The Dress

The heat was suffocating.

The scant summer breeze filtered through the balcony, swaying the curtains that generated a sinuous dance with the last rays of sunlight of the day. The sound of the fountain in the garden filled the room along with the noise coming from the living room, where the servants were making final preparations. The spicy smell of the delicious banquet that the cook had been preparing for several days made his stomach churn.

Latika was lying on her unmade bed, tangled in the mess of sheets that stuck to her sweaty skin. She would probably feel more comfortable next to the balcony, where the coolness of the water splashing from the fountain made the heat more bearable, but Latika didn't want to get out of bed. That was her way of protesting, and although she knew that strategy was getting her nowhere, she was determined to see it through to the end.

In front of her, on a carved wooden mannequin, the wedding dress seemed to mock her. The blood red color was too intense for her to like, but there was something hypnotic about it that compelled her to look at it. She had been looking at it for a whole hour, and the more she did it, the less she felt prepared to wear it.

That moment was beginning to approach when she believed she should begin to resign himself. She had been waging war for days, trying to sabotage that wedding, but nothing she did seemed to have any effect. Each attempt had been crazier than the last, more risky, but there was always someone who excused the future bride and everyone smiled with pleasure. That condescension was driving her crazy and that was precisely how she had ended up that morning, locking herself in her room, refusing to eat or participate in her preparations, praying to the gods to save her.

But why would the gods bother to help a poor unfortunate woman who didn't want to be married against her will? No, the gods did not intercede in the lives of mortals, much less for matters of such little importance. No, she was alone.

There was a knock at the door. They had been doing it all day and she had no plans to give in. She brushed her sweat-damp bangs out of her eyes, she wished she were in the river with her friends playing in the water without worries. The insistent sound of the door brought her out of her reverie and she sighed dejectedly.

"Tika, please open the door." Latika jumped in surprise. It was her big brother, Mavi. There was a false hint of tenderness in his voice, but the tone was undeniably harsh. Things must have been starting to get really tense if they had turned to him.

Latika was silent, but she sat up. Mavi wasn't like her mother, or even her father. No, Mavi would break down the door once she exhausted his patience and it's not like the gods had blessed him with too much. Latika began to look around her bedroom for something, some solution, as if she didn't know her room and everything in it wonderfully, as if she were going to find the answer to all her problems written on some wall. Mavi knocked again, louder.

"Stop this nonsense and open the door once and for all."

Latika froze, her mind racing. There she was, in the middle of the room not knowing what to do. Her gaze fixed on the door, her imposing dress behind her back and her heart pounding in her chest. If Mavi entered, the tantrums that she used with her father would be of no use to her.

"Open the door, Latika!" her brother began banging on the door with real violence, shouting furiously. "You are not going to embarrass this family."

Fear was already running through her body. She could face her parents, but Mavi truly terrified her. She took a fearful step towards the door, she preferred to open it before he broke it down and it was too late. He continued pounding the door with his fists, making it vibrate dangerously. Should she confront him? Latika had always considered herself brave, and she knew that her bad character was known throughout Madani-Ina, but Mavi... Mavi had something that terrified her to the depths of her being. He had that shine in his eyes, the one that makes your skin crawl and your throat dry.