Family At First Sight

Chapter Six

"They said no", my dad said.

I was not sure if I heard him right so I asked him again. He said that they were not ready to accept this alliance between our families, since the astrologer who's been consulted by his family for generations deemed that our horoscopes are not a good match. Ideally, our zodiac signs were a match, but our horoscope match seems to be complicated, they said. Aditya's dad apologized to mine humbly and said that they really wanted this marriage to happen. My dad was clearly irritate by this revelation and so was my mom. They were rambling about how they should have checked all these stuffs before meeting up and not now, after we've decided to agree to get me and Aditya married. My dad pacified me and promised me that he will search a much better man for me, just like any caring father would do. I didn't say much that time. I convinced my parents that it was not a big deal and we should forget that we ever met with them. And quite frankly, there was nothing much that could be done at this point. I made sure that they were nor anymore worried about this complete situation and once I was convinced that they were fine, I left to my room.

Once I locked the door to my room, I fell on my bed and started pouring out all my emotions through tears. I was not sure why I was sad in the first place or even if I was sad at all. I felt so many emotions tumble through my mind and the heart too and it was too much to bear. Maybe because I thought this marriage was a decided deal, since their whole family seemed to be happy with me or maybe because I wanted to be a part of that big, beautiful family or maybe I was so fascinated by that man that I dreamt of being next to him forever. I was not sure what the reason was, but all I realized was that, I would never forget this incident in my life. Or the man I saw that day, like his eyes would haunt me like a worst nightmare. I have not tasted rejection in my life much, so this was a new feeling to me. I didn't believe much in fate, but I did believe that whatever happens, it happens for good. I spent the whole day on my room, going out only to eat and doing chores. I was not feeling chatty that day and my parents understood the situation, since they gave me my much needed privacy.

After few days, my life turned back to normal, and my parents started searching a suitable guy for me, again. I didn't show much interest now, maybe because of my previous rejection, so my folks spoke about this to me only when there was a dire need of my opinion. I really  appreciated their understanding on this. Although I seemed normal, there was a part of me that still was sore. I still wondered if Aditya ever thought of me or was he seeing other women showed by his parents, so he could get married. Or had he already chosen a woman. All these questions were totally useless, yet I had them in my mind and so was he. This man has clearly ruined me for all the other men, with his charm and smile. I wish I could meet him and beat the hell out of him, only for making me feel wanted and then leaving me hanging in the mid- air. But his cute smile was also another thing. The way he looked at me in the garden, like he actually liked me, was the only thing I could think of. Gods! For the first time in my life, I wanted to both kiss and kill someone at the same time.

Clearly, my friends were well aware of my current situation. They didn't want me to be sad, so they tried cheering me up in all the possible ways. We met up in the weekends and watched movies together. Pyjama parties were always our thing, so we could meet up and do nothing except kitty fighting, movies and binge eating. It was our kind of coping mechanism. And it worked really well for us all these years. We also started going out to restaurants, theatres and malls. We did a lot of shopping, groomed ourselves, so we could look pretty, just for our own self- confidence and satisfaction. My friends were my anchor to life and I hung to them close, so that I wouldn't slip away.

After three months or so, we went out as usual on a weekend to a mall. We watched a romantic movie and decided to have lunch as well, in the mall. We were having fun and food was always a source of happiness, to me personally. Good friends and good food are hard to come by and even more harder to find. We opted for North Indian cuisine and chose a good restaurant inside the mall. Just as we were about to enter the restaurant, I almost collided with something. At first I thought I bumped into a wall but then I felt that wall was rumbling slightly. It was actually a man. At the impact, I fumbled a bit and he held me by my arms and tried to steady me. Once I gained my composure, I tilted my head to look at his face. All the air left my lungs and suddenly, I was not able to breathe.

There, in front of me, stood the very reason I lost my sleep in the nights and my sanity in the days. The face, that haunts me in my dreams, was now in front of me. His hair frizzed like a wild animal. Why can't he be any less handsome? Why did I bump into him, of all the people in the world? I couldn't find answers for these questions but the way his eyes were fixed on mine, I actually believed for a second that he was just as much confused as me, on seeing each other like this. I was not sure if he felt happy to see me or awkward. Just when I had all these questions in mind, I realized that I was gazing at him for a few seconds. He cleared his throat and I moved away from him. Just in the blink of an eye, he was back to his normal self while I was still breathing through my mouth, like a panting dog. He looked at me softly and said "Are you all right?". Now I was really nervous, since I didn't know how to react. Should I speak back since it's the normal thing to do? Or should I ignore him for rejecting me that way? Was he even happy to meet me like this, even if it's unexpected? I had all these questions churning inside my head that I didn't notice her at first. Then I realized that there was a woman by Aditya's side. She was asking him if he was fine and if he needed anything. He convinced her that he was fine and there was nothing to worry about. Then I realized it.

The woman was wearing a Mangal Sutra around her neck and there was kum- kum in on her forehead. She was wearing a saree and a cluster of bangles in both her hands. All these and the way she cared for Aditya made me realize just one thing. She must be his wife. In this span of three months, he might have got married. And this thought made me feel nauseous and suddenly I felt a wave of hurt rush through me. In few seconds, all I could see was a darkness enclosing my eyes and then everything went black.

*** Sorry for the delay in posting this chapter. I'll make sure to give weekly chapter releases, as much as possible (In other words, if I'm not trying to be lazy 😜). Stay tuned for the next chapter. ***