Early next morning, I packed a few of my things and went to Imphal. I intended to elope with Onler. I was still angry and felt let down by my father.
‘Let's get married, with or without my parents' approval. And then let's go to Delhi,' I told Onler.
He calmed me down, and said, ‘Mary, you are the eldest. You should not act like this. I am also the last one in my family to get married. We should not disgrace our families.'
By then, my mother had come to take me back home. Anu knew that Onler was in Imphal, so his was the first house she checked at there. With Onler's assurance that he would talk to my father again, I reluctantly followed Anu home. Another day, I made a second attempt to convince Onler to leave home, but he firmly refused.
