Siren In The City

~Grilled~

' Tohda jaldi kijiye jab ajyengyi tab khatam kro gye ka. Hume unke ane se pehle sab ready chahiye! Aap jaldi Bonfire set kriye aur yeh machine ko kitne time lge ga!' They just keep working and nodding.

Bell rings~

' Aap jaldi kijiye!' By saying this she runs inside and goes to open the door. She stops in front of the door and a big smile appears on her face before opening the door. She opens the door and speaks,' Agyi aa..p!?' Her smile fades and Pushpa ji and Santosh say in the union,' Ji hum sab agye!' Santosh hugs Karishma and enters inside. She was still confused but composed herself as Haseena enters the house. She smiles and welcomed them.

They were standing at the same place only, two workers came from the back door. One of the workers speaks,' Ji, woh machine set up hogyi and It is ready for use.' Karishma nods and they bow down a little and leave from there.

Pushpa Ji seeing them, speaks,' Wah! Karishma madam. Yeh apki house help hai. Hum toh bas ek kaam aur bolde toh bas puchye maat!' Haseena joined the conversation,' Ji, bilkul! Humari house-help toh hume muh par he mana Kar deti hai! Karishma Singh, Apke house help konsi company se provided hai!' Karishma without thinking much, speaks,' Yeh toh personal he hai.' She hesitated a bit and continues,' Humare matlab, koi company ki taraf se nhi!' Santu impatiently says,' Chaliye sab abhi kuch baatein Bonfire ke liye bhi bache lo.' Karishma eyed her and she whispers sorry.

Karishma speaks,' Santu yeh bags abhi ke liye side par rakh do. Aap sab chaliye bahar, hum santu ke saath ate hai.' She picks up one of the bags and keeps it at side. She gestures to follow her toward the kitchen.

Bonfire was already lit, and Haseena and Pushpa ji settle themselves around it. Haseena sat down and Pushpa Ji took a small stool to sit around. They were already chatting about things. Karishma came with eatables and goes toward Gazebo where the grilled machine was kept. Santu followed her with some more eatables and placed the stuff around the machine.

They both came towards Bonfire and settle around, Santu take a small stool and Karishma sits down. Four of them surrounded the Bonfire, Karishma initiated the conversation,' Bolo Santu abhi kya krna hai, tum he sab se zayda excited thi!' Santu proudly,' Ji, Karishma madam. Hum spin the bottle khelte hai! Maza ayge.' She clapped her hand in excitement. Karishma replied,' Ama...Santu kahan...kaise! Bonfire ke upar spin karegye.' Haseena shifts a little to the side gaining their attention and gesturing towards Bonfire, speaks,' Woh dunha!' Santu speaks,' Madam Spin the bottle ke liye bottle spin krne ke zarrurt nhi, hum sab turn wise krlenge adjust!' She replies,' Toh sida Truth and dare bole do. Abhi tumse start krte hai. Hum tumse puche gye, tum Pushpa ji se, aur Pushpa ji aap madam sir se, Madam sir humse! Clear!' Everyone nodded in agreement.

Karishma speaks,' Toh chalo batao Santu Truth ye Dare!' Santu thinks and speaks,' Madam Truth!' Karishma retorts,' Bhak! Abhi kya he puche? Pushpa Ji taunts but in a low tone,' Toh woh apke samne kaise Dare leti!' Karishma speaks,' Sunta hai hume sab Pushpa ji! Ama...yeh sab chodhe, aap dono...' She shifts her gaze from Pushpa ji to Haseena. She again shifts a little and looks towards everyone who were staring back at her. She speaks,' Abhi kya kre yeh dunha hamare piche nhi chod rha!' Karishma continues,' Aap...' She points her finger towards them,' Aap dono bhi puchne mai madad kijiye!' Pushpa ji speaks,' Embarrassing moment.' Karishma nods in negotiation,' Woh toh Santu ki waise he bohot hai!' Haseena speaks,' Police mai ane ka kaise erda Bana?' Karishma again nods sideways,' Madam sir, Party he yeh... No talks of work! Hum puchte hai.' She thinks for a moment and asks,' Have you ever lied to get out of a situation?' Santu smiles sheepishly and nods her head in agreement. Pushpa Ji puts her hand on her mouth in shock and says,' Sache mai Santu!'

Santu avoids her question and speaks,' Chaliye Puspee apki turn, Truth ye Dare?' Pushpa ji clearly indicating answers,' Bhai hum toh Truth he lenge!' Santu requests,' Aree puspee aise thoda hote hai, lijiye ne dare, pakka easy wala dale gye! Haseena also pumps her,' Dare lijiye!' Pushpa ji sweetly speaks,' Sirf madam sir ke liye, Hum Dare le rhe hai!' Santu stands in excitement and says,' Very good pushpee!' She sits back and says,' Apko dance krne pade ga!' Pushpa ji confidently speaks,' Bas itni se baat, bilkul kre gye!' Karishma speaks sarcastically,' Garam koyla par!' When she gets a look from everyone, she says,' Mazak he bas!' She plays the song and she elegantly performs on it. While the dance performance, she looked toward Haseena who shifted an inch more toward her. She gulps and looks straight and sees Santu also joined in the dance.

Karishma takes out the wine and pours the wine for everyone. She gives two glasses to Santu and turns to give wine to Haseena. She gets shocked as only a small amount of space was left between them. She smiles and takes the glass from her hand. Their finger brushed and she looks directly into her eyes. Karishma gets frozen at her place and she smiles seeing her reaction. Santu brings back them to reality and says,' Madam sir, apki turn.'

She nods and shifts her gaze toward Pushpa ji. Pushpa Ji speaks,' Toh Madam sir, Truth ye Dare?' Haseena replies,' Dare!' Santu giggles and says,' Puspee koi mushkil Dare dene.' Haseena speaks,' Acha! Toh aise baat hai Santosh.' She laughs after getting the reaction from her. Karishma was gulping down the wine and filling her glass again. Pushpa Ji speaks,' Aap kaise kisi ko shadi ke liye puche gyi?' Haseena thinks and speaks,' Bas ese he, kahin bhi, jab bhi lge ge kr denge propose!' Santu interrupts,' Aise nhi madam sir krke dikye!' Haseena nods and turns a little toward Karishma. Her back was facing her as she was keeping the wine bottle aside. She turns back and sees Haseena facing her, immediately her face gets flushed may be due to wine or may be due to proximity. She holds her arm in which she was holding her wine glass. She moves her closer a bit due to sudden action some amount of wine fell out of the glass. Karishma looks toward the place where wine fells and she speaks,' Hum...' As the word escaped her mouth, she felt her breath getting uneven, she shifts her gaze back towards her and she continues,' Hume apko yeh bohot pehle he keh dene chaiye the!' She holds her arm tightly and locks their eyes ' Hume samaj nhi aa rha...Jab se...nhi...' She closes her eyes and speaks,' Hum apko bohot... bohot zayda pasand krte hai!' She again opens her eyes and continues,' Hume aap bilkul nhi pasand thi, choti choti baatein irritate krti thi aur shayad age bhi kre gyi par pasand ane lagyi hai hume woh sab...aap samaj rhi hai hum kya keh rhe hai.' She unknowingly nods and she continues,' Hum poori zindagi ye sunenai ke liya tayar he ki Apki amma kya kehti hai! Kya aap humse shadi kre gyi?' Her throat dries up, her mind just left the place. Her body was not aware of how to react to a situation like this! Her hold on the wine glass was on edge. Her trance got broken up by the sound of clapping. As, she lefts her arm, she came back to her senses, and in one go she drinks the wine. Santu speaks,' Wahh! Madam sir, Kya proposal tha! Mujhe agar aise proposal atte mai toh wahin haa kr deti.' Haseena just smiles at her with this statement. She continues,' Chaliye Karishma madam apki turn!' Karishma in shock,' Woh...haa...Hum woh grill karte hai!' She gets up and goes toward the grill machine. Haseena also gets up and says,' Hum unki madad krte hai!'

Santu played soft Bollywood songs and they were silently working together, reading each other actions in silence. Accidentally when their hands brushed, stealing glances, making each other taste the food, smiling shyly, drinking wine sip by sip, teasing each other unknowingly were all the little moments that made them inch by inch closer to each other.

They all ate together, drank wine, and enjoyed the night. They danced, sang, and silently listened to the music. Finally, at two or three, they went inside the house and called it a night.