She couldn't look anymore. It just hurt too much. Stabbed her in new places every time. She re-opened the tefillah booklet and tried to daven some more as the kesubah was slowly read out loud.
She couldn't. She couldn't say anything. She glanced down at her finger. It now bore an engagement ring. No, not her own. It was her friend's. A segulah, they said. Wear something of the kallah's jewelry, and you'll soon be wearing your own. Baloney. All tall tales. How many pieces of jewelry had she worn so far? How many times had she said Shir Hashirim? How many days had she studied Hilchos Shmiras Halashon?
Countless. Yet seemingly all for naught. She was still the same old her. Single. Alone. Watching it all from the sidelines.
Oh, the rabbis had finished. Now came the main part. Her friend would actually now be a married woman. Just a few words said by her beloved, a token slipped onto her finger and... this sure was hard to take. She looked down at her own finger, adorned with borrowed royalty. She stared at the sparkling stone, the glittering diamonds, and compared it to the simple ring that her friend now wore. So different, yet so far from her reality.
18 comments:
Hm... the last installment would have been a good place to leave it hanging, but since you're continuing anyway, I'll just wait until the end.
You know, it's interesting... it may seem anticlimactic (wrong word, I know, just not sure of the right one..grr...) but it's actually the reading of the kesuba that really gets to me... It's like, so technical: while I'm getting all broken up, they're talking so down-to-earth... That's my friend you're selling there, can't you get a little more worked up about it?!
OK, whatever...
Bas~melech i agree and echo your sentiments and yes, as much as we would prefer not to see it as such, it is a sort of 'selling'! May you be 'sold' soon. :)
Sigh. Is pain halved when it is shared?
Hmm I think you should make things interesting by pummelng the choson or something..
:-)
I've never even been "zocheh" to get the jewelry to hold (and yes, I also think it's silly, so I'm not too bothered by it), but I know what it's like to stand there thinking "when will it be my turn?" Especially when the person getting married is a few years younger than I am... I try to be happy for them, and usually I am, but sometimes there's still that little part of me that wishes I was the one under the chuppah.
I can't keep up with your writing, each installment is really interesting, great read.
basmelech - too bad! i get to choose what i do... lol.
anon- uch, i totally hate that term... sorry...
behind a smile - sometimes. not always... thank you...
david - am i too sentimental for you? lol. shall i liven it up?
scraps - oh, i've been "zocheh" many a time. all buubbeh maisehs...
swfm - thanks.
DREAMER,
you are missing out at the other crying fellows at the chuppa.
the post-chuppa ones. who cry over the tears they shed in vain at their own chuppa. asking for a sweet life.
but for some reason. their past gigul's sins, werent scrubed away with these droplets.
these usualy include members of both genders.
Well people not that long left to cry at chupahs before we are crying for our own past history.
Dreamer - have you concluded or should i keep checking for the next installment?
P.S. The guy who caught her eye in part 3...what's he like?
next and final installment and replies to comments will take a day or two to appear...
just a tad busy...
:P
Your making me sad...
Especially in light of the fact that I just went to a friend's wedding and saw all my married friends who look so happy...
jewmaican, dont you get it?.
you are the inspiration to the story...
GI - i didn't get to post chuppah yet... have some patience!
behind a smile - not concluded yet...
don't know what the guy's like. but he was talking...
jew - sorry. :(
what can i say? i truly emphathize...
GI - you wish!
To some, attending a simcha can be painful, and the well-minded good wishers Iy"h by you... ouch they sometimes rub it in
It really hurts to read this...
nuch - i actually don't mind the "iy"h by you"s... another brocha to add to the bucket... but i know many don't feel that way...
there was one girl who told me that what hurt the most was when people STOPPED saying "iy'h by you"... in her eyes, it felt like they gave up on her...
anono - i'm sorry. :(
I have tears in my eyes...I've been the friend with the engagement ring...:-(
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