Ek Ajnabee Haseena

chapter 2

Ishita got up from her seat, carrying along her suitcase with her, as the peon looked over her shoulder. 

"lunch break se pehle ka aakhri number aapka hai..." he informed, as ishita looked around reluctantly. 

"ji woh, din ka aakhri kar dijiye please, woh abhi tak aaye nahi hai...shayad train delay ho gayi hai..." requested ishita, but was interrupted by him. 

"arre madam 5 baje office band ho jaata hai, uske baad kahan se rakhon? ab agar koi aur anhi aayega, toh uska hi appointment milega..." he concluded, as ishita attempted to put her request, but he went inside, before hearing her. ishita sighed distress, as she sat on the bench keeping her suitcase aside, her palms on her forehead. 

Dushyant witnessing this, felt bad for her, which the lawyer noticed. 

"chalo, lunch nahi karna?" he asked, as dushyant moved his glance away from her, just for a second. 

"aap jaiye, main aata hoon..." stated dushyant, as the lawyer left, while dushyant walked over to ishita. 

He stood right behind her, feeling she was about to cry, he placed his hand on her shoulder, as she immediately looked up. 

"uhhm, woh, aap bura mat maniyega, bahaut busy rehta hai  yahan lunch break se pehle...chinta mat karo, shaam tak kaafi time hoga, aa jayega woh..." consoled dushyant, as she seemed reluctant to believe him at first, but it appeared that she did merely because she had no option. 

Dushyant looked around, not understanding what to do, as he went and sat next to her. 

"phone karke dekha usse?" asked dushyant, as ishita nodded in agreement. 

"utha nahi raha.." replied ishita, as dushyant's glance fell on the tea stall, where the guys of the band, and the lawyer were eating lunch, and he turned his gaze to her. 

"subha se baithi ho, bhook lagi hogi, kuch laon tumhare liye?" asked dushyant, as ishita just shook her head in no, she was not even looking at him, that was enough for him to understand, that the best resort, was to leave her to herself. 

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Tarika had her hands clasped together, as she sat outside the ward, sipping a cup of coffee. 

"thoda jaldi karlo yaar!" exclaimed abhijeet, as he came out of the ward, adjacent to where tarika was sitting in front of, and she looked up to him, which he noticed. 

"ab dekhiye na, doctor sahab itna late aaye hain, visiting hours mein se time kat gaya hai..." stated abhijeet, as tarika slightly chuckled, and continued to sip her coffee, when abhijeet started to walk near to where she was seated. 

"toh, aapke..." pointed abhijeet to the ward in front of her. 

"husband hai mere, rajveer..." informed tarika, as abhijeet nodded in agreement, and sat next to her. 

"woh kal bhi dekha tha na aapko...socha ek baar..." stated abhijeet, as he looked away, his head focused on what was in front of him. 

"toh aapki wife.." attempted tarika to ask, as abhijeet's glance focused on her again. 

"woh, do saal ho gaye hain...subha office jaane se pehle, lunch break, office ke baad...yahin aa jata hoon...inn do saalon mein maine uske baad itni baar khaana kha liya jitna maine apni 12 saal ki shaadi mein bhi nahi khaaya tha..." replied abhijeet, as there was this forced smile on his face, trying to hide the despair inside of him. 

"itna time bhi lag sakta hai?" asked tarika, shocked, as abhijeet had this serene smile on his face. 

"shayad, ya shahid nahi, yeh mere ya aapke hathoon mein nahi hai, ki woh kab tak inn hospital ke wards mein rahenge...kab tak hum, unhe, iss tarah shayad dekhne bhi aa payenge...hamare haathon mein bas, saath nibhana hai, jab tak hum kar sakte hai..." expressed abhijeet his thoughts, as tarika was left to ponder over it. 

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the house was full of decorations, making it fit for a wedding, the hustle and bustle and constant chattering in the air, kept the wonderful time alive. 

"arre kab tak aayegi tumhari make up waali! shaam ho rahi hai, moharat pe nahi pahaunch payenge hum..." complaint a lady, as purvi chuckled while responding, as she fixed her bun. 

"maa, itna bhi hyper hone ke bhi zaroorat nahi hai, make up das minute mein ho jayega, aur abhi baraat aane mein araam se 5-6 ghante hai." assured purvi, as her mother smiled. 

"beta kya karo, din hi aisa aaya, bas, sab sahi ho jayein...aur tum khush raho, aur kya chahiye mujhe."  responded her mother lovingly, as purvi smiled back at her. 

                                                                      ***

ishita looked around the shops surrounding the marriage court, she couldn't lie to herself, that her stomach was not growling with hunger for hours now. Her glance fell at the tea stall, where she had seen dushyant eat, she looked around to make sure no one was coming at the empty stall, as she walked along with her suitcase. 

"arre kya bhaiya, 600 se kam koi nahi lega yahan...." argued dushyant with another couple, when his glance fell on ishita, sitting alone at the tea stall, eating. 

"acha thik hai, nahi lena na, toh jao dhondo gawah!" rebuked dushyant, as he walked over to the tea stall.

He sat next to ishita, who was eating maggie, as she stopped eating when she noticed him. 

"dekho...agar usse anaa hota toh ab tak aa chuka hota..aur agar late ho raha hota, toh tumhe phone toh hi kar deta.." stated dushyant, as ishita did not say anything, but you could tell from her face, that even she knew he was right. 

"aur, office band hone waala hai, tum ghar chali jao..." suggested dushyant,  as ishita's glance was on him now. 

"lucknow se aayi hoon....yahan kisiko nahi jaanti hoon, bas, isliye yahan aaye the, taaki kisiko pata na chale...ab rohan ka bhi koi aata pata nahi hai...mujhe kuch samajh nahi aa raha main kya karoon...." responded ishita, tense, maybe a little teared up as well, and then, dushyant thought of something. 

"yahan paas mein ek women's hostel hai, paise hai tumhare paas?" asked dushyant, as she shook her head in no. 

"koi shelter nahi hai?" followed up ishita with another question, as dushyant remebered of one. 

"arre haan woh vakil sahab pe kaas card tha kisika, ek second ruko, abhi lekar aata hoon!" exclaimed dushyant, as he immediately jumped off his chair, and ran for the lawyer. 

ishita's glance fell on the maggi in her plate, dried up already, it was hard for her to let the food gulp down her throat. 

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author's note: hey guys, i'm glad to see the story getting a good response, keep voting and commenting, appreciate your love and support.