Not told about who she was going to marry, quite young, yet not so beautiful, Sanaya dragged her veil towards her face, little crystal-like teardrops falling down her eyes, as she finally bid her parents goodye, to walk to her husband's place and consider it her family from that day onwards. She never quite acknowledged this thing, of having to go away to some place far away from her parents' shelter- or did they even consider her the same way?
Getting her married to man man twice her age, she in her graceful twenties, educated, and him, in his late forties, greying hairs, doing nothing She looked towards her husband. No matter what, she had to love him.
Her decision, her choices were always in the background, and everything was already arranged when her mother finally barged into the wedding hall to ask her in front of a room full of guests, "Asha hai tumhe rishta to manzoor hoga hi?"
What else could the poor girl, who didn't even know the details of her wuld-be, hadn't seen him ever, as was the custom; tell about her decision? Except for a grave and confused yes?
He didn't look back at her, yet she was sure he had seen her looking towards him. Ignored.
***
Sleepless night was her wedding night, as she nervously thought about what would await her, in her married life, sitting upon the bd full of roses of red and light pink, with the fragrance of perfumes, and chandeliers lit all around the bedroom, and sweet-smelling rajinigandhas veiling the bed from aabove, she aited for the middle aged man to arrive, for the love to bloom, if ever it could be, forcibly or not; it had to happen, tonight, or at some other night.
The door opened, as she tightly pulled on her veil again, covering her face, the groom came in, and with cold eyes and a cold tone, looking down upon her, he uttered,
"I have been forced to marry you for being unmarried all my life. I can't like you and even I don't want to. I am going away."
Shanaya looked at him disappear throughthe candle-lit corridoor, far into the darkness of the night, to a place she wasn't familiar with.
Tears fell down her eyes when she realised what had happened, she was abandoned. Forever by all.
