Ayesha’s POV

Today, my brother got married to the love of his life, and I couldn’t be more happier.

I lost my parents when I was just a child, but my brother never made me feel unloved. He cared for me like a father would, and now he has given me a sister-in-law who I know will love me like a mother.

Because she’s my Priyu di’s sister-in-law, I met her quite a few times before the wedding. Each time, she showered me with so much love and warmth that it almost felt like she was my mother.

I can’t wait to spend time with her.

“Eshu di,” Pari said, breaking my chain of thoughts.

“Where are you lost? Your phone is ringing,” she added.

“Nothing chutku,” I muttered, picking up the call.
(Nothing little one)

“Ayesha Mehra!” came my best friend’s shout from the other side.

“Stop shouting, you almost made me deaf,” I said with a sigh.

“It would be better if you lost your ears, because you never want to listen to what I say anyway.” She yelled again.

Dramatic much? Yes, that’s my best friend, Jivika Mathur.

“What’s wrong, Jivu?” I asked, baffled by her outburst.

“What’s wrong, Jivu? Kamini, I told you to give me your project, I would have completed it for you. But no, Jhansi ki Rani had to do everything on her own. Now tell me, how will you manage, ha? You have less than 8 hours to submit the project.” She shouted.

She wasn’t attending the wedding because her parents were out of town and didn’t allow her to come alone.

Conservative much.

“I’ll manage, Jivu, don’t worry,” I said.

And that was true. I had planned to change and work on the project after reaching home, since I was sure Chachi wouldn’t do any after-wedding rituals today.

“I would’ve helped, Ayeshu. Why are you pressuring yourself?” she said softly.

“I’m not. Relax. I’ll go now, we’re leaving. I’ll see you in school tomorrow. Byee.” I said in one go and declined the call after her response.

“Kids, let’s go, we need to be there for your bhabhi’s arrival,” Chachi said, walking towards the door. We both nodded and followed her. Looking back, I saw bhai and bhabhi walking towards the guests, probably for the vidai.

Reaching home, we decorated the main door beautifully. The workers had already done a fabulous job, so we just had to add finishing touches,lighting diyas and scattering some flower petals, making sure a generous amount was ready for bhabhi’s grah pravesh.

While I took care of the entrance, Pari, surprisingly, went out of character and helped Chachi prepare the necessary items for the ritual.

Once everything was done, Pari and I collapsed on the sofa, our heads resting on each other as though we were offering emotional support. Chachi just shook her head at our melodrama.

Later, we welcomed bhabhi with all the love we had, because honestly? She deserves every bit of it.

As expected, Chachi ordered us to retire to our rooms and rest for the day. The rest of the rituals with the newlyweds would be done tomorrow.

After reaching my room, I quickly took a relaxing shower and made myself a cup of coffee with the instant premix I had stocked up. Just pouring it into hot water boiled in my kettle took me barely a minute.

I’m in my last semester of college, and after that I plan to take the SSC-CGL exam to become a CBI officer. I haven’t discussed this with bhai or anyone in the family yet, but I’m sure they’ll understand.

And I want to investigate something that happened on that dreadful day.

Something that shook us to the core, that changed our lives… and that took our parents away from me and bhai.

Pulling myself out of those dreadful thoughts, I decided it was better to focus on my project. I had been working on it whenever I got the chance during the wedding, since tomorrow was the submission.

The next few hours, I worked tirelessly,underlining every keyword, pasting every relevant picture, making sure each heading drew attention to the content. It was past 6 a.m. when I was finally done. The submission was at 10 a.m.

Sleeping now was pointless. I arranged my project in a file, took a quick shower, and went downstairs where my loved ones were having breakfast.

“Good morning,” I greeted, sitting in my usual spot as a chorus of greetings echoed back.

“Eshu, did you not sleep well?” bhabhi asked worriedly, and suddenly, all eyes were on me.

“No bhabhi, I did. I just woke up at my usual time,” I lied, not wanting her to worry about me unnecessarily.

Sleepless nights were normal for me. I didn’t want her concern over something so trivial.

“You should’ve slept, bachha. Look at you-you look so tired,” Chachi said softly, caressing my hair with concern.

“Don’t worry about me, Chachi, I’m fine,” I reassured her, holding her hand gently.

“Also, I have to go to college to submit a project. I’ll be back early,” I informed them.

“Okay, when are you leaving, Eshu?” Bhai asked, with a soft smile.

“In an hour, bhai. I’m sorry, I didn’t want to skip your wedding rituals,” I said, guilt gnawing at me for not being fully present for him.

“It’s okay, little one. This is about your career,” he replied, understanding my inner turmoil like he always did.

“Besides, we can do the wedding rituals when you come back, Eshu,” bhabhi added, and the others nodded in agreement. I gave them a grateful smile.

Later, after grabbing my bag and project file, I left for college. Before starting my car, I quickly texted Jivika, telling her she could finish her last-minute tasks and I wouldn’t have to wait for her.

After about 20 minutes of driving, I reached Jivika’s house. She came down within minutes, and together we left to survive college for the next hour or two.

The project? Yes, we submitted it successfully, and now we didn’t have to go to college anymore..except for exams, of course.

And just like bhabhi had promised, they had waited for me to celebrate the post-wedding rituals. After a fun round of games and laughter, the family spent time together, enjoyed a light dinner, and retired early for the night,including me.

It had been a long day. With a sigh, I freshened up, lay down on my bed, and immediately drifted off to sleep.