THE WEDDING DAY

June 2004.. As the rains drenched maiden earth and as the smell of wet sands tickled my nostrils, i could hear the wedding bells ring.. I was clad in the traditional red robe.. There were five or six ladies around me..decorating me with golden ornaments..meanwhile not forgetting to update each other over issues like "the neighborhood girl eloped with some guy from another caste".. how the girl's father cursed her for betraying the entire community..about how much cash somebody offered to the family of some guy who was a doctor in the U.K. so that the guy would accept his daughter's hand... blah.. n blah.. n blah.. God knows how they manage to get such nonsense news.. All i was bothered at that moment was about the heavy load of the flowers i had to carry.. used for decorating my hair.. God...
After the whole "dressing up" part, i was waiting in the dressing room, waiting to be summoned by the priest. As i sat there, i recollected how happily i spent those three months between the engagement and the present day.. I still remember..how i spent hours over the phone..talking to Ambi.. knowing each other.. fighting for silly reasons at times.. The more i knew him, the more i fell for him..The thrill of our first kiss still lingers in my mind.. Ambi was humorous, caring, truthful, decent, and above all i valued him for the amount of respect he had for every other person..
Everybody, while awake 16 hours a day, has some tableau image in the corner of his mind.. One carries it along wherever one goes..just like how some carry a bottle of water or a hand kerchief.. and feels it while indulged in any activity.. Some image that gives him a moral boost.. It becomes a part of him.. For me, that image was all set by then.. there was someone to fill my emptiness.. It was Ambi.. Still it is.. The only difference that has occurred is that right now there is somebody flinging stones in the still waters of my mind.. and the image..its kinda rippled..
I was feeling totally complete in life.. until that day..that ill omened day of my life.. that Sunday in the month of May.. thats when Ambi confessed that he would not be able to take me along with him for another four or five years.. There was no mirror where i could reflect to see my expression at that damn moment.. First i thought it was some kind of a joke.. Then i realized he was serious.. I did not understand how to react.. I just wanted to escape.. Or hide my face somewhere.. Or badly wake up from this, if luckily it happened to be a dream.. But No!.. This is in real.. My cousins were waiting outside.. Calling out for me.. asking me to hurry up.. I followed them..to some theater.. We were there to watch some movie.. I think it was "Star Wars - Attack Of The Clones".. I could see vague scenes.. Some dark shadows and people dressed in black robes.. Aliens.. Fire.. Wars.. But there was a bigger war running in my mind.. I was numb.. Then suddenly i realized what actually had happened.. I just got up and walked out of the theater.. There was somebody following me.. think it was my cousin brother.. I was BROKE.....TOTALLY BROKE!!!!!
-PRIYA