Aakhirat

What the help!

Haseena finished her last bit of work and bid a tired goodbye to the night shift nurses. Leaning back on her car, she held her coat tightly in her arms, her mind racing with thoughts.

"Kya karen? Kaise bhagaye iss bar mehman?", she pondered as she got into her car, trying to devise a plan to avoid the inevitable confrontation with her mother for being late—again.

The drive home was a blur, her thoughts bouncing between finding a solution to her problem and bracing herself for the encounter with her mother.

When she finally pulled into her driveway, she stepped out of the car, locking it behind her, and took a deep breath. "Alright, Haseena, you can do this," she whispered to herself, trying to summon the courage she needed.

Each step towards the front door felt heavier than the last, but she pushed on, standing resolute at the entrance. It took a full fifteen minutes before she could finally muster the resolve to press the doorbell.

The door creaked open to reveal an elderly woman, her face a mask of emotionless composure—Mrs. Noorjahan Malik, Haseena's mother. The sight of her mother left Haseena with a lump in her throat, making it almost impossible to speak.

"Salam Mrs Malik..."

The voice startled both mother and daughter. Haseena turned around to see the source of the voice—a woman, her demeanor calm and respectful, softly kissing the back of the old lady's hand in a gesture of reverence.

".... Yai hamari peheli mulakat hai, lekin yakin maniye I have heard so much about you from Haseena. Aur hamare bareme behtar hoga Haseena hi aapko bataye.."

Mrs. Malik was momentarily taken aback, her eyes shifting between her daughter and this unexpected visitor. After a brief pause, she finally spoke, "Thand kafi hai bahar, aap dono andar aaiye isse pehele ki yaha ham teeno thand se jam jaye!"

She turned and walked back into the house, leaving the door open for the two women. Haseena quickly grabbed Karishma's arm, pulling her aside. "Ms. Singh, Aap yaha kya kar rahi hai? Aur aapko hamare ghar kaise pata chala? Aap hame follow kar rahi hai!".

Karishma rolled her eyes, "Ama break lagaiye thoda! Aap hi ne help mangi thi na!"

"Jisse aapne na kehke pith dikha di thi!", Haseena fired back. "Yes! Lekin hamare dad nahi mane unhone hi bheja hai isiliye aaye hai".

Haseena blushed slightly at the mention of the old man and asked, "Oh unhone kaha, aur kaha hai wo samjhdar insan?".

Karishma stepped back, standing at the entrance, and replied, "Unke beti ke umar ke hai aap! Kuch toh sharam rakhiye! Aur nahi ham unhe jan bujh kar nahi laye hai sathme".

Haseena quickly composed herself, realizing that her feelings had been on full display. "Oh achha okay.. Ahem.. aaiye na andar aaiye.. welcome to Malik's home".

They both entered the house, where Mrs. Malik and the other guests were already deep in conversation.

"Ms Malik, informed nahi thi ki ham aane wale hai? I mean wo itne late aa rahe hai apni duty se," a man, presumably Mr. Sheikh, commented from the hallway, where he sat with an elderly couple, possibly his parents.

"Its a hospital duty Mr Sheikh! Hamare patient asali chalte phirte insan hai na, toh jabtak wo thik nahi ham duty se off nahi..I mean machine nahi hai na ki aapki tarah unhe off kiya aur ghar aa gaye," Haseena replied with a smirk.

Mr. Sheikh straightened up, clearly not expecting such a retort from a woman.

Mrs. Malik, although smiling sweetly at the family, glared at her daughter. "Haseena, beta mehman aaye hai. Aaiye yaha bethiye. Aur ek min, yai kon hai inhe ham pehli bar dekh rahe hai".