Second Chance

Chapter 4 - Imran

"I told you before too, Amina," Imran said in annoyance, his arms crossed with a frown on his face. "You know when it comes to things like this, my family is really conservative."

Imran and Amina were in the backroom, waiting to go up on the stage where they would be sitting all night for the valima function—the final big wedding function.

"I don't get it; all my other friends have much more stricter and conservative families. When they got married, dancing was no issue," Amina counters. As they were waiting, Amina's brother—who was in charge of making sure everything happened smoothly—laid out the plans of the night, starting from the entrance of the newlyweds to their exit. He mentioned the couple dance they are supposed to do, which Amina conveniently forgot to mention to Imran about.

"Well, my family is like that, okay? They will get really upset."

"But, what about me? About us?" Amina questions, moving her hand back and forth between them. "It's our wedding, we should make it the way we want it. Why does anyone else's opinion matter?"

"It matters to me. I don't want people saying anything bad about my family or you. And my parents are just as important as you, so don't make me choose," Imran responded snappily. He was glad that they didn't start playing the obnoxiously loud music yet, which would have made it harder for them to have the conversation. They still had almost half an hour before they entered the room and went on the stage. Imran was hoping to resolve this issue before then, hopefully without completely spoiling Amina's mood. He was failing. Badly.

Amina bit her bottom lip and blinked a couple of times to stop any tears before they fell. "I'm not making you choose, Imran. It's just, it's our wedding. I always dreamed of doing this one day."

Imran's face softened and said, "You have to understand what I'm trying to say too. The whole wedding planning went how you wanted it, even after my Phupho made such a ruckus about somethings going against traditions. Can't you just give up this one thing? And, honestly, I'm not comfortable doing a dance either."

A beat of silence passed between them and the muffled sound of people coming in the hall filled the room. Amina sighs before lightly nodding and saying, "Okay—" she gives him a semi-joking glare—"but you better make it up to me."

Imran smiles and pulls Amina into a hug, whispering "I love you," in her ear.

"I love you too."

~oOo~

Imran couldn't help comparing everything to his first wedding. They didn't do days of celebrations and rituals, sticking to two main day—the barat and valima. The barat was a small affair, with only close family members and friends invited from both sides. The valima reception was similar to barat, with fewer people from Rameesha's side attending.

The whole thing was supposed to be simpler than the first time, yet it seemed much more exhausting. All they had to do was get ready, go to the reception halls, people take any pictures they want, get congratulations, eat and go home. There was no grand entrance, performances, dances, or blasting music. It was more like an extravagant dinner, and they were the center of all the attention.

Yet, they were at home, still needed to get ready, and the day seemed dauntingly long ahead of them.

**

Imran watched the retreating back of another person who made a small conversation as if they knew each other their whole life, while Imran didn't even remember his name. The house was bustling with relatives. Some of them came from other states and were staying at there house, while others were the ones who lived nearby and decided to come over as well. From the look of how many people were roaming around, the neighbors had come over too.