The fat round earth had completed its first round of revolution after Dia and Anil had tied the nuptial knot and it was their big fat wedding anniversary today. “Dia go get ready! The guests shall arrive any moment!” “Yes, Maa! I just have to pick my dress from the tailor!” “WHAT!” “Chill Maa! I shall be back in a trice!” The car bolted and moved thunderously as if absorbing all of Dia’s excitement. In no time Dia was huffing and puffing at the tailor’s when her eyes fell on the sleeves of a familiar colour lying amputated on the floor. “What that's my dress!” (Dia pursed the storm between her lips!) *** “Tick! tick! tick!” Dia’s fingernails were clicking restlessly against the tailor’s table! “Relax Madam, it shall be ready very soon!” Abdul Bhai hemmed and hawed. “How could you do this to me Abdul Bhai? I gave you the dress material a good one month in advance!” “So Sorry, Madam! We are extra cautious to delight our customers. But you must be aware of the recent electricity cuts!” Karim Bhai pulls a chair for Dia. “Just another fifteen minutes! Madam” In the meantime, Dia pulls out a chocolate bar from the mishmash in her handbag. Her jaw drops as her fleeting eyes fall on the facial fat that hung suspended on her double chin. “Oh, God!” Dia sighs in despair when Abdul Bhai punctures her thought bubble with a piercing shout- “Your dress is ready madam! The trial room is on the left!” Dia snatches her delicate dress and dreamily rushes towards the trial cubical. Her dream turns into a nightmare when the pretty pastel sleeves stubbornly refuse to co-operate! “What's wrong now!” Dia knew if she tugged the appendages any further the sleeve would screech any moment! Dia is all in tears as the heavy thunderbolt hits her proclaiming that poor Dia had grown richer by some pounds. “Abdul Bhai this wonderful dress refuses to fit me!” “No problem Madam” A patient Abdul Bhai intervenes to console Dia and suggests that the tumultuous disaster could be managed quickly and easily since a generous margin of cloth was deliberately left while stitching the gown. Soon the altered dress alters the storm into a sigh of relief. Later that evening, Dia pouts before the shutterbugs like some fairytale princess posing against the dreamy pastel backdrops. She could not get busier accepting both glistening gift boxes and enchanting compliments. Later as she ties all the loose ends she realizes that had her dress been stitched on time she would never have been able to wear it at nine (pm) today. It seemed that this providential delay was tailor-made by some slender pointed wand to befit the situation. She winks at a reflection on the “mirror on the wall” and mocks how the old boastful idiom (A stitch in time saves nine) stood punctured today! Penmancy gets a small share of every purchase you make through these links, and every little helps us continue bringing you the reads you love!