Solace

Chapter 33

"I'm sorry ma'am", Kashish had her head hung low as she continued, "From now on I will report to you myself and there will be no mistakes."

"Leave", Karishma said, before handing her the files that needed correction.
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By the late afternoon Haseena wrapped up all her work and glanced at Karishma's cabin. "Aj bhi late hogi shayad", she thought to herself, "Hum ek dafa milke aate hai unse phir ghar chale jayenge."

But before she could advance towards Karishma's cabin, Santosh approached her, "Chalo Haseena. Hum nikalte hai."
Haseena was about to say that she wanted to meet Karishma first but hesitated, thinking Santosh might tease her. As they headed home, Santosh observed Haseena's unusual silence as if she was upset. "Did Karishma say anything about her talking to Ishan!" she wondered, considering Karishma's foul mood that she witnessed the whole day.

"Are you okay Haseena?" Santosh asked softly as Haseena looked at her. "Karu ne kuch kaha hai toh mujhe batao hum dono milke dhulai karenge uski!" she said playfully, trying to lighten up her mood.

"Karishma hume kuch kyu kahengi!" Haseena asked, having no clue as she hadn't interacted with Karishma the whole day.

"I thought...actually Ishan ke saath waise bhi humara chattis ka aakda..", Santosh stopped abruptly, noticing Haseena's changed expression at the mention of Ishan's name. "Don't tell me he asked you out!" she murmured with a frightful look in her face, as a sudden prospect crossed her mind.

Haseena closed her eyes in distress. She didn't want to discuss this with anyone but now it seemed like Santosh already had sensed it. "Ap please Karishma ko iske bareme nahi batayengi. Ishan ne hume coffee ke liye pucha aur humne mana kar dia aur yeh baat khatam ho chuki hai", she explained, "Lekin Karishma ke liye yeh baat yahi khatam nahi hogi, apko toh pata hai na unka. Woh gusse mein ajayegi toh itne mehnat se banayi huyi project se haath dho baithegi."

"Tum project ki baat kar rahi ho, agar Karu ko pata chala toh woh gadha apni zindagi se haath dho baithega", she mumbled, letting out a worried sigh.
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Around 9 pm, Karishma, sitting in the hall was constantly fidgeting with her phone. She couldn't decide if she should call Haseena or not and even if she called, she had no clue what she was going to say.

"Maine suna aj kya kiya hai tumne office mein", Amar's sudden voice shifted Karishma's attention to him, "What's going on with you?"

"Kya kiya hai?" Karishma gave him an indifferent look. "Unki carelessness ki wajah se kitni problems ho rahi thi aur maine bol diya toh galat ho gaya?" she added with visible irritation in her voice.

"Nahi, tum galat nahi hoti agar wajah unki carelessness hoti, lekin yaha wajah kuch aur hai", Amar said, earning a confused look from Karishma. "Kashish is a single mother and she has been struggling with her son's health for the last two months", he explained the reason behind Kashish's absence. "Tumhe aise react nahi karna chahiye tha. And it's not about showing sympathy, it's about being considerate", he added and Karishma couldn't help but feel guilty for her misbehaviour.

"Karu, yeh zaroori nahi hai ke jo hume dikhai de bas wohi sach ho. There's always a flip side of the coin", Amar said, as he moved towards his room, leaving Karishma alone with her thoughts. Unknowingly Amar had cleared up the clouds of uncertainty raising inside Karishma, giving her a new perspective to look at the circumstances that had only disturbed her the whole day.
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Haseena held the piece of paper in her hand that had the unfinished sketch of Karishma on it. It was not like she decided on sketching Karishma, it just happened in an automatic movement of her fingers when she witnessed the latter's tired yet gorgeous face in the yellow night light. A blush appeared on her cheeks as the memories of that night flooded her mind and she ran her fingers over the paper delicately as if caressing Karishma's face through it. Soon enough a knock on the door gained her attention and she hurriedly hid the sketch in her diary before opening the door.