After they were done with my hand, they asked me to sit on the edge of the pool so they could do the same to my legs.
It felt even more painful on my legs.
And then came the most embarrassing and surprising part.
“Open your legs wider,” one said, and my eyes widened in shock.
“What? Why?”
“To clean you. It looks like a forest,” one of them said, and a wave of laughter ran through us.
I couldn’t believe how Nandani was okay with letting them do that every two or three months. She didn’t like body hair; it made her uncomfortable.
I sucked my lower lip and asked,“Is it necessary?”
“You haven’t done it before?” They asked. I shook my head, and she continued,“You’re beginning a new phase of your life. Some experiences only happen a few times. You should make them special.”
Her words didn’t make me feel good, but I nodded in confusion.
I parted my legs more, and one of them used a wooden flat stick to apply some paste to my skin; it burned.
She waited until it dried, and after a few moments, she looked at me and said.“Look at that,”
I gulped in fear and turned my gaze away. I knew what was about to happen. She pulled the sticky paste with one quick move, and my body went on fire with unbearable pain. I immediately pressed my thighs together and groaned louder, squeezing my eyes shut.
They giggled, and I couldn’t help but smile.
Why on earth am I doing all this?
Once done, they began washing my hair. The warm water was turning cold, and suddenly, I sneezed.
“We should hurry, or she’ll catch a cold,” another said, and they began working faster.
They washed my hair with soapnut powder, applied oil to nourish it, and then rinsed it again.
They finally applied gram flour and sandalwood paste to my skin to soothe the burning redness. It felt better.
Honestly, I felt incredibly better after taking a bath. I had never experienced anything like that before. Now, I understood why Nandani was always eager to take one—it was relaxing.
I wrapped a clean, dry white cloth around my body and another around my hair.
“You should sit in the sunlight for a while,” one said, leading me to the dressing room where sunlight peeked through the ceiling-high windows.
I sat on the couch and felt the rays soothing my skin. It was terrific, but I felt sleepy.
After a while, my body and hair dried, and I saw an attendant step forward with an outfit in her hand. I took the velvet cloth off the plate and looked at the beautiful orange ghaghra33adorned with small pink beads.
“It’s beautiful,” I murmured.
“Daadi-sa asked you to wear this,” she said, and I nodded, taking the dress in my hand.
“You should change; we are waiting outside,” they said.
They left, closing the door, and I placed the outfit on the table. It felt even more beautiful than both of my weddings.
It was simply elegant, not overly royal or heavy. I tied my hair in a loose bun and looked at myself in the mirror. The fresh glow on my skin that I had never seen before made me sigh in surprise.
I looked beautiful. I didn’t know what it was, but it looked lovely.
