Loud honks were heard up till Abhik's apartment as he straightened his kurta and combed through his hair one last time.

Throwing his backpack in the backseat, he opened the door to the passenger seat, a string of apologies flowing off his lips like a chant. 

"That was quite fast.", Alex said looking into his soul.

Taking time to process the comment he replied,

"Was that supposed to be sarcastic or-"

"Figure it out Sherlock.", Alex interrupted with a roll of his eyes.

"Fair enough", Abhik replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

The engine has hit and off the went, towards there destination.

"Tell me more", Alex suddenly asked.

"About what?", Abhik looks up from his phone, oblivious.

"An Indian wedding of course."

"Haven't you asked about it before?"

"And you had said had we needed clothes for it? Yeah, I remember. And I would hope there is more to it.", Alex reminded him.

"Well, I don't know about others but as I have told you bengali weddings are stretched over three-four days,

We have the 'Ai Buro Bhaat' which happens the day before the wedding. 'Ai Buro' means a bachelor or and bachelorette and 'Bhaat' means rice, thus 'Ai Buro Bhaat' celebrates the last meal of the person as a bachelor. In the evening of the day, we have 'Sangeet', which is today. I have explained it to you, but it's nothing it you experience it. The next day is of course the wedding. Starts with 'Gaye Holud' in which people apply turmeric on the bride and the groom to ward off any evil eye. The wedding happens at the time designated by the priest. It ends with the 'Bashor Rath'. It is the night of the wedding when the siblings, cousins and friends from both parties come together and spend all night chatting and playing games. I think with a gap of a day, there is a ritual called 'Bou bhaat' but I really don't know much about it. It kind of marks the the first meal of the wife at her husband's house.

Yeah...that's about it.", Abhik sighed.

"It?! That was it?! It sounds dreadfully exhausting.", Alex's eyes widened. 

"Just you wait. It is nothing like you have ever seen before.", came the reply.

"Beta, please take this and give it to the bride's mother. She will know what to do.", with that a middle aged woman pushed a basket full of flowers into Alex's arms and disappeared as suddenly as she had appeared.

"Nothing like I have ever seen before?", Alex mocked Abhik, looking at him with narrow eyes. 

Abhik chuckled nervously, took the basket from his hands and turned around to run for his life.

Except he collided into someone. The basket went flying at the force, flowers showring over them. Abhik looked to see none other than Mia standing with a half filled glass of soda, her face wet with the other half and her eyes closed at the impact. 

Her eyes fluttered open, they both looked at each other for some time. Her facial expressions turned from surprised to furious quick. 

He took small steps back, only to meet with Alex with a basket hanging from his head. Yup, he knew he was screwed. No chance of escape.

"2 hours, AJ. It took me 2 hours to do this make up!", shrieked Mia.

"You said this would be fun!", Alex exclaimed.

God have mercy today, Abhik thought as his eyes travelled from one person to the other.

"Ow", Abhik flinched at the feeling of ice on the bruise on his shoulder.

"I went a little far...", Alex admitted, rubbing his neck guiltily.

"You think?", Abhik looked accusingly. 

Mia hit him at the exact spot of his wound, making him scrunch his face up in pain.

"Don't blame poor Alex. Its your fault. Now go get dressed, the sangeet starts soon."

  With that she was gone. 

"Ottachar, ottachar hocche amar shonge", Abhik muttered.

(Torture, I am being tortured.)

"What did you say?", asked Alex.

"Nothing.", Abhik snatched his black kurta from the bed and went to change.

Changing into his outfit, he tried to make his hair look more presentable. Not that anything helped, but there was no harm in trying. 

Rolling his sleeves up to so his elbows, he was satisfied with how he looked. 

He made his way to the ceremonial hall, to see Alex already there, bobbing his head to the catchy bollywood tunes. 

"Told you bollywood is better.", he approached Alex from behind, scaring him.

"It is good....better....not too sure", Alex said reluctantly.

"Your ego is just too big.", Abhik took a seat. 

Soon, the programme started.

"Good evening lovely ladies and handsome gentlemen. We have gathered here to celebrate the union of two beautiful souls and by celebrate it is clear that we mean embarrass them as much as possible. So without further ado, let's get started.", announced the host.

And began the performances. Everyone setting the stage on fire. The entire thing had turned into a dance battle. Who was better, the bride's side or the groom's side?

It was all fun and games until Abhik was pulled out of the seat and taken to the stage to represent the bride's side. The crowd applauded, cheering him on.

He looked around a bit confused, not knowing what to do. That's when his eyes fell on her and was stuck. Everything tuned out, like she was the only one in the room. And the encouragement in her eyes....he needed nothing else.

https://youtu.be/58r8MDf5sxQ

(The song I imagine him singing. Please listen to it before proceeding, it will provide a lot of context. Also the song is too good to miss out on.)

Adrenaline rushed through his body as he ended with a bang. The audience loved it, all eyes on him! He was once again reminded why he loved performing so much. But now came the time to take his plan a step forward.

He got down the stage and walked toward Mia. Taking her hand in his he too pulled her up to perform.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have another talented singer among us. Please welcome her with a round of applause!", he shouted into the microphone.

She looked at him, scared.

"Only if you sing with me.", she whispered.

"Deal.", he smirked.

Seeing her too afraid to do anything, he took the lead. 

https://youtu.be/WxtJqyIyThU

(Amazing song, amazing movie. The song I imagine them performing. Do listen.)

The room thundered with the vibration of people clapping. Mia's face flushed with excitement, as she heard the crowd shout for an encore. 

"This wasn't exactly Perfect, but I hope your dream came true.", Abhik said in a hused voice.

"True is wasn't Perfect. It was better, it was perfect.", her eyes gleamed as she looked at him with admiration.

That's when Abhik realised, the right person at the wrong time was very much possible. He had experienced it first hand. But when the right person presented themselves at the right time, he couldn't let his previous experience ruin it for him. 

He couldn't stay stuck on the last page.