Ek Ajnabee Haseena

chapter 13

Purvi, seated on the backseat of a car, had her glance fixed on her phone. The photo of her and kavin had been cropped, to what seemed to be ajay, as an image search was ran by google, revealing all of his profiles on facebook, instagram, all she knew of. She exited all of the apps, as she took a sigh of relief, maybe it was just her misunderstanding.

Suddenly, kavin came in front of the car window, offering her a plate of parathas, daal makhni, and chicken with rice. She accepted it, letting go of the thought of ajay, and decided to go with the moment.

***

tarika, looked around the room, her feet fidgeting, she felt very uncomfortable, this was completely new to her. the door opened, and a man in his early 40s entered, seating on the chair in front of tarika.

"hi! Main hoon Vikram, mujhe doctor-voctor mat boliyega...mujhe bahaut ajeeb lagta hai..." stated vikram, as leaned forward, his hands clasped together in front of his knees.

"aap?" asked vikram.

"tarika, mujhe abhijeet ne bheja tha, aap unke bhi therapist hain?" stated tarika, as vikram nodded in agreement.

"keh raha tha, ki aaj toh aa hi jayengi aap....hangover ke baad, office jaane ki halat nahi thi.." informed vikram, as tarika chuckled.

"main isse pehle, aakhri baar college mein pee thi...clearly, i can't handle it now..." remarked tarika, as vikram chuckled.

"arre meri wife bhi kehti hai, ki main abhi hi budha ho gaya hoon, bas ek glass peeya jaata hai wine ka ab.." stated vikram, as tarika chuckled.

"mere husband se toh kabhi handle nahi hoti thi..." recounted tarika, a reminiscing smile on her face.

"so he was the designated river..." added tarika, her head still in her memories.

"toh aapko kahan se mil gaye yeh?" asked vikram, jokingly, as tarika was still chuckling.

"office mein naye the, he was just really charming...and funny, aur i couldn't help but fall in love with him...nobody could..." narrated tarika.

"i miss him, a lot..." started tarika to cry, as vikram let her, she needed too.

***

ishita entered a cafe, with an application in her hand, looking around for someone she was supposed to talk to. A young lady, in her early twenties at maximum, walked over to her. she was wearing a pencil black skirt, with a silk blue blouse.

"yes?" she asked, looking at ishita, wearing her navy blue anarkali suit, with a read dupatta and pyjama.

"uhh, actually, there was an opening, someone was required to make pastries and milkshakes for the cafe..." stated ishita, as she handed over her application.

She looked over it, her eyes falling under qualifications.

"tum lucknow se ho?" she confirmed, as ishita nodded in agreement.

"kaafi achi English bol leti ho uske liye..." she remarked, scoffing in disbelief, as ishita just smiled uncomfortably.

"anyways, uhhm, tumhare paas kaafi local shops ka experience hai...uhh, i don't think you'll be fit for here..." she informed, handing ishita her application back.

"i don't get it, mere paas baking mein 5 saal ka experience hai...what's the problem?" puzzled ishita, questioned.

"i mean, uhhm, log ek local bakery waali pastry yahan khaane toh nahi aayenga na?" she replied, as ishita looked at her with disbelief.

"ab madam, chaye jo aap bechti hai, woh bhi nuked waale ki hi jaisi hoti hai, bas woh bhi aap se achi bana leta hai saste mein..." commented ishita bluntly, and left.

***

Ishita walking over the street angrily, as she heard someone call her name and turned back.

"uhh, woh, bola rahe hain aapko...." she pointed to the cafe she came out of.

Ishita shook her head in disbelief, as she entered inside again, the lady who talked to her before, still there, ishita glaring her with her arms crossed.

"woh kitchen dekh raha hai..." she pointed to the kitchen nearby.

"wahan jao, yahan pe kol bees logon ki coffee orders hain, woh banao...20 minute mein agar aa gayi, toh job tumhari..." she stated, as ishita just scoffed and went there.

***

Kavin and purvi in front of a shop where beautiful handmade shawls were being sold.

"arre kya bhaiya, delhi mein bhi 200 se kam milta hai...100 mein dedo na...." argued purvi, kavin who was getting bored, started to look around, when his glance fell on ajay.

He was casually talking to another woman, laughing, as his eyes were frightened with the horror his eyes had formed.

***

Author's note: sorry guys, emergency ho gayi kal couldn't update, will try to be as regular as possible, and please do tell how did you find the chapter.