Shocking realisation.

Sometimes you just feel tired. You feel hopeless and clueless, as if you are floating in the middle of a never-ending sea, where the shores are nowhere near.

It was the same thing that Chloe felt right now. It was past afternoon, and she was sitting in a park. The lush green field and the laughter of the children were soothing for eyes and ears, but it couldn't soothe her soul. She was mentally devastated.

She was sitting there for almost two hours since she left the registrar's office. Recalling the incidents that happened throughout the day, she sighed.

When Chloe reached the airport, it was almost eleven o'clock in the morning. When she left the airport and took a taxi to her destination, she didn't know that her life was about to change, completely.

Upon reaching, she waited there for almost an hour. With each minute passed, her heart was beating faster. Finally, her wait was over; she was called inside.

The office was a small, well-organized room. There was a large wooden desk on one side, with two chairs before it. Behind the desk, a middle-aged bald man was sitting on a blue revolving chair. His eyes were stuck on the screen of the desktop.

Chloe knocked at the door, and without even looking at her he answered in a heavy voice.

"Come in."

She went inside and sat on a chair.

"Yes?"

He looked at her with a questioning look.

She stretched out her hand, handing him the certificate.

"I want information about this certificate."

He took and glanced at it, then looked at her. His eyes were frowned.

"I need to know who you are. We don't share information casually."

She stopped for a second, then extended her ID card towards him.

"This is Chloe Smith."

"Chloe Smith! You're.." He exclaimed.

"Yes, I'm the bride."

"You want information about your own marriage certificate!"

She sighed.

"Yes. I can't remember anything about it. I need to know if the certificate is real."

The man looked at her strangely, then looked at the computer screen.

"Wait a bit."

After a while, his voice was heard.

"Yes, the marriage was registered on 12th June. Do you want to know anything else?"

"What! This is real!"

He stopped working and looked straight into her eyes.

"When you're seeking information from a registered office, it's likely to be real."

He thought of something for a few seconds, then asked.

"You said you can't remember anything about it. Did you have an accident or what? Sudden memory loss?"

She didn't answer to his question. Her mind was racing with several thoughts. If the marriage certificate was real, then the time of the marriage was around three am. And that time...

She was drunk! She couldn't remember a single thing that happened that night. Yes, now it made sense.

"I got married while I was drunk!"

She screamed inwardly.

But it was not an inward scream, because just after a second a reply came,

"What did you just say!"

Startled, she looked at him. The furrows of his eyebrows were deepening.

She hesitated for a while.

"Well, can you give me any information about the groom?"

A hint of amusement played in the officer's eyes.

"You don't even know whom you married?"

Chloe didn't know what to say.

"Umm.. actually, that night I was a little drunk, so.."

Before she could say anything more, he answered.

"If you want more information, go to the reception and ask her to show the certificate."

Without saying anything more, he got busy with his work.

Chloe got up, "Thank you."

Thanking him, she headed to the door.

As she left, she heard the officer mumbling.

"Nowadays, even marriage has become a fun! Huh.."

....

She stood before the reception counter. The girl sitting opposite the desk smiled at her.

"How can I help you mam?"

She produced her certificate. "I want information about the groom, Brandon Reed. Do you have any ID card or document of him?"

She glanced at it, then, with a polite smile, replied.

"Can you give me some time, mam? I need to check."

"Sure!" She nodded.

"Okay mam, please wait here for some time."

She went inside the chamber behind the reception counter. Chloe stood there alone. After about half an hour the girl returned.

"Sorry mam. I went through the record book, but couldn't find any information about the groom."

"What!" She was startled. "But shouldn't you keep copies of the IDs produced?"

"Sorry mam. We do have a record book where we maintain all the details of the documents. What I got to know from there was that the marriage was registered on the twelfth of June early in the morning, just after the office was opened, around 8 am. Then, both the groom's and bride's details must have been submitted during the registration. As per the record, the bride was not present at the time of the registration, so the certificate was sent to her address given in her ID card in two days, but the groom's certificate was collected from the office."

"So, there is no information available about the groom!"

"Sorry mam, I really couldn't find anything. Do you want to know anything else?"

Chloe felt as if the sky had collapsed on her head. What would she do if she couldn't get any information about the groom! How could she find Brandon Reed! What would she do with this marriage!

"Mam, are you alright!"

Chloe felt the world around her was spinning.

"Yeah, I'm ok."

Replying, she slowly got out of the office. If she had looked back, she'd definitely see the sly smile that had appeared on the receptionist's face.

....

Since then, she has been sitting in this park. She didn't know what to do or how to deal with this. All her energy was drained out. She came with the hope of resolving everything, but now she was going back with a lot more mysteries.

She sighed again, then stood up. It was almost evening and she had a return flight. She had to head to the airport, or else she'd miss the flight.