From Vows to Forever

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟯: 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐎𝐧 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡

"Your love is a flame that never dies,
A light that guides me through the darkest skies,
With you by my side, I feel alive,
Forever together, we'll thrive and thrive."

All my sisters, masis, mamis, mom, Tayji, and grandmas were all in my room getting ready; everyone was already dressed and getting their makeup done. It's around 7 PM; the baraat will leave at 7:45, and my mom has to reach there at 7:30 with my dad and everyone in my family except my cousins.

So, I am almost done. I can't decide if I want to keep my hair open or in a bun. After a little bit of crying and ruining my makeup, I chose to make a bun since it's very hot today and I'm already going to be sweating like anything. They put beautiful pink flowers in my hair as well, which matches my pinkish-magenta shaadi lehenga.

The lehenga is absolutely beautiful, but it itches me everywhere and isn't the most comfortable. Also, the heavy jewellery I'm wearing is the one gifted by Ayaan's family; as per tradition, Ayaan's mom bought me everything from my feet to my hair accessories that I wanted to wear. It was very comfortable and really pretty.

Overall, I really liked how the subtle makeup and the 4-inch heels made all my insecurities go away, even if it was for a few hours. My mom and my aunts looked at me in awe for 10 minutes before they had to leave as Dad came into the room. He kissed my cheek and told me in my ears, "You look absolutely beautiful," before he intertwined his hands with my mom's and left. And I wanted to burst into tears; it may be the first time in a very long time he's told me that.

The photographers were already taking pictures and videos of what was happening behind the scenes, but me and my sisters wanted to take some more pictures. As soon as the picture-taking was over, I heard the distant sounds of drums. I was desperate to see how Ayaan looked, but I had to wait; as per Indian tradition, the bride isn't supposed to see the groom or vice versa after the haldi and before the marriage.

My sisters turn to me and bombard me with compliments. "You make a stunning bride, sis." "You're radiating beauty and elegance in your gorgeous attire." "Your grace and poise are truly admirable." "Your inner beauty is shining as bright as the jewels on your wedding dress." And so it went on as I waved them off, blushing a little knowing it was true: I did feel pretty today.

I picked up my phone to see a message from an unknown number. "I can't wait to see you. Btw, I'm not a creep; your parents gave me your number. Your to-be husband;)" I smiled at the message and saved his number as 'Ayooo'. I closed my phone, putting it in the pockets of my lehenga, after replying back to the wedding wishes from my colleagues.

As I checked myself in the mirror, the doorbell rang, and soon my brothers came inside, their shoulders raised in confidence. As soon as they saw me, they stopped in their tracks and looked at me, and all of them were frozen as they looked at me. After a second or two, they looked around, and I also looked here and there, while my sisters, who were standing behind me, smiled brightly.

"Oh my gosh, did someone kidnap our sister? Where is she?" Raj, my brother, said, looking here and there, and my other brothers agreed, and I playfully punched them in the stomach, "I'm right here, you idiots." They held their stomachs and fell down, acting like they got hurt. "Are you guys that weak?" And like that, they were up in a second, their egos on the line.

"Miss, we are here to safely escort you and your sisters to the venue assigned to us," Rohan Bhaiya said in a professional voice in his English accent. "How will you escort us safely when you fell down and got hurt from a minor punch?" I said, teasing them, and there was a chorus of yeses behind me. "We will not risk the safety of our beautiful, gorgeous,prettiest, smartest, charming, dangerous sisters; we will lay down our lives for you," they joked in all seriousness. And I smirked and then said "Ok, then, let's see how safely we reach there".

Shreshth took my hand, and my other brothers took their sisters hands. "So the Milni (the bride's family greets the groom's family at the end of the baraat) is done,and in approx. 10 minutes we have to reach there."
We walk and walk, and thank God the place where the wedding is happening is right across the hotel with a beautiful lake view.

As soon as I reach the entrance gate, the long drums and the music start, and a beautiful decorated canopy with pink and white flowers is above me as my brothers hold it, standing beside me, and my sisters stand in front of me, hiding me from the view. As soon as we reach inside, my mom joins me, links my hands with hers, and kisses my cheek. I smile brightly. Soon, all my sisters scattered in front of me.

And my mom also moves away. As I look up, I see Ayaan and his parents in front of me. Ayaan's mom stands in front of me with a plate in front of her; she comes towards me with the biggest smile on her face, and both Ayaan and his dad look at me with huge smiles, and honestly, I think Ayaan is frozen, but I don't have time to think over it.

Sheena Aunty comes towards me and hugs me as I hug her back. She kisses my cheek, saying, "You look absolutely beautiful, darling. Believe me, even Ayaan is frozen." She says this before she moves to put tilak on me. I soon walk towards Ayaan as he joins his hands with me and whispers, "You look absolutely dazzling, like heaven came on earth," and I blush hard. That's when I noticed how hot he actually looked. "You don't look too bad yourself," I said.