Solace

Chapter 1

In the middle of the ocean a three storied ship was sailing, or standing to be precise. The ship was swinging side to side, from time to time due to the heavy waves caused by a sudden storm and the strong wind of the ocean only tried to push the ship away from her destination. The sailor had no choice but to stop the engine and wait for the storm to calm down. Only then they could proceed with their journey.

Generally passengers sailing in such conditions would be scared for their life. But here, the situation was a bit different as passengers sailing in this ship were a bunch of young boys and girls and for them this situation was a source of their adrenaline rush. So they were chilling without caring for their
life.

A commotion could be heard from the third floor as some boys and girls were shouting. Their centre of attraction
was a 24 year old brunette, who was preparing to get to the third floor from the first one climbing the pole outside the ship. She was wearing a black sleeveless top with old navy shorts. Her dark red shirt was tied around her waist, hair tied in a high ponytail and only had a gold bracelet in the name of ornament. She looked like someone who would challenge every danger that she faced and come out a winner.

She looked up towards the third floor of the ship. It was quite a height and she could tell it was dangerous but she was the last person who would fear for her life.

Here in the third floor one group was cheering and hooting for her and another group was asking her not to do it as they were hell scared for their friend.

"Karu please ruk jao. Mat karo please" a girl wearing a sky blue off-shoulder top and rolled up short from the second group shouted at the top of her lungs.

"Areh kyu maza kharab kar rahi ho Santu. Adventure bolte hai isse, iss umar mein nahi to kya buddhe hokar karenge!", a boy from the first group chided.

"Tu chup kar ja Akash. Bohut khatra hai isme." Another boy, who was wearing a check shirt and cargo pants warned him.

"Beech samundar mein woh bhi toofan ke time yeh karna koi suicide se kam nahi hai." Santosh said, who was looking very pale with worrying line visible in her face.

"Karu agar tujhe yaad nahi toh yaad diladu ke tujhe swimming bhi nahi aati. Please utar jaa niche", the second boy pleaded.

But the person who was the reason behind all these commotion seemed immune to these voices as she had all her concentration on her work.
She finally found a steady place to put her legs to move upwards.
"Jai mahakal ki", saying that she started her adventure.

Boys and girls were hooting for her continuously and the sound became louder as she was moving towards the second floor. Finally she placed her foot on the third floor and held the railing to support her body. It was hell of an adrenaline rush. Everyone cheered and congratulated her for completing another adventure fearlessly.

The second boy hurriedly came towards her, held her other hand and pulled her inside. "Kya karti hai tu Karu, na agee ki sochti hai na piche ki bas koi bhi aira gaira aake challenge karega aur tu kud paregi", the boy said in an irked manner.

"Chod Cheeteh, isse humari koi pari hi nahi hai. Hum log khamakha hi iske piche mare ja rahe hai", Santosh said and went away from there, stomping her foot on the ground.

"Cheeteh, mera bhai, Kyu itna pareshan hote ho tumlog. Kuch nahi hone wala hai mujhe. Karishma Singh naam hai mera, darr aur haar yeh do word mere dictionary mein hai hi nahi, samjha?", Karishma said untucking her shirt from her waist, wearing it properly.

"Ha ha, samajh gaya. Ab tu jaake apne chotu ko mana ke dikha. Ayi badi", Cheetah taunted her.

"Ha, Jaati hu", Karishma replied and went to find Santosh.

"Toh yaha hai meri khargosh" Karishma said to Santosh who was sitting at the stairs, keeping her plam on her face.

"Mujhe nahi karni hai tumse koi bhi baat." Santosh replied without even looking at her.

"Accha tum maat karna, bas mai baat karti hu tum bas suno", Karishma said to which she received a sharp glare from her khargosh.

"Santu, bas masti kar rahi thi na. Hum ayee hi kyun yaha? Chupchap baithe rehne ke liye? Kuch nahi hota isse. Agar sach mein koi bada khatra hota toh mai nahi karti na", Karishma tried to convince her.

"Khatra nahi tha? Tufan mei tum bina koi safety ke bandar ki tarah latakte huye first floor se third floor tak aogi, aur woh khatra nahi hai? You can't even swim!" Santosh snapped at her.

"Bandar nahi bandaria hogi woh", Karishma corrected her and gave her a sheepish smile.

"Kyah!" Santosh chided.

"Woh bandaria hogi. Mai ladki hu na", Karishma made a cute face.

"Itni laparwah ho tum. Agar ghar mein pata chalegi to kya hoga? Aur itna bhi kya zid, meri baat bhi nahi mani tumne. I'm hurt Karu", Santosh said trying hard not to cry.

Karishma just hugged her in response and Santosh hugged her back tightly.
"Agar tumhe kuch ho jata toh. You
know na, how important you are to me", Santosh mumbled on her shoulder.

"I know baba. And you are also very important to me. You are my family. Please ab rou nahi". Karishma replied without breaking the hug.

"Tum bas bolne ke liye bolti ho, you don't mean it." Santosh complained.

"I do mean it. Chalo ab se baki ke din tum jo bologi wohi karungi mai. Ab maan jao."

"Promise?", Santosh asked.

"Pakka wala promise", Karishma assured her.

"Chalo phir thik hai. Bhabi sa ka phone aya tha, puch rahi thi hum kab wapas aa rahe hein", Santosh informed her.

"Accha mai call kar lungi unhe. Aur...aur kisine phone nahi kiya?" Karishma asked.

"Nahi. Uncle ne bhi unke saath the toh maine bata dia hum thik hai and all", saying this, Santosh stood up.

"Okay", Karishma's face fell not getting the desired answer.

"Ek baar phone bhi nahi kiya. Mai sheher se nikalte hi yeh mujhko bhul jaati hai kya", Karishma thought to herself.

She felt ignored and became irritated real fast. Before she could lose her cool and started throwing things around, she went back to the crowd to divert her mind that was getting clouded by the thought of a certain person.

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This was the first part. Feel free to give me your feedback on comment, both positive and negative. I am happy to take notes and do better. And if you like the story, do vote and let me know your thoughts through comment.

So, this is my first attempt as a writer on a public platform. Hope you guys are going to support me🤞.

See you in the next chapter.