Ek Ajnabee Haseena

chapter 10

Ishita, sitting in an auto, exhausted, probably had already called it a day. She had already closed her eyes, while reclining back, seeming to fall asleep, when her phone started to ring. She immediately sprang up on her seat, as she received the call irritated, only to close her eyes again.

"hello..." said ishita drowsily.

"ishu..." replied a sweet voice, seeming to be of a woman, must be as old a ishita, as ishita's eyes were wide open now.

"di..." said ishita softly, surprised yet comforted.

"kaisi hai?" she asked, as ishita was tearing up.

"di, woh, woh aaya hi nahi....phone bhi nahi utha raha tha...phir pata chala ki uski shaadi hone waali hai, kahi aur...socha tha ghar aa jao, lekin himmat nahi ho rahi hai...maa..papa naraaz honge na?" expressed ishita her situation, as the tears were not coming out this time, somehow just staying in her eyes.

"ishu, tune paise churaye the kya?" she questioned, as ishita was shocked.

"nahi...main bas apne paise lekar gayi thi..." informed ishita.

"ghar se paise gayab hain..aur tum samajh sakti ho, ki tum par shak kyun raha hai unhe..." she stated.

"par di maine.." attempted ishita to defend herself.

"ishu, tum mujhe batao itna bas, ki kahan ho tum...hum maa papa ko saath mein lakar baat karte hain...sab thik ho jayega..." she assured, as ishita got scared, and immediately cut the call.

She covered the tip of her nose with both her hands, as she started to take deep breaths.

Ishita, had packed her bag, as she was slowly trying to get it down the window, when she felt a pat on her shoulder. She turned to find rohan.

"tum! Yahan!" exclaimed ishita, as she was worried, looking around.

"arre kisine nahi dekha...woh mujhe, chinta ho rahi thi, ab train bhi raat ki leni padi, akela nahi chod sakta mian tumhe..." stated rohan.

"par humne decide kiya tha na, alag-alag jaakar, wahan delhi pe milne ka..." recounted ishita.

"toh kya hua, jaayenge alag hi, par, chodne toh jaa sakta hoon tumhe..." insisted rohan, as ishita just smiled.

"acha thik hai...abhi ek kaam karo, neeche jao, main yeh bag phenkti hoon, tum uthalo, phir main aati hoon..." instructed ishita, as rohan nodded in agreement.

'kahi rohan hi toh...' thought ishita to herself.

 ***

Tarika kept staring outside the window, of the passenger's seat, as abhijeet had his eyes on the road.

"kabhi aisa laga hai aapko, ki bas ek din na jao usse milne...lekin, phir yeh khayal aate hi, itna guilt hua hoon?" questioned tarika, as abhijeet scoffed.

"agar main kabhi kisi appointment se jaldi aa jata hoon an abhi bhi, do minute khudko dena ke liye bhi bura lagta hai....lekin, ab apne aapko samjhana seekh gaya hoon, khudh ka khayal nahi rakhunga, toh uska kaise rakhunga?" replied abhijeet, as tarika nodded in agreement.

"toh kabhi agar thake hoon, toh nahi jaate aap unse milne?" asked tarika, as abhijeet nodded in agreement, and tarika having a sudden realisation, sat upright.

"gadi rokiye!" exclaimed tarika, as abhijeet did so, surprised.

***

Kavin, who was long asleep, didn't notice purvi, who was right beside him, had her eyes fixed on her phone for an hour now. It was a whatsapp chat window, the contact name flashed, 'SI Verma'. She was scrolling through the chats, that seemed to be of three years ago, reading them with a lazer eyed focus.

She remembered seeing from the chat, a day when she just hoped to find ajay's deadbody, as she just wanted this to end.

She would somehow still feel bad, about not finding his seeing his dead body, it would have ended then and there, she would not still have this false hope of his return, eating her alive.

***

Tarika got out of the car, as abhijeet did too, trying to understand what was happening.

"mujhe, mujhe, club mein jaana hai!" commanded tarika, as abhijeet just got more puzzled.

"mujhe darro peene hai, aur aur puri raat nachna hai! Yes! I want to do this..." stated tarika, as abhijeet tried to make sense of it.

"ok...uhhm , kaunse club mein jaana hai aapko?" asked abhijeet.

"pata nahi...kaunsa hai paas mein?" responded tarika, as abhijeet looked around.

"koi baat nahi, google kar lete hain..." suggested tarika, as she found one nearby.

"the club...bas, abhi jaa rahi hoon main..." informed tarika, as she started to walk away.

"arre tarika ji! Rukiye!" exclaimed abhijeet, as it had no effect, as he just got inside his car, and decided to go behind her.

***

Author's note: hey guys, the story has reached it's 10th chapter! And it's all due to you guys...thanks for all the love and support.