DEAR SHANNU
Shanti's P.O.V.

I quickly descended the stairs to avoid the awkwardness. I heard Adi chuckling behind me. I tried to pretend to not notice the blush and butterflies fluttering in my stomach.

"Adi beta, if you don't mind, can you two ride the bike while Abhi and I will take the car?" dada told him.

"No problem dada, we'll ride the bike."

"Here bro!" Abhi threw the keys towards Adi, which he caught effortlessly. Damn!

"You've got a nice reflex, bro!"

"Thank you, if it was not for my reflexes," he was cut off by the ringtone of his phone. Sighing, he picked it up.

"Excuse me for a second."

He came back after some time with panic written all over his face.

"What happened? I asked him with curiosity.

"Ah...the mangalsutra (a necklace worn by a Hindu woman to signify that she is married) is missing."

"The what?! I guess the universe is against our marriage," I sighed.

"Di! Don't worry, it's actually w-with me," Abhi replied, increasing the rate of suspicions of today's events.

"Why is it with you?" I practically yelled at him.

"Well...Hmmm...You know that if dada would by chance be late to your marriage, he'll blame it for his lifetime, so..."

I don't really know how to react to that. Every incident that occurred today reminded me of the absence of his presence. Not knowing what to reply,  I marched towards the bike. I could hear some whispers but I was busy with my musings. Soon after that, Aditya came running and started the bike.

"Come on  little princess, let's ride this royal baby like royals."

His words cheered me up. That's when I got the answers to my thoughts.

"Mr.Unromantic Romeo, can't you at least speed up a bit? You do know that we are already late for our own wedding?"

"Well, Ms. Shanti, if you still want to marry me, we have a lifetime," he replied. I'm sure he must have smirked at his own reply.

"lekin aaj phir kabhi nahi aaega" (but today will never come again.)

He didn't reply, but if I'm not hallucinating, I did see his dimples appearing on his cheeks in the rear view mirror. We reached the venue just 5 minutes before 5:00 clock. We both rushed inside. Everyone was staring at us with curiosity and confusion. Ignoring their questioning glances, Adi took my hand and walked towards the mandapa. He asked the priest to continue. Everything seemed to be rushed, and in a blink of an eye, the Kumar & Kumari in front of our names changed to Shri & Shrimati. I didn't miss the happy glint in dada's eyes.

"You know Adi today seemed surreal," I whispered to him.

"There's a difference Shanti, that it's actually real."

A smile crept on my face.

"Aap ro kyu rahe ho babuji?" (Why are you crying?)

"ye khushee ke aansoo hain" (these are the tears of joy.)

"ya dukh bhi?" (Or grief?)

"nahin, yeh mere dil ki muskaan ke kaaran hai jo mere samne baitha hai." (No, it is the smile of my heart that is sitting in front of me.)

Just as the first rays of sun reached the earth, our lives took a turn, and the journey of Shaadi began.

●●●

I was packing my bag in my room. Out of nowhere, Adi made his appearance.

"Adi?!"

Closing the door, he replied, "Ssh! Don't shout Shanti!"

"May I know the reason for your sudden appearance, Mr. Desperate?"

He facepalmed himself and came closer to me and placed one of his hands on my lips, signalling me to keep my voice low.

"What happened?" I whisper.

"It was not easy to sneak into your room, you know? Anyways, come to the backyard."

"Why?"

"I'll tell you, first I'll sneak out, then you come out without anyone noticing you. Deal?"

I simply shook my head and moved out with curiosity.

"Now, tell me."

"Come on," he said, pointing towards his bike.

"Where?" I deadpanned.

"Come on, Mrs. Curiosity, you'll know it soon."

Hesitantly, I climbed his bike.

"You know being curious doesn't give you the right to dig your nails on my shoulders."

I smacked him on the shoulders.

"Ouch! What was that for?"

I grinned evilly at my triumph. We soon reached the destination - a local park.

"Park?" I asked him, confused.

"Yes, come with me."

"Adi"

"Huh?"

"Is it a coincidence, or did you intentionally wear white to match with me?"

"I-I intentionally wore it," he replied, avoiding my gaze. If I'm not mistaken, he might be blushing. We moved towards a bench and sat on it.

"So?"

Without uttering a word, he handed me a letter.

"Is it a love letter?" I asked him.

"I guess so," he replied, keeping his hand at the back of his neck.

You guess? Ignoring his brief reply, I opened the letter.

Dear Shannu,
Don't hit me after reading this. So...I can't really shut my mouth, nor can I give my credit to Abhi. Not that I love attention. Anyway, I'm sorry for disappearing at your marriage. It was a part of the plan I did out of pure love towards you. A person's true character gets revealed in situations he most unlikely imagines. His choices reveal his personality. Didn't we all dwell in the past, relied on the present, and built our future? I don't know the answer to the question you've asked, so I put you in the shoes of the situation so that you'll understand. I strongly believe in fate and destiny because even they rely on our decisions, which we strongly believe, but sometimes miracles happen. Why? Time tells us, so don't push yourself and worry. I didn't want you to marry with confusion, so I went missing. Even if some answers are untold, remember to be patient. It's just that the answers had been answered, but you hadn't realised it. Remember that there's no love without affection. And finally, don't give Adi a hard time! I know he's a sweetheart ;)
And yes, I just remembered, please bring jelabeis on your way home as a token of gratitude. Don't forget that!

Yours coolest dada ;)

"So?" Adi asked.

"Dada loves you more!" Was all I managed to say.

Chuckling, he brought me closer and replied, "I love you more."

"Nope, we love each other equally," I said with a smile that never lost its beauty of happiness.

○○○
"And that's the tale behind the letter," I told her.

"I wish your dada was here, Ma!" She replied with a spark in her eyes.

"Why? You want your wedding to go crazy?"

"Nope, to pull pranks on you,"

I laughed at her mischievous attitude.

"I'm jealous of Abhi mamu, you know."

"Why?"

"Cause he got the chance to be the partner in crime of dada."

"I thought you were your dad's partner in crime."

"That'll be a part-time one. Don't you miss dada?"

"Well, I do miss him. Someone once told me that I would live with the memories of him I did, not because he told me but because I want to." I replied with a smile of unknown feeling, to which even she responded with a smile. I wonder what lies beneath that little smile of hers.

THE END OF A NEW BEGINNING