The doors open, and that’s her cue. She turns to baTata and smiles, her heart lessening it’s flatter. He looks different in a suit, but black is definitely his colour; she’s never seen him look this handsome. Hooking her arm in his, he leads her forward. This is the last time he will lead her, and she’s filled with a sense of loss; her father, her world—but only momentarily because before her is a man she loves. Her steps, in line with her father, she’s focused only on the two men; the one beside her and the one ahead of her. The music, her pledge to the man in front of her and a testament to the one beside her, she smiles at the words as tears fill her big brown eyes behind the veil. Her heart picks up pace again as her father hands her over to the other man in black, her small delicate hand in his big hand, one hand against her back, he places her hand in her fiancé’s arm and urges her forward. She hesitates; there’s something missing.

Putting her arms around her father’s neck, she whispers in his ear “I love you.”

“I love you too.” He smiles, before releasing her so the service can start.