The following days were quite stressful for Ismail. Their design of electricity progressed to a certain limit and remained constant for a while. The grounding procedure was hard and the generator was freshly brought into the picture. Settling that was another thing but somehow the company got through it.

"Babu, we are so glad you came to our village."

That kind of recognition was given to Ismail almost every day. The villagers or the main group of village heads called Sarpanch, came by to check on the company. It wasn't to pry but to understand and assist them. Though new, they were prepared to take a chance and that was what really mattered.

As for the lady, Ismail rarely saw her. In the preceding days, he saw her by the riverside all alone, sometimes with other village girls and many times, ignoring the seductive glare passed by the locals.

It was nothing peculiar to him. Ismail did a satisfactory job in holding himself till he made it to the city, precisely his singular apartment. But somehow, he managed to cross paths with the woman. She never noticed him, neither did he, or at least he tried not to.

With the days forwarding to Rahil's wedding, the workers made groups in order to gift him as they craved. Unlike the suggested brain gifts or some nonsense, they actually planned on giving away useful things such as a washing machine, a refrigerator and lots of useful stuff. As for Ismail, he planned to host the decorating part of the wedding and another surprise was the induction stove to be gifted now that his company was making sure of the electricity supply.

By that night, Ismail sat with his colleagues and the groom himself at his bachelor's party. There was nothing extra except that Rahil was all red due to the details being given to him. Ismail never thought Rahil to be the shy type but in front of his family, he was.

"And if she leaves for her parents' home, never stop her or argue her stay. Don't extend it, don't reduce it. Just let it be!"

Rahil shook his head at his uncle and replied, "Actually, she won't."

His cousins laughed and one of the colleagues volunteered, "Oh man! Trust me. Women are as straight as jalebis!"

The crowd erupted in laughter for the referred jalebi was sweet with a twisted circular shape, and Ismail chuckled along. He blended so well amongst them and was somewhat glad that they didn't pay any extra attention to him like the usual.

"Don't volunteer to get her vegetables and other stuff unless you carry on for the rest of your life."

"That's the usual."

"I have seen many do that," Rahil pointed out, "You guys take home grocery every evening, how do you explain that?"

"Oh, son! You don't know this. We don't do it from our hearts."

Ramesh stood up and joked, "All you need is your legs and money, why involve heart in the grocery shopping?"

The village head was present and he remarked, "So the groom is ready, who will be next?"

"Our babu could be!"

Ismail jerked up at the sudden attention and shook his head rapidly. Of course, he could be the next one but his plans were for a destination wedding, not at a simple village amongst them. No matter how much he mingled with the folks, he had certain standards to live upto.

"Not anytime soon."

"Ramesh will be next!" Rahil's brother pointed out, "I have heard his mother talk to mine about an agent."

As the talk went on, Ismail looked over at Rahil who silently sat with his cousins, his eyes staring at a distance. He noted the softness of his expression and he knew the woman who he was getting married to, was a lucky one.

Just when everyone decided to call it a night, Rahil approached him and offered, "Boss, you can go home or come to my room. I don't think the open space is for you."

"It is fine, Rahil. Have a good night."

"Ji. Assalaamualaikum."

And when Ismail was assigned a mattress with a mosquito net guarding it, he shook his head at the effort. No matter how much he tried, they still treated him as an outcast but in a better way. He hoped he never got on the bad list of their books until his return.

*****

The wedding venue was the groom's place and Ismail made sure it looked nothing like ordinary. With the lights hanging from the roofs to the entrance, it was definite that nobody could lose their way.

"Did the lights come up fine?"

"Yes, boss!"

Ramesh was sent to take care of the food and this way, one or the other colleague managed some task at hand. Rahil was one of a kind and nobody could afford to lose a chance to treat him right. And Ismail confirmed that when he heard of Rahil's bride being an orphan.

The groom's place busted with guests and nobody could exactly make out who was who. Relatives mingled and there was no silence at any corner. Some elders even arranged chairs for themselves and for the village heads to discuss matters. The food tables were never empty and everyone took a chance at serving and eating.

"So, how do you like it?" Kumar asked as he came over to stand beside Ismail.

The latter nodded and replied, "Never seen such kind."

Kumar nodded and Ismail examined his stance – tensed shoulders, tapping feet and a sweating forehead. Kumar looked nothing normal and Ismail wondered the reason.

"Are you okay?"

Kumar nodded positively but Ismail was convinced that there was something wrong. Knowing him for years, Ismail knew Kumar's wife was sick and that his daughter was settled abroad.

"How is your wife?"

"Ismail..."

Kumar hardly addressed him by his name and now, Ismail knew he had to do something when he sensed trouble. He would let him go if there was an emergency.

"My wife isn't well, you know. And the doctor called me an hour ago to inform-"

"You should go," Ismail interrupted, giving him permission, "I will handle everything here if that's what you're worried about. You should be with her."

"But-"

"I can handle it. After all, the villagers love me now."

"I will inform your father and then leave. He must know my absence."

Ismail rejected but nonetheless, took his phone out to dial his father. The device was used from morning to call and make arrangements for the wedding, and it was dead. He sighed and placed it back in his pocket and shrugged his shoulders.

"Can't call. You better call him from your phone when you're outside. Plus, I doubt you'll get a signal here."

"Take care, Babu. I will be back as soon as I can."

Ismail nodded, feeling proud of the decision he'd made. The slight twinkle in Kumar's eyes was enough for him to know it was correct.

"Boss! The wedding will be anytime soon. I guess we should check the main lights."

A worker named Suma informed Ismail and they headed towards the back to check the lights. Everything was set in place and Ismail was assured that everything went according to his plan. He was a plan-master and nothing could stop him. However, to prove him wrong, the lights blacked out when night dawned on them. Cursing under his breath, he waited for the generator to work but even after ten minutes, nothing turned on. The lights never radiated and he was flustered in shame. In addition, he needed Rahil to fix the entire thing and wasn't sure if it was appropriate to call him at the moment.

The man was to be married in half an hour!

After a mental breakdown, Ismail decided that he required Rahil's assistance and marched towards the groom's room. He heard echoes and whispers of people's disappointment, cries of children and frustration from the rest of them. The chaos was at a pause as there was darkness all around, followed by silence.

"Rahil, I need you right now."

Rahil hardly gave a pause of hesitation when addressed. Standing in his glorious outfit, he smiled and nodded in affirmation despite others' protests.

"The groom shouldn't leave the place till he signs the papers!"

"Rahil, you shouldn't go."

"Why isn't the city man taking him off?"

"Is the wedding canceled?"

All sorts of trepidations were given by the villagers but neither of them paid heed. The electricity plant went down and Ismail couldn't tolerate a word of negativity from any of them.

After ten minutes of running, both the men reached the main company and the groom walked in towards the main area of wiring. Holding a torch, Ismail followed and waited till he debugged the issue.

"Boss, I'm going to fix this. Give me the torch."

"What help can I do?"

"Wait outside and call out when everything lights up, okay boss?"

"Fine."

Ismail sighed and waited outside the door to keep an eye on the village. Nothing was apparent due to darkness, even the streetlight was gone.

"Did anything happen?" Rahil called and Ismail sounded back a negative response.

Inside the tiny room, the groom sweated as he figured what wires to be connected. The red and white wires were connected and he figured there was a short circuit. He couldn't touch them for the fear of a shock, hence he found a tool to separate them.

"Nothing yet!" Ismail responded to his call and Rahil groaned. He needed to do something quickly.

After fifteen minutes, Ismail noticed a small flicker of light and called, "Do whatever you're doing! The lights are flickering!"

Slowly, one by one, the entire village sparked up and Ismail smiled when he glanced at the groom's place. The decorations looked marvellous and the bulbs made it look incredible. He exclaimed out, "The lights are up! Done!"

There was no acknowledgment and with a satisfied grin, Ismail paced inside to congratulate the winner. But his grin faded and a terrified gasp escaped his lips when he looked at the groom.

Lying on the floor, Rahil was immobile.