Talk of the Town

14 //

THREE MONTHS LATER.

Leave it to Dakshina to sneak liquor into her dressing room on her engagement night. "I'm nervous, okay?" she reasons when Miraya gives her a pointed look.

"Daksh, you will be fine. You look like a daydream. The only thing you should be nervous about is jealous men sending daggers at Ranav for stealing you before they get a chance," Miraya says, fishing a jalebi from the sweet box and biting into it. "Mmm, these are good."

"You're not the one about to stand in front of five hundred judgemental eyes!" Dakshina says, sipping the drink until she gets the very last drop.

Miraya shrugs. "I am not the one who signed up for this."

Dakshina throws her head back and groans. "Okay, now we're doing makeup. Then clothing. Then jewellery. I have to finish it in two hours."

"Your father is not coming?"

"He said he wanted to even though he has work. I told him not to. He can come for the wedding. There's not much going to happen tonight anyway. All these lavish decorations are only for the photographs and presents."

Miraya pushes the rest of the jalebi inside her mouth. "I admire you, you know, Daksh. I can never stand independent and do the things you do. Planning an engagement party for five hundred people on your own and partly funding it out of your own pocket, doing makeup and styling by yourself — I can never."

"It's not like I did it on my own. I had Ranav backing me up. I had your help. Without you, I wouldn't have been able to book a good photographer. You helped me pick out the ring and tell me the customary traditions to be followed. It might seem impossible when you think about it but when you're forced into such a situation, you could do it too, Miraya. I say this from experience so trust me on this: If you have someone supporting you like Ranav, you'll be surprised how much you can do," Dakshina drops her makeup brush and turns to look at her. "All you need is one person to trust you more than you trust yourself."

Miraya doesn't believe her.

She wants to be independent and she is trying to be, but a part of her is scared to stand alone. She needs people. She needs her family's opinions no matter how in contrast they are to hers. There is a constant need for validation. Someone has to keep telling her, You are going in the right direction. No, that's not the right thing to do. You need to choose the other one. She wants to make her own decisions but it isn't as easy as it sounds.

Or maybe she isn't trusting herself enough.

"Are you sure your parents would be okay with me not inviting them? I feel bad about it," Dakshina says.

"Oh, trust me. You will feel worse if they come." Miraya grabs a tissue to wipe her hands.

"But still..."

"I'll be honest, Daksh. My mother doesn't like you. I don't think my father even remembers who you are. So, drop the subject."

Her best friend puts her hands over her chest. "Ouch. Your mother was always nice to me."

"Oh, she is nice on the outside. But eh, not so much on the inside. She thinks you are a bad influence on me." Miraya didn't want to tell this bit of information to Dakshina ever but there was no point hiding it from her. She knows how naggy her mother can be.

"Double ouch." Dakshina stares at her reflection in the mirror with her nose scrunched as if something is wrong with her.

"Don't worry about it," Miraya says, wrapping her arms around her shoulders. "I love you and you are perfect."