The Wedding and Other Short Stories

The Wedding

      I lay there, listening to the sounds my partner made while he slept. He snored, but I didn't mind. It was one of the things that put me at ease. Some people say that snoring keeps them up at night, but it reminds me that he's lying beside me. I rolled over in the bed we shared to face him. I studied his calm face and rested my hand on his smooth cheek. He was an all-around great person, from his looks to his soul and I was lucky to have him. I closed my eyes and started to succumb to my dreams with a smile curled upon my lips.

                               —

     It was my wedding day, and I was all dressed in white. I stood in the mirror, watching as my bridesmaids did my hair and laid the veil over my porcelain face. It was going to be perfect, I thought to myself as I studied the intricate details of my gown. We will live a peaceful life and.... As the ladies behind me stepped away, I tilted my head to study my face. It was covered but I still noticed right away something was wrong. It was no longer my face staring back at me. It was someone else's.

     All of a sudden, the scene flips, and I was standing amongst the crowd of people. We were in a beautiful park; the same park I had chosen for our sacred event. Everything looked and seemed perfect, but something was still off. What I had seen prior left me shaking in my heels and the oncoming weather didn't help either. I looked up to the sky and saw dark clouds rolling in. The wind had also picked up and was chilling me to the bone, almost as if we were still in the midst of winter. I didn't think it was supposed to rain on our special day. The weatherman even said that the weekend was going to have clear skies. Maybe we should move this party inside, I thought to myself.

     But why was I here and not in my dressing room? I crossed my arms over my chest, a way to keep myself warm, and rubbed them. That's when I noticed I was no longer in my wedding gown. I was now wearing a long-sleeved black dress which ended at my mid-calf. I shouldn't be in black. This was my wedding, not my funeral. I looked up at the faces that surrounded me and saw that they weren't staring at me in bewilderment. They were looking up at my altar with wide smiles and sparkling eyes. I followed their gaze and my face drained of its natural color.

      Before us stood my husband to be with another woman. She was wearing my dress and holding his hands. There is something very wrong with this scene. I was supposed to be up there, not her. My fiancé wasn't even staring at her. He was staring at me, with no emotion whatsoever. I tried to force my way through the crowd to the stage, but I couldn't move. I was glued to my spot. Meanwhile, the woman who stood in my place was not wearing a veil and smiling brilliantly. She was incredibly beautiful, model-worthy in fact. She was in his league, unlike me. I should have known better than that.

      Tears flowed and time flew. Most of the people there were crying out of joy, but not me. My tears were full of pain. I couldn't stop this madness. Suddenly, the pastor asked if anyone in the crowd was against this marriage. I couldn't move, but I had regained my voice. I started to mumble when a voice rang out,

      "He is my boyfriend! I don't know why he is marrying that tramp!"

      Everyone around me erupted in shock and my paralysis disappeared. I turned my head to look at the female who had spoken up and saw yet another pretty face. All around me chaos started to ensue. Women were fighting and yelling, claiming that he was their boyfriend or husband. I wasn't partaking in the madness, but they probably couldn't understand my pain. At this point, my tears were dropping like lead. This wasn't how our day was supposed to go.

     The priest pushed past the irritated bride and my groom to hush the crowd. He then said,

      "Who here is this man's partner?"

      Now everyone was female, and their hands were raised high in the air. They were waving their delicate hands around, trying to slap their opponents' hands away. The only person whose hand wasn't raised was mine. I was too busy holding my head and wiping away tears. Plus, I can't even compete with these women. This was what was wrong the entire time. I shouldn't be with him. He deserves better.

      I jumped up from my spot and ran away from it all. I ran away from the bride who was abusing my groom and him who was trying to run too. Not away from his duties, but away from her. He was chasing after me yelling my name, but I ignored him. I ran until I hit the end and I saw the light. Not the light you would see if you died though. It was the light that peeked through the windows on an early spring day.

                                —

      My eyes snapped open, and I looked around. I was back in our room, clinging to him for dear life. It was just a dream, and it would only ever be that. As I stared up at his face, I knew none of this was true. It would never be true. He could have any girl in the world, but he chose me. He has proven he loved me time and time again and I am the same. The smile from the night prior returned to my face and I buried my head into his shoulder. All is well.