"Ooooh, newlyweds~"
A year had already passed since the marriage contract ceremony. The newlywed married couple still kept getting teased. First, let’s meet the seasoned married couple, Rimby and Gandy.
Rimbiya Dresanala was the wife’s full name, and she was twenty-five years old. Gandiwa Winenang was the husband’s full name, and he was thirty-five.
What a mature age to begin a new chapter of life. They had gone from drifting around alone wherever they pleased to having someone who would always be by their side twenty-four hours a day. "Come on, you guys. I’ve been married for a whole year now, you know. And you’re still calling me a newlywed. That’s not even appropriate anymore." Rimby scolded her coworkers from the same work studio.
"Why not? Besides, everyone else was already married before you. You were the only one who was single. Of course we call you that. You’re the only one who just got married recently."
That was Nain, Rimby’s close friend at work. As it happened, they were in the same department. She was practically like a sister to Rimby.
"Oh, please. Just because all of you managed to get married first." Rimby spoke while tidying her desk. Her Saturday overtime shift had finally ended.
"How’s your husband’s extended family, Rim?" Nain asked.
Rimby took a moment to process that. "What do you mean, how are they?"
Nain folded her arms. "Well, I’m not trying to say anything bad. It’s just that when two extended families come together like that, one of them is bound to become a test in your married life."
Rimby left the office building while still listening to Nain talk about it. Nain hadn’t finished giving her advice about the shocking facts of marriage.
"So when signs of a red flag start appearing from one of the extended families, you have to start coming up with a strategy so you won’t be easily shaken." Nain continued.
"Okay, thanks for sharing your wisdom. But I hope those red flags never show up. Even so, I’m not going to be naive enough to think marriage won’t have its tests." Rimby replied.
"I’m glad you can respond so calmly while still staying alert deep down." Nain gave Rimby a warm hug.
The two of them said goodbye and headed home along their separate routes.
Inside the car, Rimby began seriously thinking about the red flags that might come from an extended family in a marriage.
What looked good up ahead might be hiding plenty of bad intentions.
Rimby was eager to discuss it with her husband, Gandy.
She hurried home.
When she arrived home, Rimby immediately threw herself into the housework. She had OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder), a mental disorder in which sufferers experience ongoing anxiety when something hasn’t been completed, causing them to repeat the task over and over.
So everything in the house had to be neat, clean, and organized before Rimby could feel calm enough to rest.
Especially since the house had been left empty all day while its residents were at work. Naturally, layers of dust had settled all over the floor during that time.
Two hours later, every corner of the house was finally clean. Now Rimby could rest peacefully after her exhausting day.
Since Gandy, her husband, hadn’t come home from work yet, Rimby decided to spend her free time lying on the sofa and watching Nitflix.
Before she knew it, Rimby’s eyes began to grow hazy. The device in her hand slipped gently onto the floor.
Rimby fell asleep on the sofa.
While Rimby was deep in dreamland, a man suddenly entered the house.
He froze at what he saw.
"Good heavens, my darling wife has suddenly gone off to dreamland," he murmured.