"I promise that I'll never disappoint you with my marriage and do according to your wish if you let Priti marry the love of her life." 

The loud commitment, full of conviction reached Nisha's ears after a few seconds. The weight of her words sunk in and that was when she realized that she had spurted out the worst thing she could. 

The quiet atmosphere didn't aid the constant building anxiety, coating her internal organs and reaching up to her brain. She felt it everywhere. 

"If that's what you promise wholeheartedly, then I have nothing more to say." Another feminine voice spoke, and it took Nisha a second to realize that was her mother. 
"Nisha..." Another voice called incoherently from beside her.
"I told you I promised, now... you should let Priti-pi marry." She spoke again, her voice becoming feeble.

This was a wrong choice.

But right now, her priority had been saving her elder sister from the trouble she was facing. 

"It'll be okay, Priti-pi." She mouthed to the figure next to her. The one she had done all this for, her sister. 
"Priti, you know we only want your good. But... this is..." Their mother's voice faded away as the figure beside Nisha, her sister, tucked in her dark curly locks behind her ears. 
"Maa, I love him... I know he isn't rich and he doesn't have a great family status but does that matter? We can establish ourselves together." Priti pleaded, tears accumulating in her eyes. 

Seeing her sister's moist eyes, Nisha felt vulnerable. If anything, she had to save the pure love her sister's eyes carried.

"I understand. It's been two months since all of you are eating our heads." Their mother spoke, staring at the hem of her saree. 
She fixed it, continuing, "Nisha promised me that whatever you do, she'll listen to us. Since she's willing to make such a sacrifice, I can't say anything more." 

"Baba..." Priti, Nisha's elder sister, whispered to the large male figure sitting on the couch near their bed. The man heaved out a deep sigh, "I've never... forbid my daughters from anything. But right now, this is a tough decision." 

"Maa, Baba... I'm sorry. But, I promise he won't disappoint you. I have known him for nearly ten years now. You know that too... he's trying hard." Priti spoke. Nisha's gaze shifted from her sister to their parents.

A thought appeared in her mind.

Why did things often go such strange ways?

When her sister, Priti, confronted their parents about her love interest — they resisted immediately and all the siblings together worked on convincing them. At first, the excuse went from the guy's income to his family status and now it was, "Manush ki bolbe." 

In English terms— What will people say? 

Even modernization couldn't change the thoughts of a traditional Bengali family sometimes. And when it came to marriages, that thought worked the most. 

"I hate restraining you from what you want, Priti. But..." The elderly woman sighed, tracing the seams of the bedsheet while the girls were sitting on the other side of the bed. 
"Bring the guy and his family to have a chat. Then, we'll consider this." Their father spoke. 

Nisha and Priti shared a look before looking at their parents who looked slightly disappointed but they covered it up with a blank face, gazing at each other.

Priti got up along with their mother, pulling her parents into a tight hug. 
"Thank you so much, baba" She cried as her mother hummed, wiping a tear of her own. Nisha smiled at the dramatic atmosphere. Their father sighed, patting Priti's head and looked over at Nisha, "Only because... you said you'll listen to us. I won't listen to the same situation twice when it's about Nisha." 

Nisha smiled slightly, nodding.

Not like she was going to be in love and fighting for it anyway. Whatever-whatever for her.

"But Baba... love is the most important in marriages," Priti whispered. 
"It could be, but for my daughters, the first and foremost that I want is a trustworthy guy. You are at the age of making mistakes, how could we trust it all upon you both? What if you regret it later?" 

The two sisters shared a glance. 

Her father's words made Nisha wonder. 

Why did parents always think they were right and everything they assumed would be right worked for their children? She'd never know.
And arguing was a waste of time.

As their parents left after a brief chat, Nisha looked at her sister who smiled, "You got into a huge trouble trying to save me." 
"What trouble for me?" Nisha shrugged, ignoring her sister's sympathetic gaze. 
"I'm two years older than you, yet I have to get saved by your promises. Are you sure you'll be able to do what you promised them?" 

Her sister's question made her wonder too. 
Would she be able to abide by the impulsive promise she made? Shrugging off the thoughts, she chortled.

"Finally, your sneaky relationship with Shams for ten years worked out. Talk to him, go go!" Nisha urged her sister who frowned, fixing her scarf. 
"Go nah! I'll go check my work emails. Work comes first." Nisha rushed out of the room, leaving her sister in the room alone. A smile adorned her face as she watched her parents chat in the living room. 

As soon as she entered her bedroom, shutting the door behind her, a sigh escaped her lips. She had valiantly promised her mother such a stupid thing to save her sister. It was, in a way, pointless to promise that but she knew it was a small ray of hope for her parents. 

If she did as they said, then Priti could have her way. Who knew how that idea reached Nisha's simple brain? And that even worked. 

"Either way, my life has nothing romantic. Nor will it have in the next ten years, so I'm safe." Nisha sat on her bed, staring outside the window nearby. The pink shade of the walls usually cheered up her mood yet it didn't feel so right now. 

Even with the door closed, she could hear a few voices screaming outside and sighed. Her siblings were the noisiest creatures to ever exist. 
"Someone should've told my parents they're contributing to the over-population issue of the country by having 4 children." She whispered, falling on the soft mattress of the bed. 
The flower bedsheet didn't comfort her in any way, rather made her laugh.

If her desi mom chose any bedsheets, it'd be an ugly floral printed one or some seriously concerning patterns Nisha didn't understand. 

Plain white bedsheets were banned in her home for good.

"Why's my life so... dull?" Nisha whispered, staring at the ceiling fan. She always put strenuous efforts into other people's affairs but when it came to her own, things became dull. 
"At least Priti'-pi's getting married..." 

Getting married in a Bengali household meant a lot of responsibilities for the family members. And it was Nisha's turn to start working hard to make her sister's wedding memorable.

———

Nisha walked towards the kitchen, in hopes of fetching a glass of water when she heard her sister's voice. 
She was sitting nearby, talking to someone over the phone. Nisha immediately smiled, knowing well who it was. 
Thoroughly pouring water into her glass, she sat down and chugged it down, listening to her sister's loud whispering. If anything, the Anwar household didn't know how to speak in a low voice. 

"What? Why can't he come?" Priti's disappointed voice made Nisha wonder. She didn't mean to eavesdrop but considering how loud Priti was, maybe their parents could hear it too. Who knew?

"Okay... then. Don't be sad. It'll be okay." She comforted and after a few minutes, hung up. Nisha sat on her chair, frowning when she saw Priti casually approaching her. 
"Nisha..." She whispered.

"You knew I was here?" Nisha asked as Priti shrugged, "Who wouldn't? Your presence is quite loud."
"What?" The confused frown on Nisha's face pleased Priti. But her face turned gloomy once again. 
"Shams is sad." She grimaced as the younger interrogated, "Why? Something wrong?"
"Kabir is not coming from abroad. He's disheartened due to this." 
"Who's Kabir? That abroad friend from the States?" 

She nodded, " It's Sham's best friend. He's been in the States, for 6 years now. He graduated a year and a half ago and had been working there, creating portfolios to create a business here. He was supposed to return permanently this year but..." 
"What? Then why's he not coming?" 
"I don't know. Shams doesn't, either. Kabir seems to be making up excuses." Priti sat on the chair across from Nisha's as she pondered on it. She heard Kabir's name a few times before, but couldn't recall much. 
"He's just an irresponsible best friend, we conclude it here. Or he's abnormally busy." Nisha said. 

Priti drew circles on the glass material of the dining table, her voice coming out feeble, "He helped Shams get together with me. I feel kind of sad he's not going to be here." 
"Sad for him or Shams?"
"Both," Priti spoke, glancing at her sister who smiled slightly. Nisha watched her sister's black eyes shine with worry. Despite being sisters, they looked almost nothing alike. 

While one had glazing raven hair with curly locks, the other had a deep brown shaded wavy edge to her hair. And their eyes? Those were two different dimensions. 

"Don't worry, what happens always happens for a reason," Nisha assured concisely, watching her sister ease. 
"What about the promise you made though? It's been days. Did Maa or Baba say anything about it?" Priti's question made Nisha tense slightly. But she hid the tension with a smile, "What else would they say? After your marriage, they'll probably wait for a few months and start searching for my groom too. It's been half a year since I started working as well." 

"What if you fall in love with someone?" Priti asked.
"You know, if love was meant to come, it would've by now. Maybe it's just not in my fate. We'll see what happens later." Nisha spoke, getting up and continued in a fake hyped-up voice, "Let's go then. It's past 12, I'm sleepy! 

She stretched her arms, walking ahead as Priti followed her worriedly. Love was one thing that Nisha believed wasn't in her fate. 
After all, she wasn't born in the Bollywood movies she loved watching since childhood and no male lead like Shah Rukh Khan would exist in her life. 

"When do I get my salary?" She was on her way to her bedroom but halted, hearing familiar voices. Her brows furrowed, her head turning towards the direction of the voice. 
"Who is there..." She whispered, reverting her steps towards the laundry room from where the noise came. She tiptoed and stood beside the doorframe, her back against the wall. 
She immediately understood the situation. 

"Adil! Come here. If maa sees, she'll beat our asses up!" A young female voice called cautiously. Nisha could hear some clinking noises and a soft smile adorned her lips. 
"Bro, I'll blame you." Another childish voice spoke. 
"Shut up, you loser. You should be grateful I'm helping you drink coke." 
"In this laundry room without a fan. I'm sweating so bad!" 
"You talk too much. Fine, I'll just take this Coke and go drink it in my room. Or Nisha-pi's room." The young female voice spoke, a tint of sarcasm evident in her voice. 
"Nisha will snitch." The childish male voice asserted.

"Wasn't planning to but this allegation might make me do so." 

The two figures hiding in the laundry flinched together, one of the steel glasses in their hand falling. Nisha shut her eyes due to the loud noise and both of the short figures in front of her started panicking. 

"Adisha and Adil. May I ask why you both are sneaking coke at 1 a.m.?" Nisha asked, folding her hands on her chest. Both the panic-stricken faces soon turned into guilt and fear. 
"Maa isn't letting me drink coke for a week." The shorter guy—his eyes the duplicate of Nisha's and hair looking like hadn't been washed for weeks—spoke. 
"Did you not shower again?" Nisha asked, making the other lad laugh. 
"You helped him sneak in coke despite Maa warning you." Nisha pointed at the girl—in her four-teens—stopping her laugh.
"Nisha-pi! He was begging me to." 
"You know I can't live without coke, Nisha." 

"That is exactly why Maa refrained you from drinking that," Nisha spoke, her voice laced with warning. She forwarded her hands with a raised brow as the two kids protested silently but ended up submitting their glasses and the 2-litre Coke bottle to Nisha. 
"These will go into the fridge now. Adisha to our room and Adil to Maa. If Maa notices you absent, she'll know." Nisha said as Adil frowned, but ran out quickly. 
Adisha sighed, fixing her short curly hair. 
"You help him do so many things, help him shower next time too." Nisha scrunched her face while Adisha chuckled silently.

"What are you laughing at now? Go." Nisha moved her head, enough of an indication for Adisha to run out as well. She looked at the seized stuff in her hand and silently laughed. 
"I'll tell Priti-pi about them tomorrow. Such nutjobs." 

Her smile vanished as soon as her eyes fell beside the washing machine. 
"What the heck?!" Her eyes widened. Her top was on the floor, covered in stains of coke. She crouched down, keeping the things aside and ran through the stained cloth.
"These little bitches!"