Sari, Speech, and Self-Discovery

2024 5th & 6th Grade Prose Winner

I wish I could say the Indian air was fresher than the air I’d left the day before in New York City,
but it wasn’t. And just like the air, my jeans pocket was heavy with a piece of paper. That paper
contained the one thing about the wedding celebration that I was dreading, my speech. My mom
rang the doorbell and next thing I knew, I was swept up into my Masi’s arms. I laughed and
hugged her back.

“Naina, I am so glad you are here!” Masi said.

“What about me?” replied my mom and we all broke up in laughter.

Masi said, “Jaldee! We don’t have all day!” They swept me inside. My mother opened the red
bag and passed out sparkly bangles for everyone.

“Thank you, Didi! You have done everything to make my wedding perfect!" Masi squealed. My
mother’s cheeks blushed.

“Masi, can I see my outfit?” I gushed. Masi opened the silver box like it was delicate china and
removed the white tissue paper. I gasped as she set the sparkling sari in front of me.
“Try it on!” Masi encouraged.

The light pink sari with golden jewels and the cropped blouse...perfect! I looked like a princess
wearing that dress.

The doorbell rang and all three of us rushed to the door to greet my Masi’s friends for the
Mehndi Ceremony. All the girls from the bride's side would get mehndi, special henna tattoos.
While my Masi and her friends were catching up, I fingered my piece of paper, thinking about
my speech. Suddenly, the paper sliced my finger. The idea of blood mixing with the special
henna panicked me. This was my first time getting mehndi on my hands all the way up to my
forearm. It had to be perfect. I sucked the blood. That speech was causing all kinds of trouble.

“Naina, chalo ham teenon ek hee samay par mehandee lagavaen!” called Masi, “Naina, let's all
three of us get the mehndi at the same time!”

“Oh, are you sure? It’s your big night. I can’t,” I answered, but Masi whisked me away and the
next thing I knew a cold liquid pressed against my skin. The designs and patterns mesmerized
me. My favorite part was watching the brown liquid dry and crack. The night went by so fast.
Masi looked so beautiful and so happy.

Finally, it was time to leave. Masi needed a good sleep before the exchanging of the vows.

“Sab theek hoga, Naina!" Masi whispered to me, her hands on both my cheeks. “You’ll be great
tomorrow, Naina! I can’t wait to hear your speech during the reception! See you tomorrow!”

In the morning, we headed to Masi’s house to get ready and to help her get ready. It was chaos.
People were trying on clothes, putting on makeup, and doing their hair. I was reciting my speech
over and over again in my brain. My mom put some makeup on me. Some red makeup! Some
black makeup! Some makeup that matched my skin tone! When I looked at the final result, I felt
so beautiful. Even with all the makeup on me, I felt like my dress was the most beautiful part.
The golden jewels matched my hair clip, and my earrings matched my pink sari.

When it was 10:00 am, Masi shrieked, “Dosto, I am getting married today!” and everyone
laughed. Everyone left to go to the wedding, except Masi, who would make a grand entrance
with her new husband!

When I stepped forward into the wedding, the many colors blinded me. Everything was so fancy.
There was a big stage that my Masi and her now-husband exchanged vows on. The food was
amazing, just the right amount of spice.

The whole day was kind of a blur, but when I heard that people were being called up to say their
speeches, my whole heart froze.

My name was said on the microphone. My mom urged me up the stage. I would not budge.
Then my Masi went down the stairs and told me, “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.
Take my hand!” I don’t know why, but I took her hand and we walked up the stage together.

“I’ll be brave!” I whispered to her.

She gave me a thumbs up.

I stood in front of the microphone, twiddling with the piece of paper in between my sweaty hands
and said, “As you can see, I am a little bit scared to be up here. When my Masi told me that I
was saying a speech at her wedding, I... I was shocked. Only siblings and best friends deserve
to be up on this stage speaking right now! However, my Masi helped me realize that she maybe
thought of me as a best friend...”

There is more of my beautiful speech, but to me that was the most important part. I could have
never faced my fears if it wasn’t for my Masi. I would be crying in the bathroom feeling like a
failure because I would have let her down if I did not take her hand.

Masi rushed up to me and gave me a big tight hug and said, “I love you and I could not ask for a
better speech. Also, I really do think of you as a best friend and not as a niece.”

I love India! I love my Masi! I loved the wedding!