"Ab kya hua hai?!", Haseena asked, picking up the call for the seventh time in the last twenty five minutes.
"Mera yellow top nahi mil raha", Karishma replied from the other side of the call.
"Teesri drawer mein dekhiye", Haseena informed, getting down the stairs of the terrace.
"Okayy", Karishma cut the call and Haseena nodded her head in disbelief.
"Ek.. do.. teen.. chaar...", Haseena started to count and before she could reach 5, her phone rang again. "Kyu pareshan kar rahi hai aap hume?", she yielded, picking up the call.
"Kaha pareshan kiya? Tumne meri cupboard set ki thi na, toh tumse hi puchungi na ke chize kaha par rakkhi hai", she reasoned innocently although her voice carried a hidden glimmer of mischief. She knew what she was doing, calling Haseena again and again, making excuses.
"Accha! aur itne din kaise mili apko apni chize?", Haseena asked, this time in a bit confrontational tone.
"Areh tab woh nahi chahiye thi na jo ab chahiye", Karishma replied implicitly.
"Aur woh kya hai jo apko ab chahiye! Zara hum bhi toh jaane", Haseena again asked.
"Tum", Karishma was pretty quick with her answer. Her playful yet honest answer had caught Haseena off guard.
"Humm?...hum se..woh..", Haseena fumbled badly as she felt a crimson hue spreading across her face out of nowhere. "Hume ammi bula rahi hai, rakhte hai hum phone", finally being able to form a meaningful sentence, she cut the call abruptly, leaving an amused Karishma at the opposite side of the call.
"Buasa ap kyu barbar Hasi ko call kar rahi hai, ap toh already dressed hai", a confused Ashu asked, who was sitting beside Karishma all this time.
"Secret hai baccha", Karishma replied pulling his cheeks but stopped as something struck her mind. "Ek minute, yeh Hasi kya hai? Woh sirf mai bula sakti hu, samjhe", she told Ashu.
"Kyu? Kitna beautiful naam hai Hasi, bikul unki tarah", Ashu spoke with a toothy smile.
"Heyy!! Badi hai woh tumse aisi baatein nahi karte", Karishma told him off, being jealous at her baby nephew's innocent remarks. Ashu pouted as Karishma never scolded him before. Karishma just made him sit on her lap lovingly.
"You know what Ashu, hum sabki life mein na koi aisa dost hota hai, jisse hum sabse jyada pyar karte hai, khudse dur nahi karna chahte, kabhi share nahi karna chahte, ittusa bhi nahi! Aur tumhari bua sa ke life mein woh dost hai Haseena. When someone like this comes into your life, you would understand mai yeh kyu keh rahi hu", she tried to explain to him.
"But when?" Ashu inquired, being impatient.
"Umm..jab tum aur thode bade ho jaoge", Karishma replied, "So, calling Haseena as Hasi is a no no, okay?"
"Okay", Ashu nodded his head in agreement.
.
.
"Sabash! Apne bohut accha kaam kiya hai Haseena beta", Vijay Singh praised looking at the designs Haseena made.
"Kya sach mein acche bane?", Haseena asked in surprise as she didn't expect this to be good enough for Vijay Singh to like.
"Bilkul. Ap bhi apne pitaji ki tarah bohut hunhar hai. Aj Usman hote toh bohut khush hote apke liye", he said with a genuine smile. A rare mixture of intelligence and honesty, Haseena's father became very dear to the Singhs in a short period of time, seemed like her daughter would take his legacy forward. Haseena's eyes sparkled with unshed tears as Vijay Singh continued showering kind words at her father's appreciation.
.
.
Karishma was approaching her father's cabin when she saw Haseena coming out of the room, wiping off her tears.
"Hasi!!" Karishma reached out to Haseena in urgency. "Tum ro kyu rahi ho?" she asked, delicately holding her chin. "Baba sa ne kuch kaha hai kya? Mai abhi jaake baat karti hu", she said as she took a step towards her father's cabin.
Haseena stopped her holding her arm. "Ap pagal hai kya? Woh kyu kuch kahenge hume!", she said.
"Toh phir tum ro kyu rahi thi?!" Karishma asked, being perplexed.
"Thakursa ne humari itni tarif ki toh hum thode jazbaati ho gaye", she replied with aixture of gratitude and elation in her voice.
Karishma let out a relieved breath. "Uff meri jazbaton ki malika", she joked, making Haseena grin. "Accha toh mai babasa se milke aati hu phir eksaath chalenge?" Karishma asked, looking at her with a hopeful pair of eyes. Haseena nodded in affirmation, smiling.
Sitting in the car, Haseena felt a blissful serenity enveloped her at the thought of making her father proud. As she peeked through the car window, her eyes went towards a young boy of 11 or 12 years, selling flowers. She felt a deep sense of empathy looking at him, thinking how she or her brother could have been in that boy's place, when they were ousted from their own house after her father's death.
"Karishma gadi rokiye", Haseena urged, looking back at the boy.
"Kyu!", Karishma asked confusingly.
"Hume woh phool leni hai", Haseena answered, gesturing at the boy.
Karishma halted the car as she looked at the direction Haseena gestured and her eyebrows furrowed with visible irritation. It was the same gerbera flowers Anubhav once gifted Haseena. "I hate these flowers", she murmured under her breath.
"Yeh kyu leni hai tumhe? Tumhe to pink roses pasand hai na?!", Karishma asked, momentarily hiding the anger shimmering under the surface.
"Apne kaha tha jo chahenge woh flowers dilayengi ap hume", Haseena reminded Karishma of her words from last night and she had to give in. They went outside and bought the flowers, after which Haseena handed the boy water and some food affectionately. A smile crept on Karishma's lips at the scene unfolding in front of her.
"My kind lady", Karishma murmured, looking at Haseena with eyes full of admiration, who was talking to the boy and giggling.
.
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"Mai mana lungi Santu ko, ap tension maat lijiye", Karishma said before ending the call and sat on the couch, where Cheetah was half laying with a beer bottle in his hand. Before he could ask anything about the phone conversation, Santosh entered the room.
"Mil gayi diary?", Santosh asked, sitting on the bean bag nearby.
"Kabse haath mein liye baithi hai", Cheetah uttered, sipping on his beer.
"Waise diary layi kaise?", Santosh asked with unbashed excitement.
"Magic", Karishma boasted, rotating the diary on the coffee table and Santosh gave her a confused look.
"Magic ka naam Shanno hai", Cheetah quipped, earning a punch from Karishma.
"Uff, tum dono chup ho jao", Santosh scolded them, "Karu, padho kya likkha hai diary mein."
Karishma opened the diary, a hint of hopefulness was visible on her face. But as she was turning over the pages, her expression changed into disheartened. Cheetah and Santosh shared a glance at each other, noticing her expression.
"Kya hua hai!", Santosh couldn't hold herself from asking.
"Yeh to urdu mein likkha hai", Karishma said dejectedly, putting down the diary.
"Beiiii", Cheetah exclaimed in dismay as their attempt went in vain.
"Mai pehle hi bata doon ke maine English medium mein padhai ki, so mujhe urdu nahi aati", Santosh enlightened them with a not so newfound information as both Karishma and Cheetah looked at her in bewilderment.
"Santu..kuch aisa batao jo hume pata nahi hai", Karishma chided.
"Kyu na hum kisise pata karay! Jisse Urdu ata ho?", Cheetah suggested.
"Tujhe chadhne lagi hai Cheeteh", Karishma gave him a sharp glare. "Isme meri Hasi ki personal baatein likhi hogi, koi bhi aake isko padh lega kya!" she said in an irked tone.
"Waise Cheeteh, diary laneka idea bhi kafi ghatiya tha. It's a very personal thing", Santosh remarked. Cheetah was confounded at how everything was now his fault!
"Mai sone ja rahi hu, tum dono ke dono useless ho", Santosh said before leaving the room. Karishma snatched the beer bottle from Cheetah's hand, chugging it down at one go.
"I'm feeling like a loser", Karishma uttered in a let down tone. "Usse itna chahti hu ki uske bina duniya sari bekar lagti hai, aur bandi ko ghanta kuch pata nahi hai aur na mai bata pa rahi hu", she added, throwing the bottle in frustration breaking it into pieces.
"Ab samjh ayi mai kaisa feel karta hu?" Cheetah said and Karishma kicked him on his leg. "Areh maar mat yaar!", he said, winching in pain.
"Saale teri hi baddua lagi hogi mujhe", Karishma said glaring at him. After finishing two more bottles of beer, she moved towards her room. Her room was close by and it shouldn't be a struggle to get inside it. But Karishma was headier than she thought she was. She soon lost her balance and was about to stumble before a pair of arms were wrapped around her and guided her to her room.
A familiar jasmine-like fragrance hit Karishma's nostrils, giving her an idea of who it might be.
"Apne pee rakhi hai", Haseena said, her voice reflected disappointment and Karishma only smiled. "Hasiye mat", Haseena scolded while moving away to make lemonade but Karishma was quick to resist.
"Mere saath reh jao na, humesha ke liye?", Karishma said, holding Haseena's hand in her. Her voice was a bit slurry, due to the effect of alcohol.
"Hum nahi ja rahe hai Karishma", Haseena assured her, caressing her face. Karishma's hand glided on Haseena's back, pulling her for a hug.
"Pata nahi mai aisa kya bolu jisse bayan ho jaye ke mai tumse kitna jyada pyar karne lagi hu. Kya tum bhi kabhi mujhe apnaogi?", Karishma mumbled in a drowsy state. She pulled away to look at Haseena's eyes as their cheeks met at a feathery touch and Haseena's heart skipped a beat, "Sach bol rahi hu mai!!" Haseena closed her eyes at the feeling of Karishma's warm breath fanning her skin as her hold on Karishma got stronger.
"Mai jyada gussa nahi karungi, rat bhar gharse bahar bhi nahi rahungi, tum jo bologi wohi karungi. Bas tum meri ho jao, please!" Karishma pleaded before she finally dozed off on Haseena's shoulder.
An unknown euphoric wave washed all over Haseena with Karishma's every word. She could feel the depth of her feelings looking into her eyes. But then a sudden realization hit her. These words, these feelings of Karishma were addressed to someone else and not her. A sharp pain in her heart started to escalate as teardrops were rolling down her cheeks continuously.
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Hello beautiful people, I hope you all are doing well.
Here is chapter 27 and it is by far the largest chapter of Solace. Do vote, comment and follow to motivate your writer. See you in the next chapter.