in her insignificant life, a woman awoke to a great ruckus outside her bedroom door, and she had not even the time to ask herself what the great fuss was about when, right before her very eyes, her door was flung open, and in stumbled a great number of dark figures, curses, expletives, and obscenities of all sorts came flying in as they tripped and fell over one another, until a groping hand finally found the light switch, and there before her she saw parents, aunts, uncles, siblings, cousins, friends, neighbours, colleagues, and even several acquaintances she had not seen for several years, What’s the matter with you, her mother stammered, hands trembling, It’s nearly two o’clock, what in the world are you still doing in bed, What do you mean, she murmured, struggling to keep her eyes open, What’s going on, then, turning her head, she peered out the window for an instant, and saw that all was dark, Great heavens, she exclaimed, It’s the middle of the night, what in the world’s going on, but, receiving only an uneasy silence, she rose quickly on her elbows and put on her glasses, squinting more carefully now, at the assembly before her, and saw without exception that each and every one of them was dressed up to the nines, her aged mother in particular, whom she had never seen with so much energy, What’s the meaning of this, she asked again, more quietly now, slowly drawing up the blanket round her, but to this was only more silence, blank looks, shaking heads, sneers, disgust, her mother, especially, seemed on the verge of hysterics, The wedding, she cried, The wedding, have you forgotten, Unbelievable, who am I getting married to, Oh for crying out loud, yelled her father, I told you, it’s no use, she never listens, the wretched thing, there’s no more time, and before anyone could lift a finger her father sprang forth, flung away the blanket, and began hauling at her legs, without missing a beat several cousins and uncles leaping in to help, this one here holding down the arm, that one there pinning the knee, truly, it was a superb display of familial solidarity, and in no time she was hoisted into the air, Oh dear God, she exclaimed, What’s happening, what’s happening to me, Make way, they shouted, Make way make way, and the gaping onlookers, startled back into themselves, scrambled to squeeze back through the door, and the cortege, careful not to drop her, snaked on into the living room, where into a vast old armchair she dropped, dazed, she turned her head this way and that, the room was packed, cheek by jowl they were all jostling for a good spot to watch, some even taking turns to piggyback atop one another, then she felt the rush of cold air, wet sponges, powdered hands, so many faces and arms, the shrieks and the yells, until to the celebratory cries that erupted round her she opened her eyes to see, in a mirror, a vast flowing dress, the silkiest white, a cascade of hair, and a face that must be hers, whose eyes, transfixed, she gazed into, as one would of a stranger’s face in a passing train, screaming, Quickly, quickly, her mother gestured wildly, It’s nearly three for heaven’s sake, and so again arms came to heave, the cortege snaked on, and into the elevator she tumbled, distraught, she was on the verge of speaking again, but seeing their solemn faces she lowered hers, quiet settled, only to soar back into noise, and she opened her eyes, startled, to the parting of the lift doors, and the void deck, she saw, was decked in white, so much white, flowers all around, chrysanthemums hung from the ceilings, lilies lined the walkways, the sight was too much, she was nearly in tears, and there were people, so many people, Unbelievable, she had never seen so many people in her life, people laughing at the tables, people wandering around, people with their noses in the flowers, and because it was so crowded, some others, spilling over to the car park, sat atop their cars, twiddling their thumbs, in the languid light of the moon, Where did all these people come from, she wondered, she recognised none of them, and how, with all this noise in the night, had no one yet lodged a complaint, Silence, silence, her mother shrieked, and all at once a hush washed through the crowd, rising to their feet they turned to face her, Finally, they murmured, it’s starting.