Solace

Chapter 4

"Thodi der ke liye aa jati toh kiya hi
hota? Mujhko mana karti hai uske ghar jaane se lekin khud bhi nahi ayegi mujhse milne. Mujhe call karne se mana karegi lekin khud ekbar bhi call nahi karegi", Karishma murmured, walking towards the gate.

She looked dull and annoyed. Everything that was coming her way at that time seemed to annoy her. The regal haveli, the marble floor, the wall paint, the lawn beautifully decorated with green plants, the roads, the distance...the freaking distance between her and Haseena that seemed neverending. She was bothered by everything.

Karishma decided to go to Haseena's house and took her out with her, as she was running out of patience to wait until the evening. She went towards the gate and asked the driver to take her bike out.

The driver gulped down in fear, knowing he would not be spared by the lioness who was standing in front of him for the answer he was about to give her. "Woh..thakrani sa...woh bike servicing se aya nahi abhi tak".

And it was enough for Karishma to lose her temper. She already told him to fix her bike two weeks ago and he had the guts not to do it on time. But before she could burst out at him a voice interrupted her.

"Humne suna Karishma ayi hai, kahan hai woh? Khana ho gayi hai uski, dikh nahi rahi", an elegant lady of fifty asked Shivani, who was feeding Ashu.

"Ayi thi, choti ma sa. Phirse bahar chali gayi. Ghar pe uske pair kahan tikte hai", Shivani replied. "Dekhiye khana bhi aise hi parha hai. Bas dimag ghum gaya aur nikal padi rocket ki speed se."

"Ab kis baat pe gussa ho gayi?", she inquired.

"Thakrani sa, woh Haseena baji nahi ayi na milne isliye unka mood kuch thik nahi thi", Shanno replied before Shivani.

Thakrani sa alias Pushpa Singh just nodded in response and looked at Karishma's food plate sadly.

"Thakrani sa, aap wapis aa gayi?", a middle aged man, wearing specs asked Karishma while entering the gate.

"Ji Champak ji, aaj hi ayi hu. Kahiye kaise ana hua apka?" Karishma asked with least interest.

"Woh mai aap hi ka puchne aya tha. Apko toh pata hi hoga ajke meeting ke baare mein. Waha aapki zaroorat hai", Champak replied in a polite tone.

"Mai nahi aa rahi. I'm tired, aram karna hai mujhe ajke din", Karishma said, wanting to avoid the meeting.

"Ji lekin thakursa ka aadesh hai. Kaise taal sakte hai hum", Champak tried to convince her.

"Why does it feel like the universe is doing some conspiracy against me?" Karishma thought and took a deep breath to calm herself down and said, "ji chaliye".

She couldn't refuse her father, she shouldn't. Her father gave her everything a daughter could possibly ask for. He loved her unconditionally. Even when she opened up about her sexuality, he supported her without bothering about the society or his position and accepted her wholeheartedly. So the least she could do is not to disappoint him in business matters.

Karishma sat on the car and told the driver to take the route that went behind their haveli, in a hope to have a glimpse of Haseena but was dissapointed, once again.

"Thoda aram mila?", Haseena asked massaging her mother's legs.
"Ammi?" she again asked, not getting any reply and looked at her mother who was asleep.

Haseena chose to sit by her mother knowing she would get angry if she didn't find Haseena by her side getting up. Laying down she thought of Karishma. She had sent her message to the haveli through Sanno. Haseena had to lie about her mother's health but she had no other option. Karishma would get hurt if she finds out that ammi didn't let her go. And she would get angry,
of course. Karishma Singh and anger were like synonyms for each other.