The sound of unlocking the door broke Karishma's trance and she left Haseena with a jerk. She saw ammi entering the room and Haseena turned her back to Karishma in urgency.
Without letting anyone speak, Salma started to scold her daughter, "Teri aqal par parda par gayi hai kya Haseena? Gas pe pakwan chodke agayi. Kamse kam hume awaj de deti."
"Kyah! Woh hum...hume laga hum", Haseena fumbled in nervousness.
"Chup kar tu. Na dhang se koi kaam aati hai na dhang se baat karni aati hai", Salma continued with her scolding and Haseena just stood there lowering her head as she felt her eyes welling up.
Karishma's heart ached seeing Haseena like this but it was soon changed into rage for Salma. She clutched her fist tightly, trying to control her anger. If anyone else had dared to behave like this with her Hasi, they would find themselves buried to the very ground. But, it's her mother, she had every right to scold Haseena. Karishma excused herself before she lost her cool and misbehaved with Salma.
.
.
Santosh was sipping on her tea, sitting on her balcony, with a satisfactory smile on her face. The day was perfect with a cup of well made tea and soothing weather. She took out her phone and dialed a number.
"Hello, tabiyat kaisa hai tumhari?", Santosh asked.
"I'm fine. Tum batao", reply came from the other side of the phone.
"Thik hu aur baat karni hai tumse", she said leaning on the railing.
"Kalse office ja rahi hu, uske baad milte hai", reply came from the other side.
"Areh wah, badi utavli ho rahi ho office jane ke liye! Kya baat hai Karu baby", Santosh teased Karishma.
"Ultimatum mil chuka hai mujhe ke bahar jana mana hai. Iss chakkar mein ek hafte se kaid hu. Ab office ke bahane hi sahi ghar se nikal paungi yaar", Karishma replied, taking the thorns out of a beautiful pink rose.
"Bohut accha hua. Akal thikane ana hi chahiye tumhara", Santosh chuckled.
"Ha udalo mazak", Karishma chided.
"Accha baba nahi bolti mai kuch. Kahan milogi waise?", Santosh replied.
"Ghar ajao. Bhabisa bhi yaad kar rahi thi tumhe", Karishma replied.
"Nahi ghar nahi, bahar kahi milte hai. Ek kaam karti hu, mai office ki taraf ajaungi kal", she said.
"Done", Karishma replied.
.
.
"Tumne shadi ke liye mana kardiya kyuki Karishma ko woh ladka pasand nahi aya?", Mira remarked, being perplexed. She couldn't believe what she had heard now.
"Nahi", Haseena meekly replied. She was tired and clearly not up for a confrontation right now but Mira being Mira wouldn't stop. She wanted to meet Mira so that she could cheer up a bit but with a pull of questions firing at her, it seemed impossible.
"Shadi tumhari hai, Karishma ki nahi jo uski pasand na pasand ka dhyan rakha jay. Aur usne tumhe wajah batayi hai?", Mira asked.
"Nahi batayi lekin..", Haseena answered. "Lekin Karishma aise hi thodi itni badi baat kahegi?" she added.
"Woh tumhare liye badi baat thi, uske jaisi gair jimmedar ladki ke liye yeh baat ka kuch khas important nahi ho sakti", Mira said with visible irritation.
"Aisa nahi hai", Haseena fired back, hearing her remark about Karishma. "Aur hum kya kisise bhi shadi karle kyuki uske paas sarkari naukri hai?", she was frustrated.
"Tumhari rishte ke liye mana kar dena problem nahi hai Hasi, problem yeh hai ke tumne mana kiya kyunki Karishma ne kaha. Tum apni zindagi ka itna bada faisla usse kaise lene de sakti ho?", Mira questioned her friend who seemed clueless of what she had done.
Haseena closed her eyes in irritation. "Mira, tum khamakha baat ko uljha rahi ho. Humne Karishma ki baat maan liya kyuki unhone sahi kaha tha", she said. "Aur kitni dafa kaha hai hume Hasi maat bulao", she said in an irked manner.
"Kyun?", Mira irked at this. "Kyunki Karishma ko pasand nahi hai ke uske siwa koi aur tumhe Hasi bulaye, hai na?", Mira sarcastically said.
"Ha toh yeh naam bhi unka hi dia hua hai", Haseena defended.
"Tumhe ho kya gaya hai Haseena? Agar kalko usne tumhe kaha ke saans lena chodd do toh tum chodd dogi?", Mira chided.
"Haan, shayad karenge", Haseena confessed. Yes, she would do anything for Karishma. And it's not something she had any control over, that was just how it was, always. It was one of the many things she accepted without any questions.
"Tum kaise usko apne upar itna haq jatane de sakti ho? Tumhe kaise samajh nahi aaraha hai ke tum kya kar rahi ho?", Mira said.
"Bas Mira! Aur kuch bhi nahi sunna hai hume", Haseena raised her voice, not being able to keep her cool anymore. "Hume nahi samjhna hai kuch bhi. Thak gaye hai hum samajhdar bante bante", she added.
Mira sighed in dismay. "Mai bas itna chahti hu ki akhir mein tumhari dil na tute, Haseena. I hope you understand ki tum kis ore kadam badha rahi ho", she said before leaving the room.
Haseena was standing with a flower vase in her hand but her mind was continuously flashing with her conversation or confrontation to be specific. She only came back from the land of her reminiscences when she felt someone was shaking her shoulder.
"Dhyan kaha hai teri? Kabse awaj de rahi hu", Salma said furrowing her eyebrows.
"Kuch nahi ammi. Bas sarr dard kar raha hai humara", Haseena lied.
"Kyu?", Salma asked, putting her palm on Haseena's temple. "Bukhar to nahi hai..accha hum thoda bahar ja rahe hai. Darwaja badh karke thoda aram kar lena", she instructed.
"Ji thik hai", Haseena nodded.
"Mira ne humari dimag kharab kar diya hai. Ussi ke chalte hum Karishma ke samne itna emotional ho gaye aur itni ajeeb bartav kar rahe the", Haseena murmured, closing the door behind her, as her mind went to their proximity from earlier this morning.
"Pata nahi Karishma kya soch rahi hongi humare bare mein!", she voiced her restlessness. "Nahi, kuch galat nahi sochegi woh. Hum toh humesha se hi paas pass rahe hai", she tried to convince herself.
"Uff, sarr fat jayega humara!!", Haseena said in irritation, running her fingers through her hair.
Walking through the stairs, she heard a knock on the door. She thought her mother came back to take something she had forgotten. But she saw Shanno standing there keeping her hands behind her back as if hiding something. Haseena gave her a questioning look.
"Oh yeh apke liye Karishma didi ne bheji hai", Shanno said, giving her a packet.
"Samosa chaat!!", Haseena said in a childlike excitement, unpacking it. Probably the only thing that could fix her mood was chaat and that too when her favourite person had sent for her. She knew Karishma didn't come as she didn't want ammi to get angry any further. But Haseena was elated at her gesture. "Aur woh kya hai?", she asked, indicating to Shanno's other hand that was still behind her back.
"Haa, mai toh bhul hi gayi thi", she quickly forwarded a pair of beautiful pink roses wrapped around a small note to Haseena.
Meri Hasi ke chehre se hasi kabhi gayab nahi honi chahiye. You should always glow just like your favourite flowers.
Waise tumhe pink rose kyun pasand hai pata nahi, but I like anything you like, so pink rose it is.
-Karishma..
Her lips curved into a beautiful dimple smile seeing her ahmaq insan's effort to cheer her up. She held the rose closer to her chest as if embracing Karishma through it. "What is it about her that never fails to flutter my heart!", Haseena thought, with her face beaming with happiness.
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Hello beautiful people, I hope you all are doing well.
So, that was chapter 16 of Solace. Do vote, comment and follow. It will motivate me to write better. Till then see you in the next chapter.