Eraya's POV

Weekends are supposed to be the best days of the week, but for me it’s the total opposite because sitting in front of my mother listening to her nonstop rant about how I should date someone is making my weekend mood sour. Why does she always have to come up with this topic on the days when I wish to just snuggle up in my bed and read the angry confession of my favorite couple?

“Maa, please stop this. I don’t want to date anyone right now.” “Oh, so you want to get aged and then want me to struggle to find a perfect match for you?”, Eraya, why can’t you understand me at least for once?" Maa said, standing from her seat and walking inside the kitchen, getting frustrated at my negligence to the topic. I gulped down my growing frustration because of the topic and kept the spoon in my plate, which was still half filled with poha, and hers was untouched because she had to start this topic right when we sat down for breakfast. I ran into the kitchen and saw her rearranging the arranged utensils and cleaning the kitchen floor, which was already cleaned by me, because it's her way of letting out her anger by cleaning a specific thing like a hundred times until her hands get rashes because of the harsh bristles of the brush. I walked near her, taking the plate from her, and kept it in its section. I turned her towards me; her eyes were teary, but she was trying to hide them as she looked up at everything aside from me.

"Maa, you want me to do as you say? You want me to marry a guy and go from here?, Fine, I'll do it; please don't be sad." She looked up at me hearing my words, her right hand caressed my cheek, "Beta, I don't want you to sit here alone and cry; I want you to have someone by your side when I leave this world, that's why I'm forcing you." "Maa, please don't say things like this; I know you won't be leaving me alone," I said as a tight knot formed in my throat hearing her words. “I'll do as you want, please don’t worry, your daughter will not stay here forever,” I said, her eyes soften hearing me. “Beta, I’m saying for your good,” she said, getting back to her work. “Yes, Maa, I’ll do just as my Maa says,” I said, taking her hand in mine and walking towards our half-left breakfast. I saw a relief washing over her face, and I knew I had jumped in the well because her next words left me stunned.

“Okay, so now that you have agreed, then I have set up a blind date for you tomorrow; make sure you reach there in time.” Her words worked wonders in spoiling my mood. “Fine, Maa, but first I’ll visit Ishika today, and I’ll spend the night over at her place,” I said, and Maa nodded. Ishika Roy has been my best friend since childhood. We have gone to school together and college together. We have passed the same degree so that we don’t get separated from each other. She lives thirty minutes away from my home, so it is convenient for me to go to her place anytime I want.

“But maa, why does she always have to bring up the topic of my marriage? She doesn’t think it’s unfair for me.” I’m currently at Ishika’s place, and I call her mother “maa” because our mothers were best friends, and now we have a habit of calling each other’s mother “maa.” Right now she’s oiling my hair, making me understand why I should not disappoint my mom. “okay fine fine, now that both my mother’s are on the mission to find me a man, I’ll go tomorrow and meet my new blind date” I said and maa laughed while massaging my hair. Ishika went out to bring ice cream for us, which is just a reason for her to meet her boyfriend downstairs. Even though her family knows about him and they are going to tie the knot in two years, she still likes to meet him while hiding from everyone because she believes that adventurous dating is always fun, and I would never understand that because I have never dated any guy in my lifetime of 24 years. Not that I don’t like someone; I do like Lucas Martin, Wess Bennet, Julius Gong, and many more, but they don’t exist in real life, and that’s what the problem is. Ishika returned with the pack of ice cream, her hair ruffled and her lipstick smudged. Anyone could tell that she had a great time making out with her boyfriend. Maa served us ice cream, and we took our bowls to Ishika's room as we had set up a movie to watch.

Next Day:

What would be worse than waiting for the blind date for an hour and he texts you that he’ll arrive in five more minutes? I mean, here’s where I have made up my mind to cancel this guy whose name is something like Jignesh. I mean, come on, at least be on time. My mother would be disappointed if I told her the reality, and I do want to, but I also don’t want her to think that I’m making up the reason to reject him. Ishika kept texting me, keeping track of everything for my safety and even being a source of entertainment for me to pass my time. After all the wait, he arrived. “Remember, he’ll wear an olive green shirt.” Maa has already told me about this, so it will be easier for me to recognize him. He walked in, and the fake smile I was ready to show him dropped because he was neither matching my expectations nor my age. I should have asked about him already, but because of the continuous banter between me & Maa about this date, I let the details slide and just asked his name because the man in front of me was around my uncle’s age, which is around 34 years. His greying hairs and beard can be seen through the color he tried to apply. I expected my mother’s choice for me to be good, but it turns out she has blindly selected him. He came with a very creepy smile displayed on his face, and I forwarded my hand to greet him, but what shocked me more is that, ignoring my hand, he tried to hug me.

I kept my hand on his chest before he could actually hug me and pushed him a little back. “I don’t hug on first dates,” I said, getting back and taking my seat. He noticed my awkwardness and gave me another shot of his wide smile. I was expecting him to sit opposite me, but he pulled the chair beside me, making the annoying screeching sound of it, and sat beside me. His knees touched mine. I moved in my seat, getting away from him, creating a space between us while telling myself to be patient. He ordered coffee & sandwiches for us, not that he asked me about my preference, but I just nodded because I wanted the date to end quickly and didn't want to take this anywhere more.

"So, hello, Miss Eraya, This is Jignesh, Jignesh Shah," he said, and I gave him a nod with a small smile. "Hello, umm, I'm Eraya, Eraya Kapoor. I'm 24 years old and..." "Okay, so Eraya, do you want to have a complete ritual-filled marriage, or are you okay with a court marriage?" He asked even before I could complete my sentence. "Excuse me? Mr. Jignesh, Don't you think you have gone too far? I mean, we have just met", "I don't think there's any reason you will disapprove of my proposal," he said with such confidence that Ishika would have laughed in his face if she were here with me. I tried to divert the topic because I don't want to sound rude in the first five minutes of our meeting. The order arrived, and we ate it. I was quiet the whole time; he was alone, talking and oversharing about how he set up his business, blah blah and blah.

I disliked the way his knee brushed mine more than five times per minute, and I hated the way his eyes were all over my body even when we were just eating. After eating, I tried to end the conversation and escape from there before he said or did something that would disgust me more. I have my answer ready in my mind for him, and that is very obviously a no, because there's no way this man could be even my friend or anyone. I would run away even if I saw him again, not because he is aged from me but because of the way he is—disgusting, weird, and a total playboy.

"So, when should we plan our next date?" "Next date? You think I'll say yes to you?" "Obviously, or else where would you go, Miss Eraya? How many more men will you say no to? How much more will you run from men? Do you want your mother to stress over and search day and night for a good man to be your husband? His words feel like thousands of needles pricked into the skin, and that shit hurts, but I don't want to show him any emotion. "Enough, Mr. Jignesh. My being quiet does not mean I'll listen to anything," I said, getting up and taking long steps to exit the cafe as soon as possible. I was half walking, half running, and I could sense him following me from behind. Ahhh, why am I stuck here? He's kind of a psychopath too. Why, God, why always me? Before I could cross the road, he gripped my wrist and yanked me.

"Leaving without telling me, sweetheart?, Don't you know you should inform your husband?" he said, twisting my wrist. I winced. "Shut up, you are not my husband. I... I am going to say no straight away to you." He twisted my wrist with more force. "You are a psycho... ah... psychopath. I'll file a complaint against you. Leave me... I have a boyfriend. I'll call him if you won't leave me," I said, trying to free my hand from his. "Oh...so a brat like you has a boyfriend too, huh? Where is he? Call him; let me see too who's getting a beauty like you." Call him. Whom should I call? I don't even have a male friend, and now I have said I have a boyfriend." "Leave my hand; it's hurting," I said, trying to divert him, making efforts to get my hand out of his hold.

"Call him now," he raised his voice, giving more pressure on my wrist. I'm sure his fingerprints will be brightly visible on my wrist. I took out my phone with my other hand and fidgeted around until I decided to call Ishika. "Why are you taking so long, huh? Forget your boyfriend's number or what?" I dialed her number, and before I could press the call button, someone's hand gripped his hand and yanked it away from me, helping me get my wrist out from the psychopath's hold. The man who helped me stood in front of me, protecting me. "I'm her boyfriend," he said, giving Jignesh a really hard punch in the face. I stood there shocked by both his actions and his voice.

To be continued...

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