Little girl's wild side

Chapter 37

It was 4 am in the morning but everyone was already awake. Whole place was bustling. The stage was decorated. The mandapam (The stage where the marriage happens) had four pilliars and it was beautifully decorated with flowers all around it. Behind the stage on the center, Lord Ganesh photo was hoisted adorning flowers. There was a pit made out of bricks for fire in the center. Wood and other things needed for the ritual were scattered around. The pandit sat there and was instructing people around for the preparations.

On her room, Sindhu was being dolled up again. Today she had no say what so ever. She was made to wear a whole lot of jewelry and of course the saree which was white with maroon boarder. All in all she looked like a very pretty sleep deprived grumpy princess. She was sent out to go to the mandapam but she took a small detour to get some quiet away from people but of course she bumped into Gautham on her detour.

Gautham came out of his room in white shirt and dhothi draped around his waists. Of course he secured it with a belt. Safety first. Even then he felt very self-conscious so he kept fidgeting with it. He felt like the dhothi would unwind and fall off any moment if he was careful. That was how Sindhu first laid eyes on him. And somehow seeing him so nervous over a piece of clothing and his annoyed expression, a small laugh bubbled at the base of her throat and all the chaotic thoughts and complicated emotions just flew out her head in just a second.

Gautham looked up when he heard the giggle and a blush creeped in for being caught by Sindhu in such an embarrassing state. But the embarrassment did not last long. His face softened seeing her laugh like that. He loved that expression on her even if it was at his expense. His feet took him near her without even realizing.

She looked mesmerizingly perfect at that moment. She at last looked like a bride. A happy bride. He couldn't help the pride that swelled at the thought that she was his bride. At that moment he was afraid to touch her. He felt like his touch would ruin the flawless image in front of him.

Sindhu's laughter stopped abruptly when she saw Gautham looking at her. He looked like his whole world was standing right there in front of him. His eye held that absolute unwavering adoration. It made her feel all sorts of fuzzy inside even when she did not know what she had done to deserve such a look from him.

"Come on lets go. Before someone finds us and we end up getting scolded for sneaking around all over again." Sindhu said bring Gautham out his trance and extending her hands towards him.

Right that moment he was very reluctant to follow Sindhu. If it were up to him, he wanted to take her far away from this place... away from every one. He wished that moment between them had lasted longer, if not forever. But then he really had no choice, so he took Sindhu's hands and followed her.

Few minutes in, they were already surrounded by all sorts of people instructing them to do one ritual after the other. Time flew by without both of them realizing. Sindhu simply followed whatever the people around her said her to do without putting much thought into it. She did not exactly believe in all these rituals anyways. But that moment when Gautham actually tied the knots, the weight of the reality came crashing down on her. From that moment onwards she will be starting a new life which was completely unfamiliar, unchartered and fully unpredictable. Suddenly Sindhu felt very scared. In fact she felt terrified. She wanted to find a hole and hide from the whole world.

Right when she was about to start panicking, Gautham sneakily held her hands in his. Sindhu looked up at him, their eyes met. Gautham slightly squeezed her hands and gave her a reassuring smile that told her everything is going to be just fine. Sindhu took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down.

After that they were asked to get up and walk around the fire. 7 times each. Both their cloths were tied and hands held they circled around.

For all practical purposes marriage was actually over except for some more rituals. So all the people down- the relatives and friends dispersed to get food except for Gautham and Sindhu of course.

They had to finish off some pending things and of course get the blessings of the elders and accept gifts. By the time the whole process got over, she felt like her legs have turned into a jelly. Thankfully they fed her right after.