Ek Ajnabee Haseena

chapter 9

Dushyant woke up, at what appeared to just be the crack of the dawn, as the clock had just struck 6 in the morning. He looked over to see ishita, trying to make sure not to make noise, as he walked over to the bathroom, only to notice she was already awake, and just stepping out of the bathroom.

"tum, itni jaldi?" asked dushyant, surprised, as she came out with a bundle of wet clothes in both her hands.

"woh, uhhm, balti bhar gayi thi...aur, uhh, maine hamesha se apne kapde khudh hi dhoye hain, toh...mujhe bahaut ajeeb lag raha tha..." stated ishita, as dushyant's mouth formed an 'oh'.

"actually, woh, ek aur baat kehni thi..." attempted ishita to add to her previous statement, as dushyant was listening carefully.

"woh, thank you, for the favour, but, main abhi job dhoond rahi hoon, iss mahine ke end tak mil jayegi, tumhara kiraya dena hoga tab...main apna hissa de dungi..." informed ishita, as dushyant just obliged.

"nahi, woh uski koi zaroorat nahi thi...uhmm, tum reh sakti ho, it's ok, actually, yeh ek uncle ka tha, kaafi budhe the...unki death ke baad, unke beta bahu dekhne aaye US se, par yeh bhika hi nahi...aur woh bas chodkar chale gaye...9-10 saal ho gaye hain ab toh...uski chinta mat karo..." explained dushyant, as ishita just nodded in agreement.

"lekin, phir bhi, i think mere liye yahi karna thik hoga..." responded ishita, as dushyant agreed.

"of course, uhhm, main yeh le leta hoon..uhmm, tum, taiyaar ho jao..." carried dushyant all the clothes, as ishita obliged.

"thanks..." ishita replied.

"arre, koi baat nahi, abhi itna late nahi hua, main bhi kapde dho leta hoon.." responded dushyant, as ishita just nodded along, and he opened the door, where usually clothes were hung on a hook, as she noticed a small balcony, that she had no idea of before.

***

Purvi and kavin, sitting on a small dabba of many trains, moving throught the ziplines, seemed like air lifts of some sorts.

"purvi, maine dekha tha tumhe subha...woh chaye ke stall pe...purvi, tum please, uss baat pe itna mat socho...agar, main kuch kar sakta hoon help karne ke liye, please batao mujhe..." pleaded kavin hopelessly, as purvi looked at him with deep guilt.

"kavin, it's just, uske baarein mein main bhi kuch nahi kar sakti hoon...main, bas koshish kar sakti hoon...bhulne ki..." stated purvi.

"main pyaar karti hoon tumse kavin, bas usse nahi bhool paa rahi hoon..." added purvi, overwhelmed with her emotions, as kavin found it hard, but all he could do was understand. ***

tarika, picked up her bag, and was about to leave, when a man, probably the same age as her, just two years elder to her, entered.

"tarika..." he greeted, with his hands in his pockets.

"vijay...uhhm, actually, main bas, jaa rahi thi, lunch ke liye..." informed tarika.

"look tarika, i understand your situation with raj, i mean, it was a loss for all of us, woh ek bahaut sales head hone ke saath-saath, was just a wonderful prescence to have here...it's just, that, i have to answer to a certain people above me as well, and, i don't think itna cooperate karenge, agar, tumhara kaam bhi iss tarah affect ho raha hai...so what i would suggest is, you skip lunch, and make up for the time you lost by coming late, and then you can leave at evening." Explained vijay, as tarika nodded in agreement, when abhijeet was passing by, noticed her.

"arre vijay ji...aap yahan kya kar rahe hain?" asked abhijeet, entering with a smile to greet.

"kuch nahi, abhijeet ji, woh bas.." attempted vijay to explain.

"aap, hain, finance department ki head, acha hua aap mil gayi, kuch baat karni thi zara aapse...aap ek kaam kyun nahi karti, aap neeche chaliye, lunch karte saath baat karlenge...woh kya hai, mujhe bhi thoda jaldi nikalna hai..." offered abhijeet, as tarika looked over to vijay.

"kya hua, aapko kuch kaam hai inse?" asked abhijeet, as vijay shook his head in no.

"jao tarika, help him out..." commanded vijay, as tarika left with abhijeet.

***

Two cups of coffee, along with two plates, with rajma, raita and chapattis came along with them.

"aap yahan, pehle toh kabhi nahi dekha..." stated tarika.

"arre, woh, aapke shareholders ka kuch dispute hai, pichle mahine hi company public hui thi na, bas ab board of directors mein problems shuru ho gayi hai..." stated abhijeet.

"oh...toh aapka aana rahega yahan?" asked tarika.

"haan, ab inn sab mahina toh lag hi jaata hai...shaam ka time de diya karoon...saath mein hospital chale chayenge...aapki bho taxi ka kharcha bachega..." suggested abhijeet, as tarika chuckled.

"nahi, nahi...aapka kaam hai, aap dekhiye..." replied tarika.

"dekhi tarika ji, main aapki position tha ek time pe, bura waqt aata hai aur jinhe hum apne samajhte the, woh saath chod dete hai...akelapan khaane lag jaata hai, thodi hi der mein....maine badi mushkil se sambhala tha apne aapko...kabhi nahi chahunga mera dushman bhi aisa time dekhein...aur agar main aapko uss haalat mein thoda saath de sakon, toh mujhe bhi thoda sahara mil jayega..." explained abhijeet, as he sipped from his coffee, as tarika smiled at him, and agreed.

***

Author's note: hey guys, just seeing your love, makes writing this story a very special experience, and something i look forward to in my day. But what surprised me this week was, that wattpad and fanfiction both, hit twenty votes and reviews respectively, at the same time! It usually never happened, and some beat the other at every point, but i would like to see which one reaches 30 first. Keep your support coming.