A bride

*Rustle*

The room was lit up by dim lamps giving it a majestic and romantic touch. The bed was laden with fresh rose petals of the highest quality. There were still fresh so much so that Evelyn could smell its scent without even sniffing in the air. And at the edge of this rose laden bed sat Evelyn curled up … nervous. Her lips pursed from time to time as the uncertainty in her heart crept up to her brains.

Yes, she was the bride of today’s marriage. Today was her day to celebrate and she was waiting dressed in her white bridal dress that flowed to her very knees. She was waiting for her groom.

The bed was huge to her who had ever so slept on a single bed to date. It was large enough such that five of herself could fit in it. The bedsheets were soft and had the texture of the highest quality. It felt like if she were to caress it, her hands would melt away.  

Yet, Evelyn sat on the edge curled up out of nervousness instead of relaxing herself in that beautiful bed. Her whole body was tense as her pupils vibrated without her knowledge. It was a new place and new environment, no matter how luxurious it was she couldn’t get used to it. She wanted to run back to her old nest.

The day was long… so many guests… so many greetings… so many gifts… so many formalities. There was almost no end to it! She herself wasn’t sure how she had gone through all of this.

If she told someone that she had been in such a huge marriage ceremony before she would have used a big fat lie. And yet, she was elated that the biggest marriage she had attended by far was her own!

After such a long and tedious day she would have been out cold on her bed out of tiredness alone… but not today… today she couldn’t even think straight!

‘What’s taking him so long?’ Evelyn thought. She might be nervous but there were several expectations mixed along with it so much so that she couldn’t rest in peace.

She had heard many tales of their first nights from her friends and now that she was herself experiencing it, a fervent of emotions ran through her heart, almost crushing it in their storm.

The one that she referred to as ‘him’ was of course her groom, Steve. He was rich and stylish and yes he was rich again. Important things need to be repeated twice.

He was the perfect man all of her unmarried friends would love to get their hands on. If he had any fault it was that she didn’t know much of anything about him. Her parents had arranged a blind date with that man and that was how it began.

For some reason, Steve had agreed to marry her just after meeting her twice. Evelyn might have refused at first but with her parents and friends compelling her against it, she had chosen to follow their advice. After all, only a fool would leave out on such a man.

It was then…

*swish*

The door swung open as Steve walked in. He was pulling onto his tie. It was stuck on his neck making it difficult to breathe. He had a handsome and symmetric face with a sharp jawline. His hair short and black were styled to beauty giving him his elegant appearance.

‘He’s here,’ Evelyn hid her face between her raised legs in embarrassment. So what if she didn’t know much about this man? So what if she had no feeling involved? Any girl would feel embarrassed at sharing a bed with a man for the first time!

Steve was in his business attire. He had a black suit with a red tie hanging from his neck. Why was he dressed like this? There was some major collapse in his workplace. He had been getting calls of help ever since morning. So reluctantly he had to go there as soon as the marriage vows finished. Unlucky him, he had to work even on his marriage day. At least that’s what Evelyn thought. Those guests that knew gave him lots of condolences.

“Man, I am beat,” Steve whispered as if he was talking to himself. He jumped onto the bed.

The bed sprung up and down due to its elasticity as it adjusted to his weight. Evelyn was even more scared than before. She closed her eyes shut as she resisted the urge to squeak. His hands might be invading her any minute now, at least that is what she had heard from her friends. She wasn’t much versed in all of this.

‘All men are the same. They are wolves in sheep’s disguise,’ that’s what her bestie told her and she used to chuckle every time she remembered her words… but not today. Today was an exception.

But alas nothing, as she had expected, happened.

‘Eh? What is happening?’ she grew suspicious. There was pin-drop silence in the room.

Slowly Evelyn opened her eyes. But all she found was Steve sleeping on the bed out cold. He hadn’t even bothered to get out of his business attire. Staring at him for a minute longer Evelyn confirmed that he had indeed fallen asleep.

“Is that how it goes?” Evelyn whispered. She wasn’t very knowledgeable but practically nothing happened.

She had a habit of gossiping with her friends and nights like these were always a hot topic. Those many tales that she had heard only made her imaginations running wild but all of them were but her fantasies. Her friends would definitely ask her tomorrow how her wedding night went. How would she answer them? Would she say that nothing happened? That sounded boring if not anything.

She sighed.

“And what was I getting nervous for? All for nought,” she dropped her shoulders as she was finally taking proper breaths. Till now it was as if she was choking herself.