ALIGNING OUR STARS

Chapter 8- Blood And Bandages

Lying on the bed, Haseena was reminiscing the day. It started off hectic but ended with a happy chit chat with Anisha and Karishma.

Anisha could be worst to the people she didnt like, but best to her friends and family. Anisha had bullied her so much in the past, but now she seems to try to change.

She had the tastiest dinner of her life just a few hours ago. There were dishes which she never knew existed and there were dishes which she could eat everyday. That treat in the finest restaurant was given by Anisha.

"Badla liya hai mene kal ka" Haseena remembered Anisha saying with a smug. She chuckled and checked her mobile which pinged.

"Good night ❤️"  it was a message from Anisha. Haseena smiled and wished her a good night back before texting Karishma.

"Hello" Haseena messaged and waited, but there was no reply.

She waited for the Next thirty minutes, but there was still no reply. Karishma's last seen was two hours ago, and she was always online at this time of the night.

With her mobile on the pillow, beside her head, she stared at the ceiling, thinking about Karishma without realising. For some reason, she wanted her attention, for some reason she wanted to talk to her and for some reason, she wanted to be around her.

Just then, her phone rang, vibrating on the pillow and bringing her out of her thoughts. She picked it up and her face lit up when she saw the caller id. 'Karishma' she didnt waste another second and answered the call.

"Hello" Haseena said, excited.

"He- hello" replied Karishma, breathing heavily.

Haseena's eyebrows came together listening to her voice. She sounded breathless and her throat seemed to be sore.

"Karishma? Kya hua ap kahan hai abhi?" Haseena asked, standing up from the bed.

"Ham–hamare ro—room me. Ap aa s—sakti hai?" Karishma asked, her voice getting lower and lower with every syllable.

"Karishma kya hua hain?" Haseena asked, worried, as she threw her hoodie on and took her keys.

"Plea—please yahan aai—ye. Jal—jaldi" Karishma said, trying to catch some breath.

"Agye hum, Karishma. Agye, ap chinta mat kijiye" Haseena said as she ignited her bike and flew towards Karishma's home.

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Looking at Karishma's home was not as strange as this time. She had always passed by it, knowing that a very rich family lived here. But today, when she had to go inside, she was kind of nervous, partially because she had never seen the house from inside and partially because of Karishma's call.

She parked her bike outside and went in. The door was wide open. Haseena's eyes enlarged, these people were owners of millions, how could they be so careless. She stepped inside, and she wouldnt be exaggerating if she said that the house was huge. It was could be 10 times the size of her own apartment.

There were two floors, the lower floor consisted of a living room, a kitchen and two other bedrooms. Haseena remembered Karishma mentioning that her room was upstairs. She didnt look around much and directly went upstairs.

The house didnt support Karishma's behaviour. Karishma was sounding scared, pained, breathless, while the house was clean and calm.

The upper floor was painted in yellow while the lower was painted white. Both the floors had the same marble flooring. Haseena looked around the upper floor and found no one, infact she found no one in the entire house. She searched for Karishma's room. In attempt to search for her room, she had opened atleast 15 doors.