Running dreams.

The wedding

For those few hours, I forgot every worry I had ever carried. I forgot college. I forgot the fear of leaving home. I only knew that I was loved.

Later that evening, when most of the guests had gone, Aarav found me sitting beneath the neem tree. My wedding bangles clicked softly whenever I moved. He sat beside me.

"Mrs. Malhotra."

I looked at him. "Don't call me that."

"Why?"

"It sounds strange."

"You are my wife."

"I know."

He smiled. "I still can't believe it."

We sat quietly. The courtyard had finally become peaceful. Only a few lights remained on. The flowers smelled sweet in the night air. Aarav reached for my hand.

"Meera."

"Hmm?"

"I meant what I said."

"Which part?"

"All of it."

He looked at me. "You will go to college."

My smile faded. "Aarav, how?"

"We'll manage."

"Your father!"

"I'll talk to him."

"What if he says no?"

"Then I'll find another way."

I stared at him. He continued. "I don't want you sitting at home because you're married. I want you to study. I want to see you graduate."

My eyes burned. "Promise?"

"I promise."

"What if life becomes difficult?"

"Then we make it less difficult."

"What if we can't?"

He smiled. "Then we try again."

I leaned my head against his shoulder. For the first time that day, I let myself cry. Quietly. Not because I was sad. Because I was relieved.

I had finally found the person who would help me become the woman I had once imagined in front of the mirror...

Three weeks before the wedding, there had been another version of us. A quieter one. A secret one.

The wedding preparations had swallowed the town. Women came to our house to discuss saris. Men argued about food. Aarav's relatives discussed furniture. My mother counted plates. Rani counted bangles. Everyone was busy preparing for a future that had already been decided. Everyone except us. We were still learning how to say goodbye to the life we had known.

One evening, Aarav and I met at the old house near the river. It belonged to his uncle but had been empty for months. We had gone there because he wanted to show me something.

"What?"

He smiled. "Come."