Suno chanda-Kashmakash

Kismat

I reach the hotel lobby after finishing the meeting. I wasn’t expecting everything to go this smoothly considering that my brand and me were from enemy country for them. I decided to treat myself to pizza before going to my room.

As I was walking towards Domino’s, the nearby guard with big moustache stopped me.
“Ji ab ao theek hai?, Are you okay?”
Maybe he might have seen my face when I was going to the meeting in the morning.
I was very nervous and scared at that time.
“Shukriya, I am okay now” I replied and moved on.
“What happened, what were you asking her?”
A guard nearby asked the muchad.
“Arrey nothing, I was asking is she was ok, you should have seen her in morning she was running like a madwoman as if she will miss her flight.”
I laugh while hearing this. The muchhad has good exaggering powers. I was merely walking a bit fast to reach there by time.
I eat the pizza and go upstairs for packing as I have flight back at 11: 40 am.
The pizza was great maybe I will eat againg next time I visit.
I insert the key card and open the door.
Something seem very wrong. The room seems messy. There is a towel on sofa but I folded it if I am remembering correctly. Shit I should start eating badaam. I go to almirah to take my suitcase out. But there is no suitcase there. There is only a piece of paper. It has a address written on it.
I am feeling so confused and scared as all my important documents – passport , aadhar card were in it.
I an Indian, am in Pakistan that too without anything to vouch for my identity. I think of going to help desk but am scared. It is the rational thing to do. I only have my phone,little money and meeting papers.
I run downstairs to reception, don’t knowwhat for.
“ How can I help—” she pauses when she sees me “ what happened, did you forget something again” she makes a face while saying this.
“ Again?” I ask.
“ You came in morning to ask for extra key card for your room as you misplaced first one.”
She touches her phone warily and and says “ You toh checked out na, what happened, why you came back?”
Whwn I hear this I lose inside my head but remain calm outside and smile at her.
“Yeah I just wanted to thank you for helping me, Now I should go”
She is still looking at me with suspicion.
I turn around and start walking calmly towards the exit of hotel. I can’t face police right now. I would be tagged as terrorist or some other shit.
They will think I am bullshitting. I din’t check out or lose the card. Who was it?
Please let it be a nightmare, please?
I look at the hustle bustle of the city, a city so alike , in language , food and design that I could fool myself that I was back home, and not in a foreign country.
I wanted to cry. I wanted to scream.
This shit happened in drama and movies. There was someone who looked like me or had a mask of my face and she took away my identity.
No, how can this be?
Airport. she must have gone there. I look at my watch , it is 11;00, shit it took 30 minutes to reach there.i run to auto and sit inside” Airport, jaldi”
“ji” he says and starts the auto.
I don’t have anything to enter inside.
After 20 minutes we get stuck in traffic.
We were moving at snail’s pace.
“Aur kitna dur?” I ask.
“chalk e 15 min” I give him few notes and without looking run outside.
The airport sign becomes visible after few minutes.
The hope in me starts rising. But it is quashed the next second when I see the message on my phone.
“Have a safe flight, Ms Jiya khan.”