Best Friends Forever(#YourStoryIndia)

25

AFREEN

I walked cautiously to my home, knowing,  that I was really late. It was only 6 in the evening. Since it was a Saturday, I was quite early, compared to the other days. 

I took a deep breath and rang the bell, hoping that it was not my father who opened the door. And you know what they say about false hope!!!

I looked up to see my dad glaring at me and quickly got busy with removing my shoes which required my undivided attention. After about five minutes he moved a step back and I moved a step in and finally,  looked at him and smiled brightly which set him off, as I knew it would. 

"Do you know what time it is? You are always late, always. Atleast today you should have come early. Are you planning to  humiliate me? What if the guests had come before you did? " He almost yelled at me.

Yes. today was the day. The day when a guy was coming to see me for a  marriage proposal. 

"Yeh ladki apki izzath mitti me milake rahegi."( this girl will surely ruin your honor.)  I heard a shrill voice say and  looked around to see that almost all of my family was here. My uncles, aunts, some of my cousins, everyone was here and that voice belonged to none other than,  the Ice queen, one of my dad's sister. I don't know what I have done to her, but she's always had a hatred towards me and all this drama with the marriage,  was her idea. I tried not to glare at her and without saying a word marched to my room.

My mom stood near the door and said, "Get ready soon. The groom and his family will be here,  anytime now. Your abbu (dad) got a call." 

"This is not fair." I said, almost to tears. 

"Just this once, listen to your dad. The guy is good, has a good job and is settled. What else do you want ? You know I cannot go against your father's wishes and can't say anything when his family is here." She said and pulled out my best salwar suit and continued, "You will look amazing in this. Get ready soon and come out." 

I sat down on my bed in a daze. What am I going to do?  If they already like the guy, will they even consider my opinion? I picked up my cell to call Ana or Diya and kept it down as I realized they would probably be in the middle of watching the movie and I didn't want to disturb them and ruin their date. Should I call Farhan? No, no, I cant. He'll worry himself to death. What do I do?  

Someone banged on my door and called out, "Afreen,  are you ready? " 

"In a minute." I called out. 

I finally got ready and pulled on a matching scarf over my head. My mom hurried inside and said, "You are not ready? They are almost here.  Why have you put that scarf on? Remove it and brush your hair properly and leave it open  and for god's sake don't wear your glasses." 

I looked at my mom in shock. "So now I'm supposed to remove the scarf. They are strangers. How is dad okay with that and if I remove my glasses I will not be able to see properly." I yelled at her.

"Don't yell at your mother. Do as your told. I don't want any trouble from you. Do you understand?" My dad said, who had come into my room just in time to hear me yell at mom. He waited till I nodded and then left. 

I didn't even apply some cream or powder on my face. I tried to make myself pale and deathly. 

I was made to sit in my room and I could hear them outside. Looks like they just arrived. Ice queen was giving a fake laugh  at something stupid one of the guest's said. Sweets and snacks were offered to them and I heard my dad tell my mom,  to get me. 

I took a deep breath. This is it. I need to make sure he doesn't like me. My mother looked at me with disapproval. She was not happy with the way I had gotten ready or lack of it. She just shook her head and gently guided me out of my room. I tried to release her hold on my hand but she held on tight and I let her. Stupid rituals and believes. As if,  I couldn't walk on my own. 

Everything was a bit blurry, as I was not wearing my glasses. but I could still make out my dad, mainly because of the glare he was shooting in my direction and my aunt who was dripping with hatred for me. Finally,  my eyes landed on the guests. There were two women and three men. One couple must  be his parents and the other must be relatives. With the limited sight I had, I could just make out,  that the guy was old, like maybe nearing 30s. OMG!! This is not happening to me. 

My dad introduced me to them and vice versa. I didn't even hear the guy's name, since I was in a daze. 

"Say hello to them Afreen.... AFREEN." He said a bit loudly. 

I came out of my daze and gave all of them a stiff smile and said, "Hello." 

"I heard your still studying. Doing your Bachelors isn't it?" One of the lady asked, I think it is the guy's mother. 

I just nodded, mutely. 

The elder's exchanged glances at my response, clearly unsettled.

One of my favorite uncles, okay , okay, my only favorite uncle came to my rescue, "Haha, Our daughter is very shy. She is meek and doesn't interact with strangers much." I tried to hide my smirk. Meek and little old me?!!

The older bunch smiled, relieved at this and the woman (mother?) said, "I hope we won't have to be strangers for long." 

EEEkk. no ways I'm going to marry an old man. He was a perv. I could feel him staring at me and parts of me, right in front of our elders and no one had an issue with it. but I wanna continue my studies, that becomes a sin. He was wearing socks, that were too lose for him and don't even get me started on the clothes he wore. He was smiling creepily at me. I felt like going and taking a shower right then.

"Where do you work, beta (son)? " My uncle asked.

My eyes widened at his response. He was in a bigshot IT company and has been working there for 10 years. I was right.  He was in his 30s maybe mid-30s. I was a child compared to him. How could he even be okay with marrying a girl of my age. ughhhh!! pervert.

"If you have questions, you can ask her." Ice queen said, to the guy. Like this was a viva and I was the examinee. Didn't anyone care that I have questions. First would be,  are you a pedophile?

 "Do you want to continue your studies after marriage?" He asked.

All eyes turned to me, waiting for my answer. I could feel the glares of my dad and Ice queen,  daring me to give a wrong answer.

"Yes." I said and if looks could kill, I would be 6 feet under by now. 

  His mother said, "You can study further,  after getting married. We don't have any issue with it."   

I grimaced at her, which hopefully could be passed off as a smile. 

Then,  they all got up and everyone headed to the door. The guy's father hugged my dad and said, "We like your daughter. Its mostly a yes from us. But, we will discuss it with our son once. Hope we become relatives." My father beamed at that and continued standing there, till they had left.

All the energy drained from my body and I sank into the nearest chair. They said  yes and looking at my father's face,  I knew he was not going to listen to me. What am I going to do???