Chapter 109: chapter 109

I said, “Arora and we love…”Again, the judge pounced upon me, “Just answer what I asked!”I quickly closed my mouth. Then the judge said to her parents, “Then where is the problem? The boy is also a government teacher, the girl is also a government teacher. Both of them have same castes. You can allow them to marry each other.”Now, her parents were shocked! Her mom said, “How can I allow my daughter to marry this goon?”I wondered, “From which angle do I look like a goon?”The judge asked Hemlatta, “Do you still want to marry him?” She said, “Yes.” I heaved a sigh of relief. The judge ordered the reader, “You type what I will say now.”The reader - Okay.The judge began to narrate, “My name is Aman and I am a government teacher. I want to marry Hemlatta therefore I applied for police protection. But now, I don’t need police protection.”The judge said, “Now type the other letter from the girl’s side.”The reader typed two letters as the judge narrated. Then the judge said to both of us, “Sign these papers!”I thought, “What! Is he a judge or a bully? What should I do now? I can’t even refuse to the judge who is going to decide my fate!”Finding no way out, I signed the paper and so did Hemlatta. And that literally meant, we are not going to get any police protection. Then the judge said to her parents, “I give you seven days. Within seven days prepare well for the marriage and get them married. You also have to register the marriage and show it to me after seven days!”A smile sprouted on my face. He added, “And one more thing, you have to bring your daughter here again after two days to show me that everything is alright.”I thought, “Why didn’t the judge give us police protection? Why is he allowing her parents to take her daughter back to their home? Perhaps, he did so on purpose. Perhaps, he wants her to change her mind so that I may fall in trouble and then he may extort from me as much money as possible.”The judge got up from his seat and left the hall from the door behind it. As we see in movies nobody said that the court is adjourned or something like that. The judge simply left. No sooner did the judge leave than the police constable and the reader came close to me. The reader said, “Give me 5000 rupees. I need it.” Without a thought, I gave him five thousand rupees in the court itself, in the same hall. Then the constable walked up to me, he said, “Give me 2000 rupees.” I was not in a state to fight or to pick up a quarrel with them. I gave him two thousand rupees and briskly walked out of the court. I said to myself, “Is this a court or land of goons? Seeing me helpless, everyone is extorting money from me!”Someone called me from behind, I heard a voice. I turned around and found it was my advocate Raj Girdher. I thought, “Now what?”He said, “Give me five thousand rupees. I need to bribe a few people.”I had only five thousand rupees remaining in my wallet. I took out the wallet and gave it to him. He didn’t even ask me why I gave him my wallet too. He took the wallet and went back! I thought, “I am feeling like a caterpillar who is surrounded and being bitten by hundreds of ants.”I reached back home. My mom was completely unaware of what I was doing. She prepared for me the best dish of cheese. Normally, I would eat three chapatis but on that day, I could eat only one. I was in too much stress. Still, anything could happen. I was not sure about the intention of the judge. He could say anything.My phone rang. It was the phone of my advocate, Raj Girdher. I thought, “How much more money does he want?” I picked up his phone and asked straightforward, “How much more money do you want?”He said, “No, sir. I don’t want more money. I just want to infrom you that the judge also want to meet you after two days along with Hemlatta. And you also have to bring your parents along with you.”Aman - What! Sir, I don’t want to bring my parents! My mom doesn’t know anything about what I am doing. Raj Girdher - Still, you have to bring. The judge himself said this to me. We don’t have any other option. If you don’t bring then the final judgement may go against you!Aman - Oh gosh! Okay. I hung up the phone. My mom was having lunch sitting on the bed right before me. Observing my pale face, she said, “What happened, Aman? You seem to be worried.”I said in a depressive tone, “Mom, I am not worried, I am too much worried. I am in a big problem!”Mom - What? What’s the problem?I narrated the whole story to her and then I said, “Mom, you have to go to the court with me after two days!”Mom - Court! I have never been to court ever! Aman - But mom, I have no other option. She started mumbling, “Even your dad never showed me court in his life. But my dirty child has also done that! I thought one day my child would become an officer and I would be proud of him but see what he is doing! He is eloping with girls! Running with girls in the court!”Ashamed, I lowered my eyes. I asked my mom, “Are you coming to court with me?”Mom - Stupid! Is there any other option? Then I didn’t say anything and obviously, I understood her answer that she was going to the court.After two daysWe all were standing in the court before the judge. “We” means I, my mom, Hemlatta, her mom and her dad. The judge was sitting comfortably on his cushioned chair right in front of us. He looked towards Hemlatta and said, “Do you still want to marry him?” Before she could answer, the judge added, “If you don’t want to, I will put him and her mom in jail!”My mom was shocked at this statement but she didn’t say anything. Hemlatta’s mom said, “Judge sahib, throw both of them in jail. They deserve jail. The example will be set up in society, that who try to steal the other’s daughter will have to spend their whole life in jail!”At this point my mom spoke up, “Judge sahib, why should we go to jail? We are not criminals. To love someone is not a crime! My son loved her daughter and it’s not a crime!”I was surprised to hear my mom! I thought, “My mom has spoken well!” My mom added, “Even Shri Krishan ji eloped with Rukmani because Rukmani wanted to marry him. We consider Shri Krishan ji as our God, not as a criminal! He has told bluntly, that to choose a life partner is the right of a girl, not of her parents!”All the people sitting over there were amazed to hear my mom’s statements. Even the judge observed silence for a while. The judge again asked Hemlatta, “Do you still want to marry him?”She said, “Yes.”I and my mom, both smiled together, whereas her mom became tense and a few wrinkles appeared on her forehead.The judge - Exactly after five days, I want to see the marriage certificate. I order both families to get your son and daughter married to each other. He looked towards her mom and said, “Now this boy, namely Aman, is your son-in-law!” Then he looked towards my mom and said, “Now this girl, namely Hemlatta, is your daughter-in-law!”Listening to what the judge had said, first my advocate Raj Girdher smiled, seeing at his face, I smiled as I sensed that I was out of danger now and looking at my face, my mom smiled since she guessed that if I smiled, it means that all was well now!Having no other way out, Hemlatta’s parents arranged a very small function for our marriage and in which they invited a very few guests. From my side, only my mom and I were there. I didn’t call anyone from my side as it was a very awkward kind of marriage. Anyhow, finally, I got married! Her parents also accepted me on the very day of the marriage. Now, her mom was also speaking very politely to me. It appeared magical but sometimes such magic happens in our real lives too! Hehe!EpilogueI emptied the glass of hot milk and placed it on the table kept by my side. I stretched my arms and yawned a bit. I said to myself, “So, it’s how I got married! Sometimes, I think, the way we get married is very awkward, perhaps that’s why the results of the marriage are also very awkward! Haha! I don’t know what will happen to me now. Anyhow, it’s the very first morning of mine after my marriage. Let’s enjoy it!”(It will be so nice of you, if you leave at least a single word comment 🌺❇️🌹🌺❇️)