A smile spread across her lips as she went through the pictures. They were from her mother’s wedding, some from their village. She could recognise her great-grandparents and her grandparents. Some other older people she didn’t recognise.

She also recognised Devansh’s parents and grandparents. They were from the same village. Their families have been friends since forever. Their great-grandparents were friends. After that their grandparents. Then their parents and now them.

Her eyes stopped at a particular picture. She could recognise herself. She seemed barely three or four years old. And besides her stood Devansh. Both of them were dressed up as bride and groom. 

Rishika examined the picture carefully. She was adorned exactly as a bride would. She even had mangalsutra around her neck and vermillion in her hair. Was this a fancy dress of some kind?

“Mummy!”

She called for her mother. Her mother came after a few minutes and looked at her.

“Kya kaam bola tha tujhe aur tu kya leke baith gyi hai?”

(What work had I given and what are you doing?)

“Arre mummy! Idhar toh aao! Ye kabki hai batao na? Aur hum aise kyu bane huye hai. Fancy dress tha kya koi?”

(Come here! When did you click this? Why are you dressed like that. Was there some fancy dress?)

She pushed the picture in front of her mother’s eyes. She squinted, pushing the picture back and looked at it from a distance. A smile formed on her face and she said.

“Teri shaadi ki hai.”

(It’s your wedding.)

“Hain!?”

(What!?)

Rishika looked at her incredulously. Her mother chuckled and sat on the stool in front of her as she looked at the other pictures from that day.

“Tu 4 saal ki thi. Dev 6 saal ka hoga isme. Tere bade dadi dadu bhut orthodox the. Aur pehle toh gaao mai bacho ki shaadi kra hi dete the. Vidaai baad mai hoti thi par shaadi pehle kra dete the.”

(You were 4. Dev might be 6. Your grandparents were very orthodox. And earlier kids used to be wed in villages. The bride lived with her groom later but wedding happened early.)

“Toh aap logo ne socha hamari bhi shaadi kra do?”

(So you thought of getting us married?)

Rishika was surprised. What in the Bollywood was this? Her mother chuckled again and said.

“Arre humne nhi kia. Devansh ke bade dadu ki tabiyat bhut kharab thi uss waqt. Wo bas jaane se pehle apne pote ko dulha bante dekhna chahte the. Aur dekho. Iske 2 mahine baad hi guzar gye the. Pr apni aakhri ichha puri krke khushi se gye the.”

(We did not. Devansh’s great grandfather was very ill that time. He just wanted to see his grandson as a groom before he dies. And see. He died 2 months after this. He went happily seeing his last wish being fulfilled.)

Her mother smiled and Rishika looked at the picture again.

“Lekin Vedant bhaiya kyu nhi hai phir? Bade toh wo the na.”

(Why is Vedant bhaiya not here then? He is elder.)

Her mother chuckled, still remembering the scene as if it were yesterday.

“Pehle wahi baitha tha. Par tune zidd laga di. Mujhe toh Dev hi chahiye. Pakad ke baith gyi Dev ko. Chhodne ko hi ready nhi thi. Last moment par hume dulha change krna pada.”

(He sat earlier. But you were adamant. That you want Dev only. You held him tight. You were not ready to leave him. We had to change the groom at the last moment.)

Rishika bit her lip. She could imagine herself doing that. A soft chuckle escaped her lips.

“Dev ko pata hai iss baare mai?”

(Does Dev know about this?)

“Pata nhi. Humne kabhi uss din ke baad iski baat nhi kri. Kisi ne bhi seriously nhi lia tha isse. Bas uncle ki ichha thi toh humne mana nhi kia.”

(No idea. We never talked about it after that day. Nobody took it seriously. We did not deny because it was uncle’s last wish.)

“Matlab aap log nhi maante iss shaadi ko?”

(That means you don’t consider this marriage?)

She asked her mother who shook her head.

“Tum bache the. Samajh nhi thi tumhe. Aur hum nhi chahte the ki tumhe iske baare mai batake kisi bhi tarah se force ya pressurize kre. Tumhari life hai. Tumhe haq hai apni marzi se jeene ka.”

(You were kids. You had no knowledge. And we did not want to pressurize or force you in any way by telling this. It’s your life. You have the right to live it how you want.)

Rishika looked at her mother and pouted.

“Toh phir ab kyu bataya? Mujhe yahi bol deti ki fancy dress tha. Mere dimaag toh ye baat aa gyi na ab ki wo gadha mera pati hai.”

(Why did you tell me now? You could have said it was fancy dress. It is now registered in my brain that that donkey is my husband.)

“Chal pagal!”

(Stupid!)

Her mother hit her head lightly and got up, resuming her work. Rishika kept on sitting there and staring at the picture.

She had no idea why this new piece of information mattered so much. She had been staring at the picture all day. And when she was not, it revolved around her mind. 

Even now, she laid on her bed after dinner and kept looking at it. Taking in all the details. Imagining them in the same way now.

Did Dev know? How would he react if she told him now? Would he make fun of her? Or would it change something inside him too? But the main question was why did she think about it so much?

Their parents had not pondered so much. They did not even talk about it. There was no force or pressure and she was free to choose whoever she wanted to. Yet, somehow her brain refused. 

She knew the marriage wasn’t even valid because they were kids. But a sudden thought, of them being married now, took place in her mind.

Rishika had no clue why she couldn’t get the fact of their marriage out of her head. What was wrong with her? Dev had been her best friend ever since she’d remembered. Why is she getting mixed feelings about him now?

Almost a month had passed since Rishika discovered the fact about their alleged marriage. She had been trying to behave normally around Devansh but every time he was in front of her, her heart skipped a beat and she felt giddy.

It was a Sunday again and Devansh was sprawled on Rishika’s bed in the evening. She was completing some pending work while he looked at her bored.

He sighed and decided to explore to keep himself busy. He raked his fingers through her bookshelf and picked out a book at random. His brows furrowed when a picture fell down.

He bent to pick it up and frowned harder.

“Oyee! Ye kya hai?”

(What is this?)

He asked Rishika who hummed and looked at him. She squinted her eyes and tried to see what he was showing from a distance.

Her eyes widened a little before she composed herself. She kept her laptop aside and walked towards him. She took the picture from his hands and said.

“Ye! Ye hamari shaadi ki photo hai.”

(This! This is our wedding photo.)

She tried to sound nonchalant. Devansh was surprised.

“Tujhe pata hai?”

(You know?)

She looked at him wide eyed and asked.

“Tujhe pata hai?”

(You know?)

He shrugged and picked up another book, trying to pretend to be busy.

“Mummy ne bataya tha kuch saal pehle.”

(Mummy told me a few years back.)