Ek Ajnabee Haseena

chapter 4

The door was opened by dushyant, as he got aside to let ishita in. She entered to a house, appeared to be just the size of one bedroom, walls that seemed to have been last painted white years ago, and the ceiling just had a fan, and a lot of cobwebs. She entered, confused, not knowing where to keep her suitcase, as she looked around constantly, he closed the door shut, and placed his keys on a table nearby.

"bathroom, udhar hai, chaho toh moh haath dho sakti ho...main kuch khaane ko le aata hoon tab tak main kuch khaane ko le aata hoon...uhh, paani hai fridge mein, agar pyaas lagein toh..." stated dushyant, as ishita nodded in agreement, and dushyant left.

Ishita walked to the fridge, smaller than even the kitchen cinq's area, as she opened it to find, two bottles of water, five bottles of soda, along with three bottles of whiskey, and two bottles of rum. She shut the fridge shut immediately, shaking her head in disbelief.

There was one bed, not even made properly, as the only real asset around the house, appeared to be the t.v.

She opened the door of the bathroom, which was surprisingly fairly neat, with a bucket below the tap, and a toilet seat, with one cabinet, where shampoo, soap, toothbrush and toothpaste were kept. She took out a towel and face wash and soap from her suitcase, before going to the washroom.

***

Tarika, seated outside the ward, saw abhijeet coming her way, as she just looked away. He handed over a sandwich, as she just snatched it from him, when he seated next to her.

"socha tha ki aap naraaz hongi mujhse..." stated abhijeet, as tarika still didn't respond.

"tarika ji.." attempted abhijeet to say something, when tarika looked at him in a puzzled state.

"woh nurse ne bataya tha aapka naam, jab uss din mile nahi thi, uske baad.." informed abhijeet, as tarika looked away again.

"tarika ji, shaadi na, zindagi bhar ka safar hota hai...zaroori nahi hai hamesha acha hoon, khushi aur pyaar bhare palon se bhara hoon....aur jitne mujhe woh pal roz yaad aate hai na apni biwi ke saath, utne hi woh jhagdein yaad aate hain, usse joh maine aasoon diye hain, woh yaad aate hain....aur yeh shayad uska waqt hai mujhe, aason dene ka..par mera kaam abhi usse naraz hone ka, ya khudh apna dukh uski takleef se upar rakhna nahi hai...mera kaam, apna farz nibhana hai uski taraf...aur agar woh karna ek umeed se asaan hota hai, ki ek din...woh thik ho jayegi, toh woh umeed hi sahi...par ab itna thak gaya hoon na, umeed se, ki sachai manna hi, mujhe kam dard deta hai..." poured abhijeet his heart out, as his eyes were moist, and his voice was aching, but there was this sincerity that could be somehow sensed from it, that made him so convincing.

***

Purvi zipped her back shut, sighing in relief, as she was assured that she was done with her packing.

"kavin! Kitna time lagoge yaar! Train chut jayegi!" exclaimed purvi, as kavin came out of the washroom.

"yaar khudh toh tumhe har cheez mein ghanta lagana hota hai, main paanch minute lagao toh tumhe problem hai..." grumbled kavin.

"tum aadhe ghante se taiyaar ho rahe ho!" exclaimed purvi.

"dekho, yaar, honeymoon pe jaa rahe hain, mera mood mat kharab karo..." instructed kavin, as purvi just shook her head in disbelief.

"ek kaam karo! Honeymoon pe khudh hi chale jao!" retorted purvi, leaving the room.

***

Dushyant came inside with a packet of food, along with another polythene, as he entered to ishita, coming out of the bathroom, wearing a simple pink kurta down her thighs, and a white salwaar, out of the white georgette suit she was wearing at the court, on her hands along with her towel.

"uhh, khaane ke liye, woh main neeche se omelette le aata tha, par uhh mujhe pata nahi tha tum andaa khaati ho ke nahi...toh tikki le aaya tha..." handed dushyant, a polythene to her, at which she signalled her hands, covered with the clothes she took off and the towel.

"arre, yeh, uhhm , lao mujhe dedo..." stated dushyant, as she handed over, her clothes and towel, and took over the polythene with the food.

She walked over to the cinq, below the cabinets, as she took out some bowls, while he hanged her suit and dupatta on some hangers, and placed the towel in a bucket, which she looked at with a perplexed expression.

"uhh, woh, saare kapde ismein dhone hote hain toh..." stated dushyant, as a smile came on ishita's face, while she took out the tickis, and the chutneys.

"main andaa khaleti hoon...non veg bhi..." informed ishita, as dushyant's mouth formed an 'oh'.

"arre tum rehne do, main kardeta hoon..." attempted dushyant to stop her, as she handed him a bowl, the ticki broken into pieces and mixed with curd and chutney, which dushyant took, for a second there was this eye contact between them, before it was broken by ishita.

"chamach kahan rakhe hai?" asked ishita, as he took two out, from a top cabinet.

"abhi do hi hai, uhhm, aur chahiye honge, toh le aaunga..." replied dushyant.

"aur laane padenge...koi aayega, toh acha nahi lagega..." stated ishita, as dushyant just shook his head, with a light chuckle.

"yahan koi nahi aata...don't worry..." informed dushyant, as ishita was surprised.

"koi nahi?" she confirmed, as dushyant nodded in agreement.

"koi itna acha dost toh hai nahi...aur, maa baap toh, 17 saal ka tha, chale gaye.." informed dushyant, with a lowered pitch than usual, trying to avoid eye contact, overwhelmed with his emotions.

"i'm really sorry..woh..." attempted ishita to express her regret, and dushyant interrupted her.

"nahi, nahi, uhm, ab toh aadat ho gayi hai...khaali ghar aane ki...baaki, mere jaane ke baad, pure din ghar tumhara, acha hi hai tumhare liye..." stated dushyant, as he forced a smile, before grabbing the spoon and going to sit on his bed, as ishita joined him too.

***

Author's note: thanks for the votes and all the love, do tell me in the comments down below how you find the story so far, and stay tuned.