"Please help me out. I want to continue my education. How am I supposed to escape this?”, she whispered in the phone to her sister. "That's not happening Sweetie. Mom got married at 19, I got married at 19 and now that you're 19, it's your turn", came the helpless reply. "But why don't you understand? I don't even know him. And how can I become a designer if I get married by 19? What about my dreams? You are the only one who can convince our parents now. I really need your help." Before her sister could answer, she heard her mother coming down the stairs. "Okay okay. I'm hanging up. Please try to think of a solution. I'll call you back tomorrow". Saying so, she hurriedly cut the call, bolted the room and sat on the floor. Within no time, she realized she was crying.
"How can I marry someone I don't know?" she screamed to herself in silence. She was helpless, didn't know what to do. She tried to convince her parents but failed in every attempt. She never dared going against their instructions as she respected her family norms and traditions sincerely. Because of having strict parents, she was never allowed to express herself openly at home. She sat weeping for days and weeks together. All the arrangements for marriage were being made. Everyone was happy and excited except her. One day, she dared going and talking about it to her father.
He was sitting the veranda, sipping his morning coffee and enjoying the view. Not knowing how to start the topic, she went and stood in there silently. After a few minutes, she spoke "Dad, I don't know how you'll take it. But I'm not interested in getting married anywhere soon. I'm going to become a designer." Hearing this, her father got furious. Without a second thought, he stood up in anger and splashed the hot coffee on her face.
She woke up aghast and scared. It was a dream. Within few moments, she was fully awake and astonished to find herself in a new place. She got up and sat on her bed. The bed, doors, windows, room and everything else that was decorated aesthetically definitely were not hers. She walked up to the mirror and thought "How could I fall asleep with all this make up and heavy jewelry?" Then she realized she's in her husband's place. She was married last night and now, this place is her new home. Her past once again replayed in the form of a dream which woke her up. She took out her diary and wrote, "I got married to a stranger".
It's the end, she told herself. Like her mother and sister, even she has to spend her life at her in-laws place without having a voice for self, she thought. After all, that's what she has learnt from the women of her family. Many days passed. She gave up on her ambition to become a designer and got used to the new home and their practices. One day, as she was cleaning her room, she found a box that she had brought with her from her mother's place. It contained a few scraps she made for occasions, her fabrics and a few designs that she had designed before marriage. She sat in nostalgia looking at the stuff when her husband walked in.
"Hey, this is pretty. Whose is it?" he asked impressed. "These are mine, I designed them", she said in a low voice hopelessly. "Then why didn't you continue designing after marriage? Not everyone has this talent", he encouraged instantly. She couldn't believe it. Not knowing how to react, she said, "But how can I? I am married and have a family to take care of" to which he replied "In that case, even I am married. Do you want me to quit working?". She was taken aback. She didn't know what to answer. So he continued, "I never wanted you to get married to me at the cost of your career. It is as important as mine. You have all rights to chase your dreams." All that struggle before marriage was so unnecessary, she thought. But that was not the situation at her mother's place.
As her husband repeatedly kept motivating her, she finally agreed to continue her career after marriage. Within a few years, she was the youngest one among the top 10 designers of the city at the age of 22. She opened a boutique on her own and named it after her husband as it wouldn't have been possible without him. Later that day, she came home and found the diary in which she wrote "I got married to a stranger". She took a pen, and below that line she added "And I fell in love with him".
"Hey, this is pretty. Whose is it?" he asked impressed. "These are mine, I designed them", she said in a low voice hopelessly. "Then why didn't you continue designing after marriage? Not everyone has this talent", he encouraged instantly. She couldn't believe it. Not knowing how to react, she said, "But how can I? I am married and have a family to take care of" to which he replied "In that case, even I am married. Do you want me to quit working?". She was taken aback. She didn't know what to answer. So he continued, "I never wanted you to get married to me at the cost of your career. It is as important as mine. You have all rights to chase your dreams." All that struggle before marriage was so unnecessary, she thought. But that was not the situation at her mother's place.
As her husband repeatedly kept motivating her, she finally agreed to continue her career after marriage. Within a few years, she was the youngest one among the top 10 designers of the city at the age of 22. She opened a boutique on her own and named it after her husband as it wouldn't have been possible without him. Later that day, she came home and found the diary in which she wrote "I got married to a stranger". She took a pen, and below that line she added "And I fell in love with him".
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