Page 96 of The Unwanted Husband
“Your mother would be so proud of the young woman you are becoming,” he continued. “And your father—” His voice cracked slightly. “Ravi would be honored to know that his children carry on his legacy with such grace.” He turned to include Vish in his gaze. “Both of you.”
He placed a hand on Vaish’s head in blessing, then retreated. “The island recognizes you, Vaishnavi, as next in the line of succession. When the time comes, you will serve as Chieftain, as your father does now, as I did before him. You will protect, guide, and honor this community and all it represents.”
Vaish bowed deeply to her grandfather, then turned to face the assembly. For a moment, she looked every bit the child she was. A bit uncertain, small against the weight of tradition and expectations. But then she straightened her shoulders, lifted her chin, and Isha saw her daughter in full force.
“Thank you, Grandada,” Vaish said, her voice clear and steady despite her young age. “Thank you to everyone here today. This is—” She paused, searching for words. “This is one of the greatest honors of my life, and I’m only eleven, so I haven’t had that many yet.”
More laughter, warm and affectionate.
“I want to talk about my biological parents first,” Vaish continued, and the gathering grew quiet. “Sami and Ravi, like how my mom says. I don’t remember them—not really. I was barely a year old when they passed away. Sometimes I think I remember my mother’s laugh, or the way my father would toss me in the air, but my mom says those might be memories from videos we’ve watched.”
Isha’s throat tightened. Beside her, Vihaan leaned into her side, and she wrapped her arm around him instinctively.
“But even though I don’t remember them,” Vaish said, “I know them. I know them because of all of you.” She gestured to the community. “You tell me stories about how my mother used to run wild on this island, how she would organize the children into elaborate plays, how she once convinced everyone to have a feast in the rain because she thought it would be ‘magical.’”
“It was magical,” someone shouted, and several people nodded, smiling through tears.
“And my father,” Vaish continued, “who apparently could fix anything mechanical but couldn’t cook to save his life. Who treated everyone with respect regardless of their position. Who loved my mother so much that my dad gave up his duty as the Chieftain to support his sister’s love.”
Ashok laughed from where he stood near the platform, running his finger over the edge of his eye quickly.
“I know my parents through the love they left behind,” Vaish said, her voice growing stronger. “Through an uncle, who became my dad. With an aunt, who chose to love us when she didn’t have to. Through my grandparents, my beautiful aunts and cool uncles, through Chandini Aunty who sends us packagesfrom San Francisco and video calls every week even though the time difference is terrible.”
She paused, looking at her twin brother. “Vish and I, we’re very lucky. We lost our first parents, and that will always hurt . And I think it will hurt our whole lives. But we gained a family that’s so big, so full of love, that sometimes I don’t know where to put it all.”
Isha pressed her hand to her mouth, tears streaming freely now.
“We have the best dad in the world even though he pretends to be stern,” Vaish continued with a small smile, casting a look at Ashok. “We have my mom, who will not stop talking about our biological parents, who makes sure we celebrate their birthdays every year, who never tries to replace our first mother but loves us like we came from her own heart.”
“Because you did,” Isha whispered, too quiet for anyone but Vihaan to hear.
“We have Vaibhav and Vihaan, who are the most annoying little brothers in the history of the universe…” She paused for the laughter. “But who we love more than anything. Who makes our family complete. Who never made us feel like we were different because we had different parents in the beginning. In fact they are both jealous that Vish and I have the same last name as mom and they don’t.”
She looked at the gathered community, her young face serious. “I accept this responsibility, this honor of being named in the succession, not just for myself, but for my parents who dreamed of bringing Vish and I to this island. For dad and mom who made that dream come true. For my whole family, big and complicated and perfect.”
Vaish’s voice wavered for the first time. “I’m eleven. I know I’m not going to be Chieftain for a long time. My dad is young and healthy and I’m pretty sure he’s going to be Chieftain until I’m ancient, like fifty or something.”
The crowd erupted in laughter, and even Ashok’s father was grinning.
“But when my time comes,” Vaish said, her voice ringing clear, “I promise to honor this community the way my aunt Aravinda did as the Chieftain. The way my grandfather did, and the way my dad does now. With respect, with love, with everything I have.”
She bowed deeply, and the entire gathering stood, applause thundering across the island. Isha watched her daughter, her heart-daughter, her soul-daughter and felt like her chest might crack open from the pride.
Vish bounded up to embrace his sister, and then Vaibhav and Vihaan broke free from Isha to run to their siblings. The four children clustered together, laughing and talking over each other, and Isha felt Ashok’s arm come around her waist.
“She’s incredible,” he murmured against her ear. “They both are.”
“They get it from their family,” Isha said softly. “All four of them.”
*****
Much later, after the feast and the music and the dancing, after the children had finally crashed in exhausted heaps, Isha and Ashok walked along the shore. The moon was full and bright, casting a silver path across the dark water.
“Did you see my father’s face?” Ashok asked, his voice rough with emotion. “When he said Vaish was just like Sami?”
Isha nodded, squeezing his hand. “She is. So much like her.”
“And yet she’s completely herself too,” Ashok said. “Both of them are. They honor Sami and Ravi’s memory while being fully, wonderfully their own people.”
