Madam Sirr 2

Chapter 3

A Friendly Face and a Lead

The sun rose in the distance, a milky white glow spreading in the sky. It was a calm and quiet day which was nothing compared to the nerves experienced by Haseena.

She stood in front of the mirror, her crisp uniform shining. She stared at herself until she saw her father's reflection, saluting her.

She staunched the flow of tears and nodded. That was everything she needed. Her strength. Her courage.

Her phone rang. She picked it up. There was no caller id. Her heart skipped several beats. She couldn't hear anything else as time itself staggered to a halt. Everything around her stilled.

Could it be.....she wondered.

She answered the call not daring to even let her breath out. The voice was not what she expected.

"Haseena Malik, "Mujhe umeed hai ki tum mujhe bhooli nahi hogi?" the caller asked.

The voice sounded familiar yet she couldn't place it. At last it struck her. "Amar Vidrohi, aap?"

"Haan, Haseena Malik."

She could hear him chuckling. She too was glad to hear his voice despite the fact that they'd competed on more than one occasion. Haseena respected and admired him even though she'd never show it out.

"Tumhari awaaz sun kar accha laga itne dino baad. Kaise ho?"

"Accha laga sun kar ki meri awaaz sun ke tumhe accha laga, Ms. Malik." Another chuckle.

Haseena ignored the rise of butterflies in her stomach. Was he flirting with her? No way....

"Aur tumhare paas hamesha ki tarah ek witty jawab hai, Mr. Amar." Haseena spoke, a little too soft and uncertain as if she didn't believe herself to speak or in her ability to make words.

Why was it so?

Amar laughed again sighing on the other end.

"Ms., Malik, main asal mein tumse kuch zaroori baat karne ke liye phone kiya hai. Kya hum mil sakte hain?"

"Um, haan, lekin sab theek toh hai?"

"Main tumhe tab bataunga jab hum milenge. Kya tum Ardon Café pahunch sakti ho?"

"Haan, main 15 minute mein wahan ho sakti hoon."

"Theek hai, Ms. Malik. Main intezaar karunga."

Could her day get any weirder, she thought. First unknown messages and now Amar Vidrohi calling in a sudden. What was going to happen?

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Haseena had more doubts than she'd have liked nestled inside her. Still she arrived at the location with five minutes to spare. There was no sign of him yet so she decided to wait. She walked all the way through the red carpeted aisle and chose a booth at the back, secluded yet offering a good view of the café.

She sank into the plush velvet seat and looked around. The café was stunning, too artistic and visually exquisite. Each corner adorned several beautiful hand drawn patterns. The café was dark, not too dark to be gothic but glowed in an under light of pink. It smelled fresh of jasmine and orange.

She was impressed. He has good tastes, she thought.

She texted her that she was at the café and waited.

It seemed to take hours for him to arrive when only mere minutes had passed. Amar Vidrohi entered in his crisp uniform, holding his baton stretched in both hands. His bulk muscles peeked out of his shirt as if he had forcefully strapped them inside him.