She adjusted the bindi on her forehead...
"You have puffy eyes missy!! That is not how just a 24hr old bride should look like" She told her reflection in the mirror.
She paced the room up and down...anxiety building up...
"Why are they not here yet" She wondered.
She pulled the silk curtains from the window... the marigolds still decorated beautifully...
She felt really uneasy in that bedroom...she walked out into the open garden...the freshly mowed grass was trying hard to hold onto the early morning dew...
It was then she saw them...she ran...she ran without a pause..cursing her silhouettes that were punching hard into her heels...
She could not waste even a minute...she didn't know when she would see them again...she desperately needed to hold onto every minute...she needed to box their presence and take it with her...that feeling she got when she was with them...it would be so rare from now on...
She could not slow down...
Panting she hugged her mother...holding a minute extra than required...she had to bottle this feeling...
She finally let go and then saw her father waving to her from across the street...behind him was a car adorned with fresh lilies ready to take her to her new home...
She ran to him in her red lehenga...the weight of the jhumkas, the bangles and the magalsutra was new to her body...she ran harder ignoring the irritating horns of passing cars...her legs were begging her to stop..
But she ran...
He was making some gestures, probably asking her to wait there but she couldn't...she ran..
She crossed the huge highway...looked into the wrinkled eyes of his dad..
"When did he get so old?" She thought.
She held his hand and touched it to her eyes...feeling his warm fingers after a long time..
He pulled her into a tight hug...
"Not yet...stay strong...he did not raise a weepy daughter" She kept repeating in her mind.
When he finally let go, he was smiling broadly!!
"Let my eyes get used to seeing you as a married woman now!!" he said.
"Your married daughter!!" her boyfriend now newly turned husband corrected him.
"Not yet you dumb girl...hold on for a moment...he did not raise a weepy daughter" She told her bloody overflowing emotions.
The father daughter duo stood there holding hands looking at all the relatives bidding goodbye to each other.
"Why did you raise me if ultimately you were going to give me away to someone else? Didn't you realize it will be difficult for me? " She finally asked trying hard to fight back her tears.
He smiled and said "I am giving you away to someone for whom you sneaked out of the house every Friday to catch the latest movie"
"I was raising a child, it was silly of you to think that I would not know" He smiled removing a strand of colored hair from her daughter's face.
"You knew from the beginning?!?!" She asked unable to control her surprise.
"Yes madam... and I didn't get my eyes off you then and I won't do it even now " he said mockingly.
"You know when you were in 5th grade, your English teacher had started a new chapter- Notes.
That day when you returned from school you wrote me your first love letter. It read and I quote:
I am getting late for tution dad...please have your lunch..I love you very much... :)
From,
Your little princess
You left me speechless that day and you continue it till this moment...
Every time you punched a guy in your school because he pulled your pony tail...you left me speechless
Every time you managed to cheat in your exams...you left me speechless..
Every time you tormented your brother...you left me speechless..
Every time you demanded that the name plate in the front of the house should bear your name too...you left me speechless...
Every time you jumped the gate to meet this young boy...you left me speechless..
And today when I see you trying hard to hold your tears...I am again speechless..."
"I have learnt a lot in life, mostly from your mother. I have seen her evolve from a tender young girl to a very strong woman. She grew up in a very protective environment. When she married me, I could sense that she was completely lost in her new world. New home, new relationships, new problems, new expectations. She was very sad in the beginning, she could not figure out how to keep everyone happy. She never told me all this because obviously I was still a stranger to her. But you know what she never even told this stuff to her parents. I could never figure it out then that why is she taking it all alone when her own folks might give her valuable advice. But today when I saw you running across the road to come see me, I realized that it was so obvious. She was protecting her parents from her pain!!!
The moment her father trusted me with his daughter, his daughter took up the role of a protector. Like you are doing today, protecting me from the pain you feel inside because you know even a single tear will break my heart!!
That day the father and daughter roles reversed. The daughter became the strong protector of her father. And now since the father gave away a piece of his soul to me, he became softer and more vulnerable. He must have felt exactly what I feel today. I feel vulnerable, my most valued possession is not mine now!! No one told me it will be so difficult to be a father...!!
But today I request you, please do not protect me. My job is to love you, please let me do it my way. Let me be your first love forever beta. DO NOT PROTECT ME!!"
A moment passed and then she hugged her father and cried. Cried...cried and cried...till she felt lighter and happier. She was in the arms of her old man that could still take the weight of her world....
Dad's always got your back.... :)