You’re sitting on a soft chair with no back. It forces you to sit up straight, your back is already tired. You’ve been sitting in front of this mirror on this soft chair for what seems like hours now. It can’t be hours. The wedding is soon but you’re not sure who you’re going to marry. You don’t recognise the person in the mirror anymore.

Your aunts and cousins and siblings are flocking around you while you sit in silence. Your hands clenched in your lap. They try and touch your hair and your face. They tell you to smile, though their own smiles are strained and tinged with grief.

Next