The appearance

Preeti was fast asleep despite of having no luxury air conditioning at her village. The bed was not as soft as her memory foam bed, but it did not matter. She was too exhausted from her journey to scrutinize the living conditions.

Sometime later she felt a gentle tap on her arm. Preeti assumed that it must have been one of her nephews or nieces who had been asked to bring their aunt for supper.
"Give me 10 minutes. I will join you," she said without even opening her eyes.
A few seconds later, she again felt a gentle tug. Preeti had been wide awake now. She opened her eyes to see who had been so impatience to not give her 10 minutes. She saw a boy. He must have been 8 years old. Dressed up in a thin t shirt and shorts which were neither appropriate for the wedding nor for the cool weather. He was looking at her with wide eyes.

Preeti saw the boy. She realised that the boy was not one of her nephews. In fact she was seeing this boy for the very first time. She sat up on her bed, with the intention to ask the boy his name and about his parents. As soon as she sat, the boy sprinted from her room and Preeti was unable to strike a conversation with him.
"Typical shy boy. Afraid to speak but not afraid to wake up a stranger," Preeti said to herself and got ready. She made a note that she would find the boy and play with him.

Preeti got ready and joined her family for the dinner. While the relatives were having conversations towards life, career, wedding, preparations, and weather, Preeti's curious eyes were searching for that mischievous boy. She could not find him among the pool of her keith and kins.

Next morning the wedding rituals started. Preeti was hopeful to meet the boy. She was keeping a close eye to locate him. She also wanted to speak with his parents - not to complain but out of curiosity. She eagerly waited for him, but he did not turn up.

By the afternoon the rituals of the wedding had concluded. Guests started arriving from the neighborhood and neighboring villages to wish prosperity to the newly wed couple. Preeti thought to herself, "maybe he was not a relative. Maybe he was from the neighborhood. His family will definitely come to bestow their blessings to the couple. He will accompany them".

Since Preeti was a part of the welcome party, she had been standing at the entrance. She had been greeting all the guests. She had seen all the visitors, the families and children, but the mysterious boy still remained missing.

All the guests had arrived but him. All the rituals had concluded. Guests had started departing but Preeti still was not able to believe that the boy had not come to the wedding. The mystery surrounding the boy was making her question the events of the previous evening.

"Who was that boy? Was he real or a figment of my imagination?" Preeti wondered. She was sure of the tapping she experienced.

The next plan was to ask her cousins and aunts. She wanted to know the truth; unaware that it was going to distort the reality.