Solace

Chapter 37

Socha nahin accha bura, dekha suna kuch bhi nahin
Manga khuda se raat din tere siwa
aur kuch bhi nahin
Socha tujhe dekha tujhe chaha tujhe puja tujhe
Meri khata meri wafa, teri khata
kuch bhi nahin...

It is notable how a new day waiting ahead of us can be similar to a new sketch waiting to be illustrated in the blank paper. Although we, in our head, might already know what we were gonna sketch but we can tell how it unfolds only when we get to the end of it. On such a new day, Haseena, seated in her designated cubicle, was randomly trying to sketch her new office space. The decor which was considered a perfect fit for any office seemed really hollow to her, which she was pretty sure nobody gave a damn about. Shrugging off the thoughts she continued with her sketch when an urgent voice addressed her.

"Haseena? You are asked to see boss in five minutes", Anita, one of her colleagues informed and left instantly without waiting for her to reply.

"Okay", Haseena mumbled, glancing at her disappearing figure. It has not been long since she joined here but by now she had become used to this behaviour of her colleagues. They were professional to the core and nobody had enough time to waste over petty things like greeting or smiling or simply being polite. There's always a rush over nothing and unlike her previous office back in Rajasthan, people here considered their colleagues as their competitors, far from friends. But in a sense, it only made things easier for Haseena as she herself was in no mood to socialize either. She just wanted to concentrate on her work, hoping that would keep her mind off Karishma,
of course! which was ineffective anyway. It's absurd of her to assume she would be able to think about anything except Karishma, when in one way or another, anything she thought or did, ended up leading her to Karishma. Karishma resided in her heart in a way that trying to escape her thoughts would cause Haseena's soul to depart her body.

Haseena wondered if it was unreasonable of her to get so upset with Karishma over her words when she knew the latter's impulsive nature all too well. It's possible that Karishma didn't even realize the weight of her words but now that their relationship had stepped forward so did Haseena's expectations. She couldn't help but feel her heart breaking into pieces when Karishma questioned the love she harbored for her. It hurt, a lot too, as if someone was questioning her very existence. But she was also aware of the fact that even after all these her feelings for Karishma didn't change a bit. Still Karishma was the only person who she could think of, who she loved, who had all the rights on her, her heart, her life and the only thing that would stop Haseena from running into her embrace the moment she saw her was her self respect. Staying apart from Karishma seemed to be the only right course of action so she wouldn't have to compromise with her dignity.

Brushing aside her lingering thoughts, Haseena knocked on the door of her boss's cabin and pushed the glass door to enter after a warm voice from the other side of the door asked her to get in.

A slight nervousness that was bothering Haseena seemed to fade away when she was greeted with her new boss's warm smile as their eyes locked for a brief moment. Her eyes darted around the room and she couldn't help but notice it's stark contrast with the world outside of the door. The light golden decor with vintage artworks complementing the walls and fresh flowers blooming at one corner of the room thoroughly represented the personality of the sole owner of this company. Anjana Sehgal or Madam Sehgal as she was famously called, was a sophisticated woman with eloquent speech in her late fifties.

"Take a seat Haseena", Madam Sehgal spoke, her voice as warm as her eyes. Haseena took a seat opposite her as she continued, "So the thing is, we have a new project in our hands and it's important that we excel in this. And I think you should give us a reason to be proud of our new recruit."

"I will give my best ma'am", Haseena said with an air of confidence, determined to put forth her capabilities.

"I thought the same", Madam Sehgal said with a smile. "Kal shaam clients ke saath meeting hai, so start preparing accordingly", she urged, handing Haseena some files related to the project. As she went through the files, her eyes suddenly caught a familiar name, Kashish Narang, the project manager. She wondered where she had heard this name before but couldn't put her finger in it.