| ABHISHEK|

THE NEXT DAY...

I saw Naina step out of her house, clad in a resplendent yellow saree and a royal blue sleeveless blouse. She had her hair tied in a bun, wore a good amount of mascara, and oxidised earrings and choker. I know I should be looking everywhere but her. But, I couldn't help with it.

Now, before making me drenched in the rain of curses, I have my explanations. Please hear it. I am not going to recite philosophical shit like, "Humans are bound to make mistakes." It was not that I made a mistake intentionally. At least, it was not completely intentional. I love Naina. I still do. I wanted her to love me back as I do. I wanted to mark her mine, at any cost. Perhaps, the way I chose to make her love me was wrong. But, my love for her is true.

"But, what's the use of true love when she's not yours?" That was what I felt when Angad warned me to stay away from her. That was the moment when I wished for the worst of the worst to happen, such as a tsunami, earthquake, air attack and whatnot. But no, I realised that was the game of Karma. That was when I chose to play peacemaker for them as an atonement for the most cruel mistake I made in the near past. I learnt that there are other ways to love someone than forcing them to love you.

She approached me with a smile that was perhaps rehearsed and greeted, "Hi."

I tried to look normal while I greeted back, "Hello, Naina. Shall we go? The families are waiting for us."

"Yeah," she whispered and got in the rear seat of the car.

***

"Hi, Naina!" Rohini Bua opened her arms wide to hug her daughter's friend at the entrance of our family friend's boutique. If you had guessed it by now, yeah, we were there to buy dresses for the wedding.

Angad eyed me and Naina constantly, ensuring we maintained our distance. Naina concluded her hugging spree with Angad. Their hug took a comparatively longer time. Perhaps, they were speaking. He must be complimenting how gorgeous she looked in the saree while she must be replying something savage and romantic.

Mrs Sharma, her daughter, Rohini Bua, Naina, and Meeta were on the first floor which was dedicated to the ladies while Angad, Mr Sharma, Ashok Phupha, and I were on the second floor which was for the men.

I tried to focus on choosing a Sherwani for the wedding ceremony, but my mind and heart were left behind on the first floor. I may not force Naina to love me, but I can love her. Nobody could stop that.

I walked downstairs and my eyes wandered through the floor, searching for her. And, there she was, away from the rest of her group, searching for a saree.

"Hi, Naina," I whispered and stood close to her. "Don't worry. I won't be harassing you. I am not the person you saw a few days ago." Yet, she said nothing. She resumed her work, unaffected by my presence. I wasn't affected by it and continued talking. "Do you need my help?" No reply. "Okay," I replied awkwardly and turned to walk back but her voice stopped me.

"Abhi, I need your help."

I turned back with a smile and asked, "Sure, gentlewoman. How can I help you?"

"Did Angad choose his dress yet?" She asked with curiosity dancing in her eyes. I nodded no. "Okay. You can go. I'll be back soon."

"No, thank you. I need my water bottle. Bua has it." I marched towards Bua and asked, "Bua, water bottle."

"Your parents should have named you Sintex, not Abhishek. He has a stock of water for one year in him. How many times would you drink water, Abhi? I agree, that drinking water is a healthy habit. But... Look at him, Meeta!" Bua complained at my "constantly drinking water" habit while I stood still as a mannequin.

"That's okay, Ma. Abhi, here. Have the bottle," Meeta defended and handed me the stainless steel water bottle. While handing it over, she whispered, "Oye! Did Angad choose his dress?"

I eyed Naina, who was looking at a crimson red saree but I. I looked at Meeta and whispered, "Not yet."

"Okay. Go. I will be there soon," she whispered and turned her back to me while I stood rooted to the ground. Look how two girls are competing with each other and showering love towards him. I would die for that kind of love.

Brushing off the thought from my head, I walked away from the ladies and climbed upstairs while sipping some water. As I reached upstairs, Ashok Phupha and Mr Sharma chose dresses for themselves. But Angad turned the floor upside down in the name of choosing a dress.

I walked to him and asked, "What happened, Angad?"

"Dad and Uncle chose dresses for themselves already. But me... I'm so confused, Abhishek," he complained like a fed-up school teacher.

"When were you clear about something?" I murmured silently enough for him not to hear me.

"Excuse me?" Angad asked. He didn't hear it. He didn't look like it.

"You need guidance, it seems. After all, it's your first wedding, isn't it?" I nudged his elbow, trying to be hilarious.

He scrunched his nose and commented, "Nice try. I'll laugh later. Now, help me with this, Abhi."

"Well, I don't think I could do it. But, I know two people who can do it for me," I suggested and shrugged. He arched one of his eyebrows while I instructed, "Wait here. I'll be back."

I turned to go downstairs when a big shock approached me. Naina climbed up towards us, wearing an ever-charming smile. No, that wasn't the shock. The shock was carried by the girl who followed Naina, also known as Meeta.

Inklings told me that Angad was equally shocked at it. And, they were right indeed. The girls looked genuinely charming with a beautiful smile, unaware of what would happen next.

They came towards us and greeted us in unison, "Hi, guys!"

Naina and Meeta frowned eyebrows and looked at each other. They didn't react initially. But, Meeta let out a small laugh and said, "Naina! Did Abhi call you to choose a Sherwani for him?" And she smirked at us, unaware that someone was green with envy.

Believe it or not, Meeta is one of those ladies who wanted me to get hitched to Naina, owing to my changed behaviour. But, none of them knew what I did to her. And the thought of it made me wince.

"No. I came to choose one for Angad," Naina replied with a sly grin. She didn't look like the bridesmaid of Meeta. She looked like "the bride".

Meeta's face drooped as she heard it while Angad and I didn't know how to react. She walked towards him and started rummaging through the pile of Sherwanis.

It seemed like Meeta was jealous of it as I saw her storming towards Naina and started rummaging as well.

While they were busy competing with each other, Angad and I couldn't help but look helplessly at each other. He was like, "Wish I could rewrite the history." While I replied with a look suggesting, "You had burnt the bridges, man."

We didn't talk. Instead, we explored the floor and aimlessly gazed at those mannequins that were hung on the wall like a clock. I didn't know what he was thinking about, but I was sure I wasn't thinking about something useful.

"Pain!
You made me a, you made me a believer, believer
Pain!
You break me down and build me up, believer, believer." Yeah, I couldn't help but play that trending song in my head on a loop. Yet, that was interrupted when I saw Angad walking towards the ladies.

I followed them and decided to be the sole spectator of the to-be-happened drama.

"Look what I got for you."

I placed my palm on my mouth with my eyes as wide as a boulder rock. I wouldn't have overreacted to it, had it been Naina and Meeta who said this in unison while my gaze fell on the dresses they had each.

Meeta's dress was a black sequined Sherwani with a white lapel pin brooch and black pants. Angad would surely look like a Rajput prince if he dons it.

As my gaze shifted to Naina's, my heart stopped for a while. She had an ivory sherwani with a maroon vest coat and pants. He may look like a prince in Meeta's dress, but he would look like the groom in Naina's dress. And, looking like a groom is much more important than looking like a prince.

"Did you like it?" Meeta asked him with a piercing look, not before looking at her dress.

"Well... Yeah, I liked it," Angad stammered.

If my instincts were right, he would choose Naina's dress for sure. But, I had half a mind about him doing it. He looked at me as if to ask, "What should I do?" I, who was as clueless as he was, nodded.

"Well..." He paused to think for a while. It looked like he loved both of the dresses, but he had to choose one for the sake of one of his girls. I felt his pain. "I would go with..." He paused again, perhaps thinking whether his choice was right. "I would go with Naina's choice." He avoided Meeta's gaze and grabbed Naina's dress from her.

He walked to the trial room while Naina looked at him with a sad smile. She didn't look at Meeta in a bid not to make her feel more bad. Meeta rushed downstairs while Naina looked at me as if to say, "He made me face my friend's wrath."

A few minutes after pacing herself, Naina went downstairs, leading me. We saw Meeta standing in front of a mirror with a red embroidered lehenga. As we went closer to her, she stormed to Bua and complained, "Mom, this looks too much with its stone works and embroidery. I need something minimalistic."

"Let's see," Bua replied as if she was least bothered about her daughter's fashion preferences while Meeta stormed away from her.

Naina strolled towards her while I stayed still behind her. "Meeta, maybe, I can help you."

"No thanks. I guess, my fiance needs your help more than I do. Help him, Her Highness," Meeta snapped while it was no surprise to me. She ends up being mercurial at times when she feels like she is in a critical position or when she has responsibility for something. Naina stood still like a doll while Meeta added, "If you are trying to impress my fiance with trivial stuff, then let me warn you. It wouldn't work."

The next moment, I saw Naina walking away from us. As I looked back, I saw her walking out of the shop. My instincts screamed something could happen. Anything could happen. Hence, I followed my instincts and Naina together.

I saw her getting inside an auto rickshaw. I rode my car to follow her and set things right.

And curse my luck, that driver thought he was riding some Boeing flight. He was faster than usual driving on a busy, Thursday evening road. I kept honking to gain the attention of the auto-rickshaw driver, but they fell on deaf ears.

At one point, I managed to go parallel with the auto-rickshaw, lowered my glass window and yelled, "Brother, please stop the rickshaw. We need to talk."

Perhaps, the driver assumed me to be some spoilt brat-cum-stalker. He didn't stop driving. I honked and yelled, "Brother, please! I can settle you in any way you wish for. The girl in your rickshaw is going to her house to suicide and I am trying to save her. Please help her, brother."

Though a part of me was guilty of lying confidently, I was glad the plan worked out. I paid the driver 500 rupees, which was way too much for a drive of 500 metres. As he sped with his rickshaw, I pulled Naina to the footpath near my car and shushed her from asking a series of questions. "Be quiet!" I yelled as loud as possible. "Let me speak."

We let out deep breaths while the pedestrians looked at us as if we were doing a pole dance. I murmured, "Naina, let's get inside my car." She arched an eyebrow as if to ask what was my plan. I exhaled in a relaxing way and assured, "Don't worry. I told you, I am not the same as before. Trust me."

She exhaled in a way to let out her fears and insecurities and sighed, "Fine!" I got into the car before her and I fastened my seatbelt.

She looked at me with a frown while I read her mind and replied, "It's for your safety. Mine as well. Wear your seatbelt, Naina."

She fastened her seatbelt and demanded, "Speak."

"You should be the one to speak. What happened? Are you okay?" I asked with a genuine concern loaded in my tone. I tried not to maintain a physical contact with her. A micro-second of it would make her feel bad.

Her glazed eyes were sad then she shed some uncontrollable tears. I wanted to unfasten the seatbelt, move closer to her, wrap her in my arms and assure her, "I'm there for you." Only if I was in Angad's place.

The least I could do for her was open my dashboard, take out the box of tissues, and extend it to Naina. She looked at me and sniffed her nose while I pointed my chin at the tissue box. She took a tissue from the box and blew her nose.

I was not kidding but she looked cute while she blew the mucus out of her nose.

***

I brought Naina to the boutique after spending fifteen minutes convincing her how much Meeta would need her on the biggest days of her life. I explained about Meeta's volatile mood swings, though I knew she knew Meeta better than anyone else. As far as she confessed, she was guilty of her affair and her inability to confess things to Meeta. But, a part of her knew it was Angad's fault as well.

We saw Meeta facing the mannequins in sarees, surely not looking for her. Her back was facing our direction as Naina took baby steps and called, "Meeta."

That must have melted Meeta's heart, which I concluded while she coiled Naina in the name of hugging. As I noticed it, I saw Meeta crying and making Naina's saree wet. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have spoken to you like that. I didn't mean to do that, Naina. It was that I was mad with everything. Please, Naina. Forgive me. I'm sorry." Her sobbing intensified word after word.

Naina, who tried hard to breathe, struggled to speak despite overwhelming tears. "It's okay. Do you want some water?"

"Yeah," Meeta replied while her sobbing ended.

As Naina rummaged through her handbag, we heard Meeta say, "I need to tell you guys something." Naina hummed without knowing the intensity of the truth, which I saw in Meeta's anxious and worrisome eyes. "Angad hates me."

***

We, who knew it all: As if Angad loved you before. Come on, Meeta! Call off this wedding.

I heard you, people. And... Trust me, Meeta will hear your warnings soon. I said, trust me.

And... If you have yet to ask what was the surprise, the ones who noticed who the narrator had known by now. Did you like the chapter from the eyes of Abhishek? Drop it in the comment section, and I will be back with another bundle of drama. Stay tuned for more.

See you soon.

Song Courtesy: Anti-Hero by Taylor Swift

Glossary:

1. Bua: Father's sister.
2. Phupha: Father's sister's husband.
3. Saree: A garment that consists of a long piece of cloth that women, particularly in the Indian subcontinent, wear draped around their bodies.
4. Sherwani: A knee-length coat buttoning to the neck, worn by men from South Asia.
5. Lehenga: A full ankle-length skirt worn by Indian women, usually on formal or ceremonial occasions.