By Your Side

Holding on too tight

Karishma lay soundly in her slumber, yet her delicate features betrayed the unmistakable presence of tension. Her face, normally serene and graceful, now bore the weight of her worries. The lines of strain etched across her forehead, forming a web of creases that spoke of sleepless nights and troubled thoughts. Even in the depths of sleep, her furrowed brows and clenched jaw revealed the inner turmoil she wrestled with. Her lips, usually curved in gentle repose, were tightly pressed together, as if holding back the burdens of the day. As she dreamed, her restless movements hinted at the unrest that plagued her subconscious. Though her body sought respite, the palpable tension that lingered upon her face told a story of struggles yet unresolved, a resolute spirit refusing to yield even in moments of vulnerability.

Samairaa comes home after work and looks for Karishma. She walks into her room and discovers her dozing off. Samairaa carefully examined her phone, which was resting on the cabinet.There were 50 missed calls in total. Some belonged to Samairaa, while others were MPT members.Samaira picks up her phone and dials Haseena. Haseena takes it in a single ring.

SV- Woh theek hai abhi, so rahi thi isliye kisi ka call nai uthaya.

HM- Unhone khud ko chot toh nai pahuchai hai naa?

SV- Shayad nai. Light off hai room ki. Khair usse kya. Unke dil  aur man mai jo chot lagi hai uska kya?

HM- Humne...... Unka khyaal rakhna.

SV- Jarur. Good Night.

HM- Good Night.

Samairaa ends the call and turns to face the sleeping person in front of her. Samairaa approaches Karishma as she is dozing off while wearing her uniform and sits close to her waist. As she pulls back the hair that covered her face, she keeps her hand on Karishma's forehead.

SV- Ma'am?
      BabyDoll?
      Leader?
      

Karishma does not respond. Then Samairaa removes Karishma's belt. followed by her socks. She covers her with a blanket, turns on the air conditioner, and walks out.

She returns to see Karishma once more after an hour.
She was shocked to find Karishma in the same place Samairaa had left her.

SV(aside)- Yeh tabse issi postion mai hai, infact jab maine inki belt aur socks nikali thi tab bhi inhone Zara sa bhi react nai Kiya. Ek min..... Kahin.... Kahin sadme mai yeh nikal toh nai Li!
Samie... Shut up.
Kya soch rahi hai tu bhi.
Areey toh aur nai toh kya? Naa jaane kabse aisi hongi. Lagta hai Sadma jor se pada.
Kya pta mere aane se pehle postion change ki hogi? Aur kisi ke sleeping pattern hum kya jaane.
Arrey jo bhi ho insaan thoda bhut to distrub hote hai jab unhe hilao, yahan toh maine inki waist se belt nikali unhe farak nai pada, inke moze nikae pair se, tab bhi inhe kuch feel nai hua. Baal bhi toh hataya tha chehre se.
Gehri neend mai hongi. Isliye shayad.
Shayad naa... Yeh confirm kahan hai.
Haan toh Teri baat ka confirmation hai.
Ab ek hi tarika hai.
Pulse check karte hai.
Mere ko aata hai?
Aaj tak khud ki feel nai Hui kisi aur ki kaise hogi?
Paas jaakar dekhun?
Disturb ho gayi toh?
Do baar pehle bhi toh kiya tha, tab kahan hui thi.
Yeh bhi hai. I should check her.

Samairaa says this before slowly advancing towards Karishma and grabbing her wrist. She continues to place her thumb in the centre of Karishma's wrist.
Samairaa holds her thumb still for a minute and experiences no sensation. Panic sets in for her.

SV- Fish!
Karishma Maddam.
Babydoll.... Utho.

SV shakes Karishma but she  doesn't move.

SV- Bhaii.... Shittttt....ab kya karun. Kaise karun.
Heartbeat! Heartbeat Sunni padegi. Par kaise?
Kaise kya kaise kaise karte hai.
Naak se bhi saans nai le rahi bandi. Ab yahi karna hoga.
Okay! Okay! I gotta do it. I should do it. Zindagi aur Maut ka sawal hai. Karna hi hoga.

Samaira gets into bed on the left side. She inhales deeply and moves in close proximity to Karishma. Samaira gently places her ear at the left side of Karishma's chest while wrapping Karishma in one arm.

SV- Hmm.. Zinda toh hai.

Karishma shouts in shock as she slowly opens her eyes after feeling heavy. Karishma noticed a dark figure hovering just above her.
Samairaa also yells in shock and tumbles off the bed. To calm herself down, Samairaa keeps her hand over her heart while she heavily perspires.

KS- Kya kar rahi thi tum?

SV- Mai? Aap kya kar rahe the. Kumbhkaran bhi aapko dekhkar Sharma jaaye. Aise kon sota hai.

KS- Humne kaa kiya?

SV- Kaa kiya? (Mimics her)
Kuch nai Kiya aapne. Uth jao, chalo khaana khaa lo.

KS- Humara man nai hai. 

SV- Jaisa aap kaho, maine khana toh rakh diya hai table par. Jayda time mat lagana, thik hai.
Mai bahar hall mai hun.

When Samairaa stands up from the floor and turns to leave, Karishma grabs her wrist and pulls her back. Samairaa is made to lie on her former position by Karishma while she is being pulled back. Flying causes Samairaa to freak out. However, when she stumbles, she turns to face Karishma, whose eyes were closed. When Karishma turns to face Samairaa, she places her left leg on her knees and tightly wraps her hands around her stomach. Karishma smiles as she tucks Samairaa's neck and shoulder into her own.

KS- hum badal chuke hai... please mat jaiye... Amma...
Karishma mutters in sleep.

Samairaa is positioned like a lifeless, stiff statue. From the corner of her eyes, she glances at Karishma. She then slowly turns to face her and looks her in the eye. She looks at her head, eyes, and then her lips, which were mumbling something.
Samairaa slowly releases her hold on Karishma and pats Karishma on the head.

SV- koi nai jaa raha aapko chodh kar, sab so rahe hai abhi aap bhi so jao.

KS- Jhuthe hai sab.

SV- Bhookh lag rahi hai.

KS- Nai... Sone do!

Karishma complains indignantly.
Samairaa chooses to keep her mouth shut despite the fact that she detests doing so and instead chooses to console Karishma's choice.

After a few hours, Samairaa was awake and closing her eyes while Karishma was in a deep sleep.
She is startled awake by loud bangs on the front door.

SV- yeh kon batameez hai jisse Bell bajana nai aata!

After a short while, the banging resumes, this time sounding like it is coming from the bedroom door.
Samairaa hears the noise. She tries to free herself from Karishma's hold. Karishma initially lowers her leg but then lifts it back up over her.

SV- Leader ek min koi aaya hai.

KS- Koi nai aaya hai, warna hume sunai nai deta.

SV- Achaaa... Aapko feel bhi hota hai jo sunai bhi de. Aap sote ho toh aapke aas paas aag bhi lag jaaye aapkog lagega heater on kar diya hai. Aap rehne hi do.

KS- Agar hume nai feel hota toh tum dur jaa rahi woh kaise feel karte.

SV- Arrey...

KS- Shut Up and let me sleep.

Karishma says while giving Samaira a tighter hug. Samairaa became more anxious at this point because she had never hugged anyone so tightly or had never received such a hug.

SV (aside)- yeh awaaj aani band kaise hogayi. Abhi do minute tak aisa laga jaise kaan phaat jaayenge.
And If I heard that, then leader ko kyu nai aayi awaaz? Itni raat ko kon aa sakta hai ghar par?
Le dekar neend aayi thi woh bhi barbaad ho gayi. Iske Bhai ki aakhhhh! C insaan.
Par sach mai abhi iss time par kon aa sakta hai.