She's Taken

Princess Rini

Third Person's POV

At 7:45, Mrs. Sharma realized that one of both of her dearest princesses is still in her dreams while her class mates must be about to reach school. She went to the room to wake her up while her younger daughter is already up and getting ready.

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Dharini's POV

"Rini, wake up now! Drishti is ready for school!" Mumma's voice echoed through the house.

"Yes, Mumma, just five more minutes," I mumbled, half-asleep.

"Wake up now, or I'll pour water on you!" she threatened. Instantly, I bolted upright. "No, Mumma, I'm awake!"

"Oh God, this girl is so lazy. Her mother-in-law will say, 'You sent such a lazy girl to our house,'" she muttered as she left the room, her voice trailing off with more words of praise. I hurried to the washroom, completed my morning routine, and got ready for school. Today was my monthly Maths test. I despise this subject because I don't understand it at all. I somehow manage to scrape 4-5 marks and barely pass. Being introverted and too shy to ask for help only makes matters worse. I don't have any real friends; people think I have an attitude problem, but the truth is I'm just very reserved and take time to open up. This makes me seem aloof, and I remain lonely. I've never been in a relationship, not that any guy has approached me.

Pushing these thoughts aside, I packed my tiffin and bottle in my bag, tied my shoelaces, grabbed the pickle and two parathas Mumma had prepared, and left home while eating. My school is 1 km from home, so I always walk. Some of my classmates come by cycle, and some on their father's scooter. My father has a scooter too, which he bought after a good Rabi crop season, but he only takes us to the market on it. Not that I'm complaining. He's a wonderful father, never raising his voice at me or Drishti. He says we are his most important capital, and his dream is to see us happy and satisfied with our lives.

We reached school and went our separate ways. I went to my classroom, put my bag down, and headed to the assembly ground for prayer. After prayer, I returned to class with my classmates. Soon, our class teacher, Manish Sir, arrived and took attendance. He teaches Hindi and is quite strict, treating us like a bunch of idlis. No student likes him, except Ajit.

The second period was with Pathak Sir, who teaches Physics. He is also strict but approachable. He hates untidiness and randomly conducts class tests, so we have a love-hate relationship with him. The third class was with Animesh Sir, who teaches Chemistry. I love this subject, though many students find it difficult. My only enemy is Maths. In this monthly test, I scored 8¾ in Chemistry.

The lunch bell rang, and everyone ran out of class—some to the washroom, some to eat in the garden, and some to buy samosas from the stall outside school. I, as always, stayed at my bench, opened my tiffin, and started eating. There are 3-4 students like me who mind their own business. Mumma had packed parathas and cauliflower. I quickly finished my lunch, and just as I washed my hands, the bell rang.

It was time for my enemy, Maths! Anav Sir arrived, and we greeted him. He gestured for us to sit without looking at us. I bet he doesn’t like us greeting him in a sing-song manner, but as a teacher, he can’t say that. He wrote the questions on the board. Oh dear, I don’t know how to solve the first question, or the second. I know how to solve the third and fourth. I know the fifth as well—yay! But as soon as I started solving the fifth, I realized I only knew half the process and couldn’t arrive at the answer. I’m doomed. The bell rang, so we submitted our test copies.

The last period was English, taught by Rajeev Sir. He arrives on time, teaches, asks questions, and leaves on time. He is the most friendly teacher in our class.

After the bell rang, I came out of my class and waited near the gate for Drishti. Unlike me, she has many real friends. Once, she ruined a friend's brand-new bag by accidentally spilling ink on it, but her friend never yelled at her. There she is.

As soon as we got home, silence welcomed us. “Mumma!” I called.

“Go, both of you, freshen up and come eat fruits.”

“Okay, Mumma,” we said in unison.

We came out and saw Papa was home as well.

“Oh wow, Papa, you came back early today,” said Drishti.

“Yes, beta.”

Something felt off.

After a while, Papa said, “Drishti, go and study now.” She went to our room. Now I was sure something was up.

“Rini, come here,” Papa said softly.

“Yes, Papa?”

“Are you, by any chance, friends with Jharna?”

“No, Papa, I know her, but she’s not my friend. I don’t like her.”

“Okay, beta.”

“Papa, for the past few months, I’ve noticed you keep asking me about random girls.”

Mumma suddenly got up and went to the kitchen. Weird.

“Beta, all those girls brought shame to their parents. They were involved with boys. Ritu and Deepti, about whom I asked a few months back, ran away, and Sakshi got pregnant.”

"But she's not married, Papa?"

"Exactly. Today, I saw Jharna with a boy at the old temple."

Mumma then chimed in, "Let's get Rini married soon. All those girls are her age, and if anybody knows about it or if such cases increase, we'll have difficulty finding a suitable groom for her."

I was speechless. I didn’t know how to react. Neither could I say yes, nor could I say no. I looked at Papa helplessly.

"We'll get her married, but after 12th. First, my daughter will complete her 12th, and then we'll look for prospects," Papa replied, which relaxed me. But then Mumma added, "We can at least start finding a groom for her, get her engaged, and request them to postpone the marriage until she completes her 12th."

"Let's see," Papa said.

Oh no, what do I do now?

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Please note that this story is set in the 90's background where relationships before marriage is really as big thing. And marrying their daughters as soon as they turn 18 was no big deal. Even in some places, it still happens.