Ram was looking for a place to sit. He was like a cat searching for its food! The crowd looked double the capacity of the hall. An elderly man seeing him running around directed him to get placed pointing towards the first row.
It was the second seat in the first front row facing the stage. It was a church. The hall was beautifully decorated with tulips and red balloons all over the roof and side walls. Large white rose bouquets were mounted on hip size pillars in both the sides of the middle way for the bridal march. Few ferrero rochers were also spotted in the bouquets. Kids were hunting for them. It was a gorgeous decoration to receive the angel on the white carpet.
The benches were covered with white cloth and a card was present on every seating. The card was pinned with a red rose and had a note reading “Thank you for your presence. Your blessing and wishes are very important to our children”. They carried both the parents name on it. Only after sitting, he noticed the label “The Hero” in his adjacent seat, the first seat in the first row. Within a second he got up with a pinch of hesitancy and doubt. He was right! There was the label “The Heroine” where he had sat. Before anyone could see he had sat on the bride’s seat, he started to go back and had decided to stand and watch the wedding ceremony.
But, that elderly man stopped him. “I was pointing you the seat next to the bride…Sit there…You are her friend right…You should be sitting in the first row!” said the old gentleman. Ram had no time to think how the old man knew that he was the bride’s friend. He had no intention or to put it, the guts to occupy the first row. He was made to sit by the old man. In a church, this old man in white suit appeared to him like someone from heaven. The whole hall looked like a heaven geared up for the wedding ceremony of its beautiful, smart and lovable angel.
Ram sat, but was very much reluctant in his mind for having done so. The bride shall be sitting near him in any case which he did not want to! They both were thick and thin in a relationship. It was her wedding! His love for her was still intact like how he felt years back! He felt something wrong in his heart having sat there. He was looking if the old man was nearby somewhere. By that time the hall was full and the pipe organ music had started to play and the focus lights were on in the stage.
The old man couldn’t be spotted anywhere. The announcement started for a prayer. The bride and bridegroom of the day were announced. The hero was expected. It was already late.
Time passed by.
The bridegroom had not reached the stage yet. It was late near to an hour. Heavy murmuring among the crowd was ongoing. Ram felt something wrong! Out of a sudden, the bride’s father came down running to the priest on the stage. By their face reactions, the rest was understood.
The crowd began to disperse. Ram felt devastated. He felt bad and it pained him for the girl, his friend, his once upon girlfriend. He loves her more than anything else. Her smile had given the happiness of his life time. He couldn’t imagine how it would hurt her or how she was! He wanted to see and hug her tight to console her. He knew her well. She was like a child in heart. A sweet grown up child!
The hall was empty in some time. Ram was sitting still. Her father was packing some stuff and carrying it. He knew her father. Out of the frozen state, he went and offered his help to her father. His help was objected with a “No. It’s okay”. Yet, he pulled, carried the luggage and started to walk down along with her father.
Ram saw her coming into the hall towards them. She was in casuals – black denim and sky blue t-shirt. She looked composed and did not even seem to have got devastated as he was! She started walking with both of them in silence. She was in the middle. All three of them were walking down the lane in a row with silence. Her father received a call and started talking. The silence was broken.
Without starting to talk, Ram suddenly hugged her by her shoulders. He wanted to know her that he shared her feel. He could not take it when she is hurt by any means. She looked his face. Her eyes told him “It happens…” She bowed down her head and they continued walking. His arm was intact around her shoulders. He did not mind that her dad was with them. Her dad knew about their past relationship. It seemed like a very important call. While talking, he saw them both, especially his daughter’s reaction while Ram had hugged her on the go.
Ram called her by name. It had been a very long time and that sound of her name from him was very different and unique. She looked in his eyes. They both stopped walking and stood still. He, out of nowhere took her in his arms and kissed her forehead; looked into her eyes and proposed “Baby, I love you, Will you marry me?”
He did not think what he was doing or in which state of mind she and her father would be after the sad happening. More than her father, he did not think how she would react to his proposal or he wasn’t sure if what he was doing was right or wrong. He just felt and went on.
She hadn’t felt the confidence in their relationship and that was the reason she broke. She never gained it again though he made repeated attempts to explain what went wrong. Although Ram was behind her, she made sure that he should not get hurt and completely avoided him so that Ram would move on. She wanted him to move on. Very little she knew she was his everything in life. In fact, she had not invited him for the wedding too. How Ram knew about it and made on that day is also a question! But he had a wish to witness the ceremony. He had felt happy whenever she was happy. Her face was the something which took all the worries off him giving him the confidence to win the world. But, it was an entirely different situation while Ram had proposed again now. He never knew how she would take it!
It flashed him suddenly that she could have got hurt with his proposal. He wanted to ask sorry. But, before he could react to it, her father ended the call which looked as abrupt and Ram was pushed away from her. The luggage flew a foot apart. He was about to get a slap from her dad. Ram thought himself, “I need this and more of it for hurting her”. Her dad grabbed a wooden plank lying down on the road to hit him and lifted his hand for an angry blow.
Ram closed his eyes standing still to receive the physical pain. He closed his eyes and thought her face, the beautiful smile of hers which he loved so much and opened his eyes. And there was the blow, a different one by nature! She jumped in and hugged him tight. Yes, she hugged him tight. Her dad stood still. She turned to her father with her arms still around him and looked him face to face. He had nothing to talk. The hot anger could be seen melting.
Ram looked her by his side. She took his arms and wrapped herself around her shoulders. He held her tight and looked her dad with an emotion which combined a new zeal of confidence and an assurance of keeping his daughter happy throughout their life. Dad had nothing to talk; he took the luggage in his hand and walked down the lane leaving them both.
She quickly jumped into Ram’s shoulders folding her arms around his neck; saw his eyes and said “Yes, I will marry you. I love you too bunny”.
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