Engagement Jitters
2200 Words
Exiting his room, Ishanvi made a wild run towards her room with tears constantly pouring down her eyes. Her vision had turned blurry from crying, and fumbling and staggering, she had finally made it to her room.
Unlocking the door, she entered the room and locked the door behind her. She didn't feel the strength to walk further and slid down the door and slumped down on the floor with a thud. Her knees were propped in the front and she rested both her hands on her knees.
The dam of bitter tears that she had been holding till then with great difficulty, was let loose at last. And stream after stream of tears soaked her whole face.
An agonising cry tore away from her lips and she covered her mouth as she cried her heart out.
Just then a frightening thunder rumbled outside followed by the onset of pouring rain, as if mother nature was adamant to join Ishanvi in her pain and willing to cry her heart out along with her!
Ishanvi couldn't understand why she felt so broken as if someone had pulled her heart out and crushed it into thousands of tiny pieces?
She wondered if she had developed some feelings for Neer already and that's why she was hurting this much after hearing those words?
"No, it can't be! How long has it been since you met him? You have barely scratched the surface to know him and you think you're falling for him? That's Ridiculous, Ishi," her heart chastised her.
"Haven't you heard 'you don't have to know someone for ages to fall in love with them'? Falling in love is an instant process, it just takes a moment to fall in love with someone. You can develop feelings for someone you met just yesterday and Ishi has known Neer for over a month now!" her mind reasoned.
"What do you know about love, huh? You stupid brain!" her heart mocked before she muted their voices down.
Surprisingly, their reasons had taken a complete turn now! The mind that was taunting the heart about love at first sight just a day ago was defending love being an instant process with no control whatsoever. On the contrary, the heart was being rational this time which wasn't its forte at all.
Ishanvi sat there crying until all her tears dried up and she didn't have any left to shed further.
She didn't remember how long she kept sitting like that near the door, staring at nothing.
It wasn't until she heard some commotion outside her room that she jumped up from her place.
Ishanvi didn't want anyone to see her in this state, therefore she moved to the bed and hid herself under the comforter and pretended to be asleep.
As if on cue, Inaayat walked into the room and found Ishanvi lying on the bed.
"Ah, the bride-to-be is asleep already!" she commented. "And here we thought she's spending some time with her future life partner."
A tear rolled down Ishanvi's eyes unwittingly upon hearing those words.
*Oh, how I wish I could tell you that we did spend some time together but it was nothing like you imagined,"* Ishanvi sighed.
Changing into her night dress, Inaayat got into the bed and drifted off to sleep, without realising that her sister was falling apart right beside her.
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"I never pegged you as someone who took her 'beauty sleep' seriously?" Inaayat teased her sister the next morning. "But it does make sense. After all, it's your day today and you deserve to look the most beautiful, not that you aren't already."
"What beauty sleep? I was nursing a headache, that's why I slept early and just woke up," Ishanvi lied as she sat up groggily on the bed.
Ishanvi couldn't sleep last night. It was only in the wee hours that her eyes finally dropped shut and she found herself lulling into the slumber gradually. She slept away the whole morning and woke up at noon. But she was grateful that she was asleep which resulted in her skipping the family breakfast —that was planned near the poolside— because she didn't want to face Neer so soon after what he had said last night.
Inaayat walked up to her sister. "Oh, I'm sorry Di. Are you okay now?" she asked, sounding genuinely concerned.
Ishanvi nodded her head and went to open her trolley bag to take out her things for today.
"By the way, everyone was asking about you at the breakfast table," Inaayat told her, "but you don't worry! I handled the situation— I told them that you had to urgently prepare a report on your dissertation topic and that you're extremely sorry that you couldn't join us for breakfast."
Ishanvi sent a grateful smile her sister's way.
"Everyone bought the lie except Neer, he didn't look convinced and after the breakfast asked me if you were okay," Inaayat informed her but Ishanvi didn't react.
Ishanvi pulled out her accessories and make-up kit first, and kept them on the bed, followed by her outfit for the evening.
"Di, this isn't the outfit you bought to wear today!" Inaayat pointed out as she saw her sister putting a sharara-kurta set on the bed.
"I changed my mind last night. Now, I'll wear this," Ishanvi replied nonchalantly and zipped up her bag.
Inaayat found it strange but didn't say anything. The Tarun Tahiliani gown that she had bought for the engagement was beautiful and Ishanvi was so excited to wear it but then why did she change her mind at the last moment? Inaayat couldn't understand.
"Okay," Inayat said, walking towards the ensuite bathroom when she remembered something. "Oh and Di, the make-up artist will be here shortly to do your makeup. So, you better start getting ready."
"I don't need a make-up artist. It's just the engagement," Ishanvi said in a dismissing tone as she pushed Inaayat away and entered the bathroom with her toiletries. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to take a bath," she said before closing the door shut.
Inaayat stared at the door in disbelief. Ishanvi had been acting weird since she woke up but what Inaayat couldn't understand was why was she being so strange all of the sudden when she was absolutely fine last night!
"Did she hit her head on something in her sleep? First, she changed her outfit without telling her. And now, she didn't want the make-up artist to do her makeup. And what did she say? It's just the engagement, huh? Something is definitely wrong with her," Inaayat finally deduced as she sat at the edge of the bed.
Just then her phone rang. It was the make-up artist Ishanvi had personally booked for today but she didn't need her anymore. Inaayat had to spew so many lies before she cancelled the booking.
"Phew!" Inaayat sighed in relief after she hung up.
As if on you cue, Ishanvi walked out of the bathroom in a mauve bathrobe. Inaayat stared at her elder sister with a deep gaze.
"Why are you giving me those looks?" Ishanvi inquired when she saw her gaze studying her deeply.
"You tell me," Inaayat folded her arms across her chest.
"Tell you what?" Ishanvi was puzzled.
"What's bothering you?" Inaayat asked bluntly. "I know something's troubling you. And I want to know what is it."
"Not… nothing is bothering me," Ishanvi stuttered. "It's just… jitters… engagement jitters… yeah, engagement jitters it is!" she managed to say.
"Di, we both know that you're lying," Inaayat caught her lie right away. "But I understand that you don't want to talk about it, whatever it is that's bothering you. And I respect your decision. So, we'll talk about this once we are done with the ceremony," Inaayat told her sister.
Ishanvi didn't say anything. She just covered the distance between them and engulfed her younger sister in a bone-crushing hug. "Thank you, Ini. I love you."
"I love you more! Just remember, I'm always here for you and that you can share anything with me," Inaayat mumbled as she hugged her back.
"I know and I really appreciate it," Ishanvi said earnestly.
"Before you break my bones, please let me go! You're killing me," Inaayat grumbled when Ishanvi didn't let her go even after a few minutes.
Ishanvi scowled but let her go nonetheless.
"Now, help me get ready," Ishanvi told her sister as she moved to the dresser. "I already sent the make-up artist away. Hence, I'm counting on you now!"
"Ah, what would you do without me?" Inaayat sighed dramatically.
"Be more wonderful than I already am," Ishanvi quipped smugly.
Inaayat pouted at her words. "I ain't gonna help you now," she said sulkily.
"Awww, you are going to help me, my baby," Ishanvi cooed. "But go take a quick shower first. I'll change meanwhile," she added, pushing Inaayat into the bathroom.
"Okay, okay," Inaayat laughed as she shut the bathroom door.
As Inaayat showered, Ishanvi changed out of the bathrobe and coating her smooth skin with a layer of moisturizer first, she pulled on her sharara pants which was followed by the kurta.
She slipped on a fresh silky bathrobe over her kurta to prevent it from the make-up products that might ruin it while applying.
Tying the bathrobe securely around her waist, she sat in front of the huge vanity mirror to prepare her skin for the makeup.
As she applied the primer once the moisturizer was completely absorbed in her skin, the conversation from last night flashed in front of her eyes. Her eyes welled up once again and a tear rolled down her cheek before she hastily wiped it away.
"You can't let your family see your tears, Ishanvi," she told herself as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her natural glow was missing.
Putting those cruel words from the previous night at the back of her mind, she laid out the cosmetics at the vanity table. There wasn't much, just the basic products.
She didn't want to overdo anything because she didn't want to look like something she wasn't. And that's what she had briefed her makeup artist as well that she wanted a minimal makeup look. But she had to manage everything on her own now.
With a sigh, she grabbed the concealer to hide the dark circles underneath her eyes. Then she applied some shimmery light pink eyeshadow over her eyelids and filled in the small gaps in her eyebrows slightly.
After that, she waited for Inaayat to apply the eyeliner because she couldn't master the art of applying the eyeliners perfectly on her own eyes even if she could do it on others like a pro!
She was tapping her fingers anxiously on the vanity table when Inaayat finally emerged from the bathroom draped in a baby blue bathrobe.
"Finally!! Why do you always take so long in the shower?" Ishanvi grumbled when she saw her.
Inaayat rolled her eyes at her sister's impatience. "I know you can't wait to get engaged. But try to act a bit modestly. And the bride's sister needs to look beautiful as well," she said, applying lotion all over her body.
Ishanvi smiled wryly. *I wish I could just cancel this engagement!*
Inaayat slipped on her Sabyasachi saree-drape gown before letting her hair out of the towel to dry.
"Now, let the star of the evening get ready for her engagement," Inaayat chirped standing behind Ishanvi.
Inaayat quickly applied a thin stroke of eyeliner before putting some baby pink blush to her naturally pink cheeks. She dabbed a small amount of highlighter over her cheekbones and the tip of her nose and chin.
Inaayat then curled Ishanvi's hair into soft curls before braiding her into a crown from the first with a center parting. Once done, she applied a single layer of mascara on her eyelashes and put a small stone *bindi* on her forehead between her perfectly shaped eyebrows.
She finished her look with little bunches of Baby's breath in her braid.
"Perfect. You look absolutely stunning, Di," Inaayat complimented as she gazed at her sister in the mirror.
"All thanks to you," Ishanvi said earnestly.
"I know I'm the best," Inaayat said smugly.
Just then, someone rang the doorbell. Inaayat opened the door to see their mom standing there.
Their mom walked into the room and straight to where Ishanvi was.
"You look mesmerizing, my doll," her mother said the moment she saw her daughter all dolled up for her engagement.
Ishanvi turned her head when she heard her mother's voice and abruptly got up when she saw her.
Ishanvi realised she hadn't met her parents since the morning. She was so lost in her sorrow that she almost forgot about them. And when she saw her mom all dressed up for the evening, she couldn't hold her tears back and almost cried.
Instead she hugged her mother and tried to calm her heart down, who wanted nothing more than shedding all the tears Ishanvi had held back since she woke up this afternoon.
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- Writer
