The ceremony

When we went to my Uncle's, it was very noisy other there. A large tent had even been installed and the decorators were artfully draping satin cloth at the edges. Many flowers bouquets had already been delivered and they were smelling pretty nice. This was coupled with the wonderful aroma coming from the kitchen where cakes were being prepared in clarified butter. The only thing which was missing was a banner, which the decorator had forgotten. My Uncle came to me seriously then,

'Jade, You were an Art student. I need a favour. Can you draw a banner for the ceremony please, with your cousin's name? I would be very grateful.'

I wanted to protest as the time limit was very short and I hadn't painted anything for months, But looking at my uncle's expression, I meekly said,

'Why not?'

You'll find everything you need in the library.'

Indeed, in the library there were large A2 sheets of paper and bristol cardboards as well. There were some paintbrushes and paint tubes orderly arranged in a big cup. I propped my hands on my waist and surveyed the table, thinking about the designs which I could do. The pressure I was facing had killed all my creativity and I could feel a headache coming on. I received Dave's message at that moment, coming like a godsend.

'Hey, what's up?

'Nothing, in fact, I'm feeling down.'

'Why? What happened?'

I told him about the problem I was facing. I needed inspiration.

'I can try to help you. I'll inspire you.'

It was just what I needed to hear and I got down to work. I, first of all, took a pencil and ruler to start drawing the letters at the top of the page, because as mentioned by y uncle, I needed to write the name of my cousin.

At that moment, my phone beeped and my eyes lit up. So what did he find to inspire me?

'What are you wearing right now?' Oh, did he plan to get naughty?

'Grey pants and a blouse.'

'I'm sure you must be looking good.'

At this, I felt a warm glow invade me and felt my creative juices flowing. This was what I needed. I had soon completed the lettering and was moving to the accompanying design.

'My phone beeped again.

'Do you know what is a cunnilingus?'

'Huh, what is it?'

'Go ahead, do some research work.'

I did and I felt the blood rush to my face. It was a form of oral sex performed on the woman. I turned around to make sure no one else was around.Oh my God, why had he mentioned that? With a smile on my face, I finally managed to complete the banner.

'Mission accomplished. Thanks for your help.'

'You're welcome. See you in a few hours.'

'Hey, I heard that you have come to White Mountain.'

This had come from Nammie, another close friend of mine, who must have got the news from Gaya. She lived in the neighboring village.

'You come so close to my village, and you don't come to meet me! That's not done.'

Put like that, it did sound bad, and looking at my watch I saw that I still had an hour before my presence would be required for the ceremony. I had already given the banner to my uncle and the only work left was to get dressed.

'You know what, keep some tea and snacks ready, I'm coming.'

'Hey that's cool.'

I informed my mum that I would be absent for a while and left. I had been to her place only once so I needed to be quite attentive to the landmarks or I would get lost. I liked to say that my Geography was very weak as it was so easy for me to get lost. It's a good thing that I didn't have to wait for the bus a long time and I had told the conductor to inform me when we reached. Nammie had told me to lookout for a house with a red roof. She lived in the lane next to that house.

There it was. I had reached. I didn't have to knock at the door, as there Nammie was, with a beaming smile, waiting for me. I completed the last few steps by jogging to her and gave her a big hug.

'I missed you so much.'

Yeah, that's why you were planning to leave without meeting me!'

Holding one of my hands in hers, she pulled me forward and we half-ran to her bedroom , giggling like schoolgirls. It reminded it of the time when we were young 11-year olds at school and the ice-cream truck would come in the yard. We would then grab each others' hands and run to reach it before the other students.

'Gaya was telling me about your love-interest. Why did you not tell me anything?'

'There's nothing to tell right now. The story hasn't even started,' I protested weakly.

'Don't worry, I'm not feeling bad. I know that we haven't really got the time to discuss since a long time.'

Indeed, we used to spend so much time before but since we opted for different courses at the university, it had become more and more difficult to meet.

'Let me see how much you have changed,' Nammie then said making me twirl around. She looked at me with a mock-assessing gaze and finally concluded, 'Your brows.'

What was the problem with my brows? They had a natural arch and not that thick so I had never bothered to pluck them.

'They're nice, but you can improve the shape by using a tweezer in those two areas she said pointing to my forehead. 'I'm sure it will bring a change in the way that Dave looks at you.'

'You mean that just by pulling a few hairs, it will change my appearance so much that Dave would fall for me and declare his undying love.'

'Not exactly. I was just trying to convince you.'

'Ok, let's try. But a minimally invasive approach,' I warned.

'Yes boss'

Nammie made me sit on a plush chair and moved me closer to the window to get more natural light. She put her index finger beneath my chin and gently lifted my face, turning it to the left and right. Pursing her lips in concentration, she then brought out her gleaming tweezer, as if brandishing a weapon.

'Don't you think you're being too dramatic here?'

'Sshh, don't interrupt the artist.'

I couldn't resist the first cry of pain as she pulled the first few hairs.

'Sorry, it hurts only the first few times, then your body gets used to it. It's like losing your virginity.'

I almost choked on my saliva and looked at her with round eyes. I saw that Nammie was trying hard to hide her laughter and tried to provoke her.

'And I've heard that if you are skillful it doesn't hurt at all.'

After about 10 minutes Nammie was finally satisfied with the results and put a mirror in front of me. There wasn't a lot of difference, except that my eyes looked brighter.

'It will look even better when you apply makeup,' she reassured me.

'Thank you Nammie. But I've got to run now or I'll be late.'

Together we walked to the bus stop again, and once again I didn't need to wait long. I gave a last parting hug to Nammie.

'We should meet more.'

'We will,' she promised.