chapter 4 the sudden begining

The soft morning light poured in through the curtains as Reet turned in her bed, still groggy. On the other side of the city, Abbeer rubbed his eyes, wondering if it was still night. But before either of them could fully wake up, their bedroom doors opened wide.

"Beta, uth jao," Reet's mother said, walking in with a wide smile. "Kapde pehno, mehendi ki rasam ka samay ho gaya hai."

At the same time, Abbeer's father barged into his room, holding a beautiful sherwani. "Abbeer, get up! Today is your Mehendi ceremony, jaldi tayyar ho jao!"

Both Reet and Abbeer sat up in bed, confused, their minds racing.

"Mehendi?" Reet asked, still half-asleep.

"Aaj? Par shaadi ki baat toh kal raat hui thi, yeh sab itni jaldi kaise?"

Her mother chuckled. "Beta, hum sab pehle se plan kar chuke the. Tumse sirf haan sunni thi. Rishta pehle se fix hai."

---

Abbeer looked at his dad in disbelief.

"Papa, aap logon ne sab pehle se decide kar liya tha? Par kis se shaadi ho rahi hai meri?"

His dad smiled, avoiding the question. "Wo sab baad mein. Abhi toh bas kapde pehno aur neeche aao. Guests aane wale hain."

---

Both Reet and Abbeer were now getting ready in their separate homes. The Mehendi ceremony - the first pre-wedding ritual - had begun.

Reet sat in the middle of her decorated living room, surrounded by women singing and applying mehendi on her hands. Her heart thumped as she wondered - "Kis se ho rahi hai meri shaadi?"

Somewhere else, Abbeer stood awkwardly as his aunts teased him and helped him get dressed in traditional attire.

Neither of them had seen their future spouse.

Neither of them had even imagined it could be that classmate.

The mystery continued...

The ceremonies had started...

But the bride and groom still didn't know each other's names.

------

Thank you so much for reading 😌.

Please don't forget to give feedback and wait to see what happens in next chapter