"The first time my son insisted on marriage... it was after seeing you."
Meera and Swapnil turned to look at each other. Now what is this?
"And what could be more auspicious than this - you two will be married during our festival. We were one couple short for the rituals. The wedding will happen within the hour."
Meera immediately burst out, "What? You can't do this! Didn't you hear how he introduced me to you?" she said, pointing towards Timbak.
Taat glanced at her. "Yes, he introduced you as his partner."
"Yes, because he forgot to mention the word LIEF. I am his life partner. We are husband and wife. Want to see the certificate? Give me my phone." Meera stepped forward and extended her hand.
Swapnil placed a hand on her shoulder and pulled her back. "Could you stay quiet for a bit?" he said.
A complete silence fell over the place. Even Mr. Doshi couldn't believe what he had just heard. Swapnil sir is married? he wondered. And no one knew? He'd been working with Swapnil for five years. He even doubted if Swapnil had a heart. He never understood anyone's emotions. He'd never spoken about family life. People said no one could live with him.
"Is this girl telling the truth?" Taat asked in a firm voice.
Swapnil looked at Meera. "Yes. She's telling the truth. And if you want proof, I have our marriage documents on my phone."
Meera turned to Swapnil, "What? Who refers to their marriage certificate as 'a documents'? Tomorrow, you'll call me your…" She didn't get to finish - Swapnil pinched her and gave her a sharp look, making her fall silent.
Taat turned to his son. "We don't trust your document. Separate them!"
Some men came from the right side and tried to pull Swapnil away. But in just two minutes, Swapnil had all four men on the ground and pulled Meera to his side, shielding her behind him.
Meera shouted, "Look, I love him a lot. I'm already married. If you try to force me, you'll be insulting your own God. Do you think your God will bless a marriage with a woman who's already married and love someone else?"
"Fine then. I'll have your husband killed and then get you married. Anyway, a paper marriage means nothing. A true wedding is done before God and family. You, city people have made a joke of the marriage." Taat shouted.
"There! You've shown your true face," Swapnil stepped forward. "The girl says she's already married. She says she loves someone else. And yet, you want to force her? And here you lecture us about respecting emotions - you don't even have the decency to ask her what she wants. You just issued the order."
"And as for marriage...." he continued, "no matter how I marry - in front of family or a god - the choice is entirely ours. You say there must be a witness. The witness to our marriage is the love and emotion in our hearts for each other. And I value that more than any god."
Meera listened to him, if Swapnil would have been a writer, he would have definitely received the award of best dialogues of the years. But on other side she also wanted to know is he really feels the words he said or just saying that to stay alive? She has almost become his fan even if he is lying. She wanted to clap but knew this wasn't the time - so she stayed silent.
Taat still didn't believe anything Swapnil said. "You're putting everyone's lives at risk for your stubbornness." he said to both of them.
Suddenly, some men grabbed Mr. Doshi from behind and placed a spear to his head.
Timbak fell to his knees before Matai's feet. "Have mercy, Matai, Taat - please. These people are innocent. How can we punish two people in love during our sacred festival?"
Matai looked at Meera. "He's right. The girl loves the boy. And from what we just saw, the boy seems to care for her too."
"Don't fall for their innocent faces....." Taat said. "They've come on behalf of the government to take our land." Swapnil knew they still didn't believe anything he said.
He moved closer to Meera. Taking both her hands in his, he looked into her eyes. "I know these people will never understand our love. Just like our families never did. I don't know what happens after this moment, but I want you to know - the feelings I have for you will always remain."
Meera tried to make sense of which feelings he was talking about - their fight? Their first look of hate? Or the brief moment of friendship? She was completely confused.
"When you walked into my life without knocking, from that moment to our marriage, and even after I leave this world - our love bond will always remain...." he said.
Meera couldn't believe that even in this moment, Swapnil was still annoyed by her habit of entering his cabin without knocking.
Almost as if he could read her reaction, and before she could ruin the moment, Swapnil pressed his lips to hers.
Everyone around turned their faces away from the kiss.
Taat now understood - there definitely was something between the two. If not marriage, then at least a bond. So, he made his declaration.
"Prepare for the wedding. With the beginning of the festival in half an hour, these two will be married according to our customs. Let this sacred moment witness their love."
Without question, everyone bowed to their chief and got to work.
Swapnil looked at Meera. She was still in shock. And why wouldn't she be? Even Swapnil himself was stunned by his actions. They both had a thousand questions, but now what?
Is this the right time?
Time is one thing that can never be held in our grasp. We try to capture every moment in photographs - but how successful are we?
Moments remembered through pictures are nothing but echoes of a passed yesterday. That's why it's better to cherish the present than to cling to the past.
This moment… might just write the future for both of them.
Let's see what happens next...