I was sitting on the sofa, settled on the center stage for the bride and groom, waiting for my bride, Anaisha.

Whenever I thought of her or heard her name, I felt a distinct sensation, a different feeling in my heart. I didn't know what it was—but it was truly very different; I’d never felt like this before.
She was the daughter of Mr. Chauhan. He was an employee in our office. He has been working in our office for thirty years—a trusted, loyal man. I respect him a lot.

I still remember, I was in the office that was a hectic day. Back-to-back meetings and discussions were underway for an upcoming project; that project was very important for our company.
I was sitting in my cabin, going through some important project files, when my phone, which was placed next to the file I was working on, rang. I lifted my head to look and I frowned, and a sigh escaped my lips after seeing the name that was flashing on my phone screen.

It was my little brother, Lakshya. I picked up the call. "Hello."
"Bhaiya (Brother), when will you come home?" He was sounding different today.

"I’m going to be late… Why? Is everything alright?" I asked, concerned.

"Haa (Yes)… Bhaiya, wo Dadi (Brother, it’s Grandma), you just come fast." After saying this, he hurriedly disconnected the phone.

"What Dadi? Hello, Lakshya?" Worry crept into my mind.
Without thinking of anything else, I quickly picked up my coat from the couch, took the car keys, and left for home.
Without parking my car properly, I entered the house almost running and saw that everyone was sitting in the living room; Dadi was also there. Without any delay, I went and knelt in front of her. "Dadi, what happened? Are you alright?" I was very worried.

"Ekku, yes, I’m fine." Dadi replied

"But I got a call from Lakshya, and he—" I stopped mid-sentence, turned, and pinned him with a sharp glare. He was standing behind Maa's (Mom's) sofa, opposite Dadi’s sofa, still in his college football team T-shirt, with a pale face.

I saw him swallow hard. "Bh... Bhaiya, Dadi, Bhaiya, listen..." Stammering, he started running when he saw that I was taking slow steps toward him.

"You wait… This is the limit, Lakshya! Come here!" I was irritated and frustrated with his antics now. I ran after him to catch him.

"Arey, Bhaiya, Dadi told me to do it. Dadi, say something, tell Bhaiya that you told me to do it..." He ran behind the pillar and tried to explain.

As if I was going to believe him. "You come here!"

"I told you to call and ask him when he would come, not to make him worry!" Dadi laughed, fully enjoying Lakshya’s predicament.

"Wait, Bhaiya, we will also help you!" Tanish and Avni also started running after Lakshya.
The whole family was laughing, fully enjoying the scene.

Finally, Dadi stopped us. "Stop, everyone, and sit quietly. Ekku, go freshen up and have dinner, then I have to discuss something very important." Dadi smiled.

"Why, Dadi? Bhaiya is here, everyone is here, tell us now, naa (please)?" Avni asked curiously.

"Yes, Dadi!" Tanish and Lakshya joined in.

Dadi shook her head. "Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet."

Tanish, Lakshya, and Avni whined. "Dadi, no!"

"Ekku, go," Maa (Mom) said smilingly.

I nodded and left for my room.
What does Grandma want to say?
Thinking this, I went to take a bath. After bathing, I changed into a black T-shirt and grey sweatpants and went downstairs. I had dinner and after that, I joined everyone in the living room.

"Come, Beta (Son), sit," Papa said.

I nodded.

"Bhaiya, come fast!" Avni patted the sofa next to her, frustrated and curious.

Tanish huffed. "Yes, Bhaiya, Dadi will tell us only after you sit down!"

"Yes, and I want to know what Dadi wants to tell us!" Lakshya said, matching Tanish and Avni’s curiosity and frustration.

I shook my head, smiled at them, and sat beside Avni. She grinned. I patted her head lovingly.
Dadi was sitting on the couch settled in the center. Maa and Papa were sitting on the couch on her right. Lakshya and Tanish were sitting on the couch next to them. Me and Avni were sitting on the couch on her left.
A thick silence was there. Everyone was waiting for Dadi to say what she wanted to say.
Dadi, Maa, and Papa were looking at each other and smiling—a knowing smile that suggested something significant was coming.
I frowned, sitting all confused with their actions. Tanish, Lakshya, and Avni also mirrored my confusion, looking between Dadi and Maa-Papa.

"Dadi, why are you, Maa, and Papa looking at each other and smiling like this?" Finally, Avni broke the silence.

"Dadi, Bhaiya is here, we all are here. Now tell us what you wanted to say," Tanish urged.

We heard Lakshya's dramatic, tired sound. "Yes, Dadi, say quickly! I want to sleep, too. Tomorrow is my football match. For that, I have to sleep properly, so that I can fully focus on my match tomorrow and win!" He whinned.

We all rolled our eyes at this boy, and then suddenly, Grandma dropped a bomb
"I have liked a girl for you, Ekansh."

And silence… A pin-drop silence.
I was frozen. My eyes widened. I was not prepared for that; this was so sudden. I just couldn't even; my brain was not functioning. I was just staring at her. It took me some time to register her words. Grandma has been telling me to get married for a long time, but I have always been avoiding it. I had to take my business to great heights. I was processing what Dadi just said.
Tanish, Lakshya, and Avni were also shocked like me, staring at her with wide eyes.

"Whattttttttttttt!" the three shouted together.

"Dadi, what are you saying?" Shock and disbelief laced in Tanish's voice, as if he heard something wrong.

Lakshya, who was sitting, suddenly got up and said loudly, "Brother is getting married, and we don't know!"

Even I don't know that I'm getting married! I was still sitting in disbelief, so shocked and a little frustrated by the news. This was unexpected, so sudden that... that I couldn't process anything. When did this happen? Why didn't anyone ask me anything before? Although I knew the answer, because Dadi knew that I would refuse like I always did, so she didn't ask. But still, since this is about my marriage, Dadi should have told me once. Should have asked me. I was not ready for this.

"But Dadi, How? When?" Avni asked in shock, almost shouting.

"Why are you three shouting like this, and what do you mean by 'how'? Like your parents got married! This is the right age for Ekku to get married. Now he himself is not getting married, and when I asked him if he liked anyone, then tell me, he said I don't like anyone. But I want to see my great-grandchildren and my daughter-in-law, and for that, he has to get married. I want to see my Ekku married now." There was firmness but still a softness in her voice.

Lakshya, who had slipped from the couch after listening to Dadi, again adjusted himself on the couch and said with bored expressions, "You are right, Dadi. Bhaiya is getting older; he is thirty-two now, anyway."

And I was still in shock.

"But Dadi, who is the girl?" Avni asked, ignoring Lakshya, shock and disbelief laced in her voice with a hint of curiosity.

A smile formed on Dadi's lips. "She is the daughter of Mr. Anand Chauhan."

"Papa's right-hand, Chauhan Uncle?" Tanish's brows were frowned and confused.

"Yes, Mr. Chauhan. He has been working in our office for many years. They are simple people. We met them last week at the success party of the deal we cracked last month," Papa said.

"We met them for the first time there, and as soon as we saw her, I liked her in that very moment. She is beautiful, kind, sensible, and a mature girl. She knows how to respect elders. A perfect girl for my Ekansh. There cannot be a better girl than her for my Ekku." There was a smile on Dadi's face but firmness in her voice.

"But what's her name?" Avni asked with widening and curious eyes.

"Anaisha. Her name is Anaisha," Dadi said, and that constant smile was on her face.

"Anaisha," I repeated her name in my mind, finally coming out of my shocked state, or better to say my statue mode, because the shock was still there fully, and I still couldn't form words.

"Really? So why didn't we see them there?" Lakshya frowned.
"Because you were busy eating," Tanish shrugged.

Suddenly, Avni's loud voice came—"Wow, Grandma, you have decided everything! Now at least show us her photo," with full excitement and curiosity in her voice.

"Haa, haa, tum bhi dekho (Yes, yes, you also look)," Maa extended her hands, but our over-excited two kids, Lakshya and Avni, jumped and snatched the photo from Maa's hand. Dadi, Maa, and Papa shook their heads at my siblings’ antics.

"WOW!! She is so beautiful. She is looking like a goddess!" Avni and Lakshya said with widening eyes, looking at her photo, their palms on their opened mouths with amazement.

Tanish, who was sitting at his place till now, now got up and almost ran toward Avni and Lakshya. "Hey, show me too!"
He snatched the photo from them. "She is an angel, yaar !"

And I was sitting and looking at everyone there. Shocked, confused... no, traumatized is the right word for the state I was in. Marriage? And that word hit me hard, finally breaking the spell of shock, and I turned toward Dadi fully, still sitting on the couch.
"But Dadi—" As soon as I started to speak, Dadi cut me off in between.

"No 'buts,' Ekku," she stopped me with her hand from saying what I always say. After a little pause, she continued. "I have heard a lot that you don't want to get married. If you don't want to get married now, then when will you? Anaisha is a nice girl, Beta. She will be perfect for you. For your Dadi, this is my last wish. I want to see you married, Ekku. Who knows whether I will be alive or not? Who knows how much time I have left? I am getting old now. I want to see." Dadi said with a sad face, and I knew that Dadi had deliberately done this to blackmail me.

"Yes, Ekku, now I want a daughter-in-law," Maa said with a soft smile.

"Ekansh, Beta, Maa is right. This is the right time," Papa said.

And before I could say anything—
"Ekku, this is my last wish, for me. Don't you trust your Grandmother? I was the one who found your mother, too. At least meet her once. I'm sure you will like her, too. And if you don't like it, we won't force you," Dadi said.

I sighed, then slightly nodded. "Ok, I'll meet her."

"Yeahhhhhhh!" Tanish, Avni, and Lakshya were jumping in excitement. Then all three of them came to me and turned the photo toward me. "Bhaiya, you also see!"

I turned my eyes to her photo, and everything froze. My eyes stayed on her photo, unmoved, staring. She is beautiful.

I was staring at her photo when suddenly Dadi's voice came. "Now go, everyone, sleep."

Everyone nodded, wished "Good night," and started going to their room. Papa patted my shoulder before leaving. I was also going when my three monkeys came in front of me with their mischievous grin, hands folded to their chests.

"Yes, Bhaiya, sleep well," Tanish over-grinned.

"You also have to meet her tomorrow," Avni said with the same mischief.

"Yes, the first impression is the last impression, Bhaiya," Lakshya said dramatically.

I glared at them. "You three are taking too much. Go and sleep, otherwise, if I come to MEET you in your sleep, then my IMPRESSION will turn your WELL SLEEP into a nightmare," I said in a low voice, stretching the words meet, impression, and well sleep.

"No, no, Bhaiya, we are going! Good night!!" And they ran to their rooms.

I shook my head, smiling at their antics, and headed toward my room.

I entered my room, placed the photo on the bed, and headed toward the bathroom. When I came back to the room—my room since childhood—I felt this strange emptiness. I don't know why I was feeling this loneliness. Everyone was there with me, my family, I have everything, then why this strange feeling was there deep in my heart? And then my eyes landed on her photo, Anaisha's photo. I slowly picked it up, staring, and then an unknown, unexplainable sense of relief took over me.
What was that?

"Bhaiya, Bhabi (Sister-in-law) is here! Look how pretty she is looking," Avni's voice came.

I came back to reality from my thoughts, and when I looked up, she was standing there in that red lehenga, looking like a goddess.

My bride, Anaisha.

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