Everything is set. Dressing up's, make-up's, decorating the
car – While a few are busy setting up the arrangements, the rest are in a hurry
to reach the church. The ceremony begins in some time, and within a couple of
hours, she will be the wife of the most eligible bachelor in town!
Butterflies in the stomach!
She turned to the mirror and looked at herself. There she
saw someone extremely beautiful smiling at her.
Never ever did she really bother about how she looked all these days,
but today is special. It’s her wedding day!
The pristine white gown and the tiara added to her beauty
and she wondered whether she ever looked or would look as pretty as she did
today.
The photographers and the bride’s maids surrounded her and there
were flashes everywhere. Someone called out as they were getting late. She got
into the car with that everlasting wide smile on her face.
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He in his sleek black suit looked fantabulous. He could
easily give all those hunks in the B-town a run for their money any day with
his charm and good looks. And today, all eyes are definitely going to be on
him. All the pretty young women out there would suspire for not having him all
for themselves.
On his way to the church, his thoughts slowly wound back to
the day he first met her and henceforth.
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First day of college. Like every fresher, he was also
skeptical about the things he would have to face daily apart from the lectures
and assignments. Ragging topped them all. As he walked through the department,
he could see many gangs who obviously looked like seniors here and there
indulged in their set of ragging sessions. He knew his turn would come anytime
from anywhere and he had already prepared himself for an attack.
The coffee addict in him forced him to go to the cafeteria
and grab the cup of coffee for the hour. As he was waiting for his turn in the
not-so-long queue, a group of guys surrounded him. It was his lot to get
ragged. Though he was already ready for this, the things his seniors asked him
to do did scare the hell out of him. Somewhere in between the whole ragging
session, his eyes met another from a certain distance. That was her!
The fear on her face made it clear that she was a fresher
too. He couldn’t take his eyes off her, and he could sense his fear fading in
the air. He started doing everything his seniors asked him to do, though his
eyes were stuck on her. He wished he could watch her like that all through his
life.
After all the ragging, he got into his class, and to his
surprise he found the same face somewhere in the crowd sitting next to his
seat. He never believed in love at first sight, but this moment changed his
idea of it. He was in love, with this woman, who he never knew would be
standing next to him as the bride in the Altar this day.
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The car slowed down and he got off. The groom’s men
accompanied him and all eyes were on this bunch of men who looked better than
one another. But he was still the best among them all. Another car slowed past
them and there comes the bride.
His heart skipped a beat. He could feel the same things he
felt when he met her for the first time. The prettiest bride he has ever seen.
She looked at him, passed a smile and that was it! He fell for her all over
again!
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He doesn’t really remember how he managed to make her feel
his love. It all began from passing notes and sharing pens. Like every other
college-love-birds, from two total strangers to friends, to best of friends and
then to the most celebrated couple in college- they went through it all. He
could still remember the day he confessed his love to her. Second year exams
and the fifth day of their combine studies, somewhere in the algorithms, he
threw it on her. She looked stunned for a moment, looked into his eyes next and
gave that smile he always went gaga over, as though she was waiting for this
day. And the rest was history.
They loved, fought, loved again... Together forever – that was sort of an oath
they both took and they did live up to it. Their love was something everyone
looked up to. Many were jealous too. How can two people love each other like
that? – They wondered.
6 years never seemed long to them. After college she joined
one of those MNCs and he decided to take up his father’s business. Both were
busy but that never shook their relationship. The perfect relation anyone would
want to have. The families were pretty convinced too and that is how they
decided to get their children married to each other.
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The Altar was decorated for the wedding. The groom’s men
accompanied the groom and the Priest. Down the center aisle, entered the
bride’s maid, followed by the Matron of honor, the Best Man, and the ring
bearer. Finally, the bride and her father entered and cheers spread everywhere.
The guests stood and the Call to Worship began. After the Opening prayer,
everyone took their seats. The two of them were stealing glances every now and
then without giving a hint to anyone.
It took more than an hour for the ceremony to complete and
finally it was time for the wedding vows. The bride and groom faced each other
with smiles on their faces. Rings were exchanged and they were pronounced as
husband and wife.
‘You may now kiss the bride’.
The bride blushed and the groom slowly gave her a peck. The
Priest then presented the couple to the crowd and they rejoiced.
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Their first kiss was something that was imprinted in him. It
was just another day and they were indulged in their regular conversation that
included books, studies, family, friends, the movie they recently watched, the
gift her father gave her, the restaurant they had lunch at the other day and
many more. She loves to talk, and he was a great listener. She was busy
blabbering about something that excited her and the excitement on her face made
him go crazy. He could not stop himself but kiss her gently. It was unexpected
to them both. They looked at each other for a moment, stunned and then kissed
again. Their first kiss; the best one.
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The bride and groom slowly left the platform. She is married
now and looked more than happy. He could not stop looking at her when she
walked past him. He couldn’t move from where he stood until someone called him
out to follow the couple. He was the Best man after all!
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That was probably the first time she walked out with tears.
Their parents wanted them to get married at the earliest, but he was not ready
for it yet. He did love her and wanted her to be his partner, but wasn’t really
ready to take up the responsibilities at that point. It was an ultimate
challenge for him to get married to her to prove his love for her. Of course,
she was the best thing that had happened to him but, at the same time, he
couldn’t imagine himself as a married man, looking after a family. He was too
young to be that. He panicked and that
made the families argue. She wasn’t convinced with his reasons. He couldn’t win
her over either. She walked out of his life. Her parents found a groom for her
who was none other than his best friend. She thought his love wasn't as deep as
she thought it was. She was hurt, but decided to move on.
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A year passed by. And it was too late for him to do
something about it; he was clueless either. Now, she is married, to his best
friend and he is their best man! The 6 long years they spent together now
remain as memories inside him. The magical love is over. The couple everyone
admired has parted their ways.
No one could ever understand him, not even himself. If at
all he wasn’t afraid of the responsibilities, the groom and the best man would
have switched their roles now. This day would have been the best day of his
life. She would have become his woman, officially. He lost the chance forever.
Now all that left with him was the moments he spent with her. That would keep
him alive.
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A tear drop rolled down his eyes. He wiped it off
immediately before anyone could notice. No one really did, except her. There
will be no other man who would love her as much as he did and it was a
reciprocated feeling. He would remain the best thing happened to her as well
and they both knew it.
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Time for the wedding toast! He knew what he had to say, but
no one else had a clue. Everyone was curious to hear him speak.
“When this man asked me to be his best man, I asked him
Dude, why me?........” Thus he began.
