THE WEDDING NIGHT

After skipping more than a few get-togethers at my cousin's house, I finally gave in to my mother's request of accompanying her to a ceremony. It was one day before I was to go back to work and meet Piyush, pretending that nothing had happened. I had been ignoring my mother's pleas and avoiding meeting anyone, but it was about time I came out of my self-created gloom. So I agreed and saw my mother's spirits lift. She had some plans for me---a suprise as she put it. I almost knew I was in for a shock later that evening.

Most of what happened that day is a blur in my memory, maybe because nothing significant had happened in my life since my brawl with Pihu.

There was a lot of noise, chaos and irritatingly happy vibes at the ceremony. Everyone was happy about someone else getting married, and I was probably unhappy because they were not focusing on me.

At this point, I think it is important for me to recount what happened earlier that evening. We are a big family, and more than a few of my cousins, including both close and distant ones, get married every year. Around the time when the marriage season is in full swing, we hardly ever stay at home, any evening. There is always a function to attend. Where dad need only few minutes to get dressed, while Me and my mother took half an hour to get ready for the function. That evening my mother spent most of her time in my room, selecting and rejecting clothes for me to wear for the function.

'Here, try this saree,' she handed me a saffron colour saree with a black top. I took the clothes from her and started to get dressed, she even helped me to wear a saree.

Phone rings and she started to talk with someone on the phone, while I was doing my makeup.

'Yes, she is. She just returned from Australia,' I heard her say. Bragging to someone over the phone. Oh, how much I love my mother. She was so proud of me while we were at home. But her mood changed as soon as we entered the wedding venue and were greeted by the laughter coming from the end where my cousin was dancing.

'I should have worn my red dress, rather than wearing a saree,' I told my mother, trying to take her mind off the unnecessary stress she felt as my cousin basked in the limelight.

'No, you look beautiful in saree,' Mother replied, without taking her eyes off the group standing around my cousin admiring the dance she performs.

However, it did not take long for her to come out of her sad state. Soon her Kitty party group was bored, and all of them gathered together to discuss the importance stuff----the food at the party----and mother delightedly joined them, but not before issuing her instructions to me.

'Be around and answer your phone when I call you,' she told me and I nodded my head before leaving her with the group.

After wandering around for a few minutes, I parked myself close to the dance floor, in the middle of the closed banquet hall. Very loud music played. I was thankful that I was unable to hear anything or anyone. It was the perfect place for me to stand and watch as people passed by. Some were dancing, some drinking, some doing both. Amidst the music and lights, memories of Piyush managed to creep back into my head.

I got some time to reflect upon what had happened those last few days in Australia. I could see that I was probably overreacting. Pihu could just be a jealous friend who wanted me to stay away from Piyush, and she had planted all this in my head, with my help of course. Maybe Piyush had nothing to do with any of this. The more I thought about it, the more I saw things in a different light. I was finally looking beyond what Pihu had made me see, and I realized how shallow I had been because of that one jealous moment when Pihu said something. All it took was a few words to forget all that Piyush and you had built----- I wondered why. I always wanted to be with him, even when he didn't know my name, and now when there was a chance, I had blocked him out of my life. Maybe it was fear of some sort. Maybe I thought that he was too good for me, and that I was not perfect for him. Probably, I was worried about losing him before I'd even had the chance to get him.

I had ignored his texts and phone calls when they were at the Great Ocean Road, and I'd ignored him completely on the flight. I had to be brave and talk this out with him. I realized that so far it had been the totally wrong way to approach the situation. I needed to act maturely. Better late than never, I told to myself.

Standing there, in the middle of the crowd, I could think better than I'd done sitting alone in my room. Despite all the noise that surrounded me, I could hear the pleas of my heart better than I had in the silence of my own space. It took me a split second to fish out my mobile phone from my clutch and type a message to him.

Two hours went by very painfully as all I did was look at my phone which stared back at me in disappointment. Call him, I knew it made sense. So I found my way out of the chaos to call and maybe apologize to him. I called his number, and surprisingly, his phone was switched off. I wondered what had happened. Maybe he had blocked you, I really needed to watch my thoughts-----they were my real enemy at time.

I took a cousin's phone and dialled his number just to check if what I thought was true. Thankfully it wasn't. His phone was actually switched off, though I would have preferred to talk to him and find out why he had blocked my number instead. At least that meant all was well with him, and my worries could take a break.

As I was returning and thanking my cousin for lending me phone, I saw my mother stomping over to us. The look on her face was full of anger and irritation, and I guessed it had something to do with the cousins. Unfortunately, it didn't. Somehow, I had managed to miss three of her phone calls, and she was there to scold me in front of everyone without considering the fact that I was no longer a kindergarten student---typical of my mom.

Once her lecture on how careless and reckless I am was over, she came closer to me and screamed with all her force into my ears,' Come , I want you to meet someone.'

'Who?' I asked her, but the music was still on, and people on the dance floor were crazily screaming as well, which meant that my voice was lost in the melee. I wondered who was going to meet me there and get bored listening to all of my achievements, primarily my work and the fact that u had just returned from Australia, as there was hardly anyone at the party whom I did not know already.

Mother held my hand tightly, and we walked towards a table in the corner of the hall. Two handsome boys and the middle-aged women sat at the table full of food and drinks. Thankfully, the music was not as loud around that table, and none of us had to shout our greetings to one another.