Now this chapter contains about the wedding ceremony of Nora and Ben. And I am now remembering about another wedding and I am not able to stop laughing.

Happy Reading! :D :D

Chapter-20

The sky had sporadic beams of the Sun and a cool ether along the horizon; fresh air impending from all the corners of the entire abode when Ishani slid down from the Volvo, her dense saree flowing through the ground, making her look more appealing. She turned towards him as the gleaming sparkles of her saree gave a twinkling effect to her eyes, making her look ever gorgeous.

"Park the car quickly and join me in the ceremony, okay?" she gave her best smile to him and turned to leave as soon as she felt her hands being stopped by him.

"No, let's go together," he pleaded; his eyes turning back to her favourite ones—the puppy eyes; as she smiled goofily at him.

"Oh Ranveer, don't be kiddish. Let me at least mark our attendance. We are late already!" she removed his clasp from hers and left the place charmingly whilst he gazed back at her, slowly revving up his car towards the parking lot, smiling without his own sense. He didn't know about the future. But today should be celebrated with the same glimmer like any other day; he thought and parked the car, sliding down to enter into the Little Hatchie Church, the place where the wedding is set to take place.

Ishani now greeted everyone in the ceremony with her pervasive smile, though her eyes were only searching for him as she now stood near the decorated props which were filled with nothing but soft white florae and grass, creating an indulgent aroma in the surroundings. The mellow French music played in the background, the entire setting for the ceremony and the chuckles of the little kids made her feel all dreamy again, when she heard his voice near her ears. Quickly shifting from her twenty second reverie, she saw him with the same glee and asked, "Where have you been all while?"

"Here…Looking at you, why?" his voice sounded a bit weary than the last time, she thought, before she asked, "Did you go and meet Ben and Nora? They were waiting for you."

"No, didn't. I'll be back," he said and left the place, treading quicker with each pace as her thoughts now drifted back to the letter, thinking about his fears and hers. "Maybe the doctor's right. I should check with the details. But I know, he…Ranveer cannot be," the corners of her eyes now brimmed up as she now saw Nora walking up the aisle, her silver laces and the gown making her look no less than an angel as soon as she saw the giggling bridesmaids and a flushed Nora, smiling ear to ear.

Ishani now clapped her hands along with everyone and gave a brute smile, feigning happiness as she heard the Minister giving the couple advices for their conjugal life, as they now took their nuptial vows.

"Nora Boulanger, I give you this ring; wear it with love and joy. I choose you to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward for better or for worse, for richer; for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish as long as we both shall live."

"Benjamin Soyer, I give you this ring; wear it with love and joy. I choose you to be my husband: to have and to hold, from this day forward. For better, for worse, for richer; for poorer; in sickness and in health; to have and to cherish, as long as we both shall live. And hereto, I pledge you my faithfulness to show to you the same kind of love as Christ showed the Church when He died for her, and to love you as a part of myself because in His sight we shall be one."

Exchanging the rings, they now kissed each other as everyone else in the ceremony cheered and hooted, congratulating the newly wedded couple as Ishani saw the proceedings with a satiated grin, happy that at least they made it to the ceremony without any hustles. She saw the cheerful best of both of them when she walked through and hugged both of them, congratulating for their new feat in the relationship.

Breaking from the hug, Nora exclaimed, "Où est Ranveer? Il n'est pas vu n'importe où!"

Giving her a bewildered look with the incomprehensive words, she stuttered, "Uh, En…English, please. I am sorry!" she clicked her tongue as all the three of them chuckled, "Oh, I am sorry Ishani. I asked about Ranveer. Where is he?"

"Where is he? B-But he informed me that he was going to meet Ben! Didn't he turn up?"

"No!" both of them exclaimed in unison as Ishani gave an awkward smile, her mind now blocked. Where did he go?

"Uh, excuse me, both of you," she excused herself and turned away to search for him when she heard her name called by Ben.

"Ishani, meet my colleagues and friends!" he beamed as he continued, "Dr. Roch Thomas, he is a practicing surgeon in Paris," he clasped his hands and continued introducing all the names which were mostly a group of doctors and surgeons when Nora noticed the tension in her eyes after she asked, "Ishani, is everything alright?"

"Yeah, I am…okay. What's Ben doing, actually?"

"He's a cardiac surgeon, Ishani. Why, what happened?"

"No, nothing. Does he have any psychiatrist friends?" she asked with a crumpled brow, hoping to have a positive reply from her.

"I-I don't know about that, Ishani. I'll let you know by dusk, okay?"

"It's not urgent, Nora. Take your time, please," she smiled and hugged her before leaving the place in search of him. Quickly running through the lawn, she reached the dining zone, where she found a plethora number of guests having a merry spell with the food and cake whilst Ishani's eyes were locked only to quest for him. She skimmed through the entire place with her frantic eyes but he was to be found nowhere. Dejected, she walked alone to the parking lot hoping that she would at least find his car, but that was in vain, too.

"Where did he go all of a sudden?" she mumbled, almost to herself before leaving the church along with the breeze.

She reached back home, unaccompanied by anyone but the breeze as she felt her breathe uneven and perspiring. She slowly strode to her room before locking it as she now looked at herself in the mirror. Shutting her eyes in despair, the corner of her eyes now brimmed up, hot tears gushing as she now collapsed down in the floor, the mere thought of him being therapeutically ill giving her chills.

Hugging herself for the next few minutes and finding a strange solace in being alone, she clasped the corner of the dressing table and stood up, removing all her accessories in frustration. She was now devoid of any trinkets, except for her clothing as she now had a glance of herself and her rubicund eyes in the mirror before noticing his diary which was placed uselessly on the bed just like how it was left unattended before leaving for the ceremony. Wiping her gushes, she quickly resigned to the bed and took the diary before lying down.

Opening the creased diary, she saw disseminated scribbles everywhere, some in black ink and some in blue, along with his name in big, block letters. Stroking at the page and sniffing, she opened the next page of the diary. She wiped her eyes for one last time before reading—

Whoa! Such a big diary! It's too heavy, man! Do you something? I just counted all these pages. You have nearly thousand pages with you…or may be more! I was sleepy when I was counting the pages. Now, I am considering you as my treasure because I'll be sharing everything with you from today. By everything, I mean, the instances which are close to my heart and my emotional outpour. By the way, let me introduce myself. I am Ranveer and I am studying in the Sixième grade. Let's be friends, okay?

Ranveer

14th September 2001

Ishani now skimmed through the entire diary with a fainted smile, the little words of his and the banters looking adorable for her. Her hands now came to a tranquil as she now saw his scribbles growing more and more with each page; only getting stiffer and firmer. Her eyes now turned to the next side of the page as soon as she saw his handwriting changing with each and every line. Gazing at it with a strange fear and gut instinct, she read the lines which read—

I am right now sitting on the rooftop of our house and please, don't tell this to anyone! What if it comes back again? I had a very debauched encounter with a strange person today. It's…it's just killing me from inside and I don't know how to express it. It was completely soiled in the mud and it smelled petrichor; maybe because it was raining outside.

Okay, let me tell me what happened now; I guess I am getting too scared. Why would it come here leaving all the other places?

So today, I thought of playing outside in the rain with some of my friends in our neighbourhood. It's not that I thought; you know; how much I hate rains and the rainy season. But still, I agreed upon because, she likes it. (You remember her, right?) So after much of a dilemma, I chose to play outside in the rain today, to know why was she a pluviophile. Like it's not that I want to stay away from rains, but I kinda…well, chuck it. Let me come to the point.

Um, so where were we? Yeah, I went down with my shorts and tee shirt, running through the lawn whilst my friends gathered along and played funny games. They act silly! Especially Nora and Eloy! These two simply outdid everyone with their childish antics! Aw, they are literally adorbs! I would love to see them married one day!

Uh, I guess I went offshoot again. Never mind. I'll tell you what happened after that. I stood at the corner of our lawn and started to click pictures of all of my friends. It's just a wonderful feeling. Everything was going good until I saw the creature patting my back. At one moment, I thought that it was my mom, but no! I was wrong! I turned to see an eerie mortal leering ear to ear like a demon, its teeth completely caked with that damp muck. Not only its teeth, but its entire physique too! Now wait, should I even call it a physique? Its frame looked way too uneven and I am finding it hard to even crack its structure!

So I look at it aghast, and I feel my sense going cold before I start running from the place, to a safer and a secluded one. Thank God, no one saw me. I swarmed into the groove near the veranda and crumbled myself like a rag, my knees close to my thumping heart. I close my eyes in prayer, hoping that the eerie mortal would go back to its abode; but all were futile. I now open my eyes to see its mushy drool oozing out from its cavity, looking as spooky as ever. I then shut my eyes when I heard it saying, "Hello, Ranveer."

So it knows English, too. "He-Hello," I replied back; as I now gulp in. It's too scary!

We gaze at each other for the next few minutes the same, way, its drool only oozing out in an increased pace before I decided to ask, "Wh-Who are you?"

"A slaughterer," it replies me coolly as my mouth fell agape, its calmness and poised attitude frightening me. A slaughterer, like seriously?

"Why have you come here?" I asked the mortal to which it laughed like a maniac, "What do you think?"

"No…Nothing," I reply sadly as it now roared, "Should I tell you?"

I nodded swiftly, swifter than the wind. What if it kills me? I don't want to take any risk. It now came closer to me and looked at me with its keen sight, as I guessed. Thank God, I cannot see its face clearly. God! It stinks!

"I have come here to kill someone."

Oh shit, who the hell was that? Is it going to kill me? Nora? Eloy? Adrienne? Quint? Or Maa! God, where have I got myself into? I decided to call for someone before it said, "Now close your mouth," it warned me as I abided. What do you expect me to do? I am just thirteen years in age!

"Whom are you going to kill?" I stutter, but wait! My question was evident. It has to answer that!

"You have a love, right?" it asks me and I looked at it taken aback. Did you tell her about our secret? Oh no! I am being stupid. How would you say that? Or did I spurt out? Not at all! I am seeing this creature for the first time after all! But who told about her to this moron?

"Uh, what do you mean? I- I don't have any."

"Ah, don't lie bro! I know; you're trying to save her. Okay, cool! I'll kill you then."

"Wh-What the heck?" I ask, my rage spurting out from my sentient. I cannot take that anymore.

It now shouts at me, before disappearing to shreds, "Both of you will never have a peaceful life, chap. I will finish you or her, someday and it is not too far!"

Okay. What should I do now? I guess it's a maniac. Like how would he kill my love? She's not even there in real! She just comes and grasps me in my dreams! Sigh, too much of cartoons and superhero films are not good for health!

Okay, let me go for bed now. I have got my cycling ride tomorrow with my friends. Will catch up with you later, okay? Have a good night!

Ranveer

18th October 2003

Ishani now looked at the diary with a shockwave, the exposures for her staggering. Did Ranveer have his demons attacking him from his younger days? Why did he have them? And why is he still having them? A series of thought were now scrambled inside her brain now and she found no idea for the reason when she decided to lay down.

"So Ranveer has two types of hallucinations attacking him: one being slipshod and soft and the other one being demonic! But why is he still having them? This guy needs some serious treatment," she murmured to herself, her voice choking out whilst her eyes started to brim up, glistening in fear and turmoil.

She stirred herself and squirmed before she started crying, red hot tears crawling over her cheeks in sting and anguish, thinking about the future of Ranveer and their relationship. She now took the diary in her hand and scooted it to her chest, hugging it tightly as she mumbled incomprehensive words, her apprehension and fear evident in her eyes before drifting off to a disturbed sleep, her lips quivering in the tremor.

"Ishani!" she heard her name being called out from a little distance as she now stirred again, breaking herself from the diary's embrace. She now slowly opened her eyes but failed to take in the surroundings. Rubbing her eyes, she now saw a blurred picture of her room before she heard her name once again.

"Ishani, can you open the bloody door!" he banged the door harder now, his voice risen as she now sprung out from her bed with a jolt.

"Coming!" she quickly tied her loose hair to a bun and kept the diary in the safe before rushing to the entrance.

"Coming, coming!" she mimed with a melody as she now opened the door to see a weary Ranveer, his eyes rolling in tiredness.

"Ran-Ranveer, what's wrong with you?" she asked, trying to be as soft as she can when she saw his tongue gently sloping out in succession. God! He has got himself drunk again!

He collapsed in her arms, his head now borne by her collar bone as she felt his stubble tickling. She now stroked his hair and calmed him down before asking, "Where have you been, Ranveer?"

"Just…just walking around the place," he answered in an inebriated tone as she now pulled him closer to her, tucking him towards her room.

"Do you want to have some rest?"

"Hmm."

Ishani slowly opened the door and made him lay down on her bed as she saw him drifting to sleep. Looking at him dejected, she settled down to the floor, trying to join the dots.