She studied her face in the mirror.

Writing prompt: She studied her face in the mirror.

Asha studied her face in the mirror. "Why did it look so different?", she wondered. She still had the same dark complexion, small black eyes and not to forget the double chin that made her neck disappear inside the collar of her shirt. But her face was shining and eyes were sparkling, and she could not help smiling in front of the mirror.

Everything had changed for her in the last couple of hours.

Asha, who was the oldest amongst the Mathur sisters, was always reminded of her plain looks by everyone around her. Mrs. Mathur, her mother, looked a wee bit uncomfortable when she had to introduce her in her fancy social circle. Asha, purposely stayed away from these gatherings allowing her younger and prettier siblings, Abha and Nisha, to hog the limelight. While her sisters would spend hours getting dressed to please their mother's friends and receive compliments from them, Asha would sneak into her father's study and pretend to be studying for her college exams.

 Mr. Mathur, was the only one in the family who did not care about Asha's dark complexion. "Even Shanti, my sister is no beauty but look at her brains. She has studied at Oxford and is now teaching there. My daughter, Asha, is brilliant like her. How can anyone  miss her intellectual spark," he apprehended his wife, whenever she cribbed about Asha's looks, and how difficult it was going to be to find her a groom.

 Asha was sitting in the lawn with a book from her favorite author when Anant arrived unannounced. He had come to drop a package which Shanti had sent from the US. With no one else in the house, Asha had no choice but to entertain the guest. The discussion started with the book she was reading to the courses he was pursuing in the US. Somewhere in-between their animated conversation the Mathur family arrived and found Asha completely engrossed, chatting with a stranger. Something they had never imagined in their wildest dreams.

Anant, had been taken by surprise. He had lived abroad most of his life. He had never expected to meet an Indian girl with so much knowledge and intellect. There was an unusual honesty in her opinion, she spoke her mind with ease and what a lovely smile she had, it made her eyes sparkle, he thought to himself. Anant seemed to be completely under her spell.

Mr Mathur was quick to notice the change in Asha too. She looked radiant. He smiled quietly to himself. While his wife fidgeted around Anant, confused seeing Asha so confident and charming in the presence of a young boy, he sent a message to Shanti, "Your mission has been accomplished". He knew Shanti had set the stage for Asha to find her groom.