Bridesmaid

Lakmini was going to be my bridesmaid

she was my best friend

wedding was set on September fourth

in nineteen eighty two

in June of that year she was hospitalized

for a brain surgery

after that she recovered slightly

telling me that if I would change her as my bridesmaid

that she would never speak to me again

on the morning of September third

I felt uneasy and worried

I saw a dark cloud passing over my home

heard a dog barking in an unusual way

then I saw her father hurrying to my home with a parcel

"Sorry, Demetria, she is in hospital"

"This is her bridesmaid dress"

the wedding took place sans one bridesmaid

a week had passed

and she was still in hospital in coma

and died the other day

I went to her home and gave back her dress to her mother

Lakmini was buried in that same dress

she was supposed to wear on my wedding day