And it used to be fun to stand like this in front of my dad when the neighbor used to tell him to punish us, and when he went outside, my dad would tell us how we could get more mangoes from his backyard. Ah, those beautiful days!

"We really want to go," Myra said.

"This might be the last time we get to do this kind of thing. I mean, I hope not, but, things do change after your best friend gets married," Vicky says. True that.

"But there is so much more to do. All the arrangements are left. Her dress is to be chosen. And even if we do allow for this trip of yours, Jay also needs to be told and what if he doesn't allow? What if he wants you to be there throughout the preparations? Would you go," dad said. Jay, again! Why does he get to decide here as well? He might be my fiance but I am not yet married. I can still take my own decisions. Can I not?

"But uncle, you can talk to him on our behalf, right? You can persuade him. He will listen to you," Zara said. And from there, the sugar coating started. All the girls at one time talking to my dad, showing their puppy faces. This is getting into my head.

"Shut up, people," I yelled. "I want to make this trip happen. I want to do all those things mentioned in this list. You want to see me dressed up as a bride and get married off to Jay, then you have to let me go. You have to let me go. I need this. I will turn into a psycho if you keep me here for even a day. I need to be free. I cannot take this. This is not me. If you want me to get married, let me go, please! I need some space to breathe. I need to live before I get married. Live the way I never will after I get married. Please, I need this," I said in a breathe. I am sure my parents understood my desperation because they went into a silent mode, which meant that they were thinking, which means that they are considering my proposal.

"Okay. Fine," for a mini second we all were having a break dance in our heads before my dad added, "But you will talk to him before you leave, not on call but in person."

Great! I need to take a leave approval from my boss. Why cant this be simple? I am tired of this melo-drama. Things as dramatic as all these events have never happened in my life. Maybe that's why the Gods have decided to shower all the drama in my entire life in this one phase of it.

"Okay," I said and stormed out of the room.