TALAASH - Reliving the Past

46. Void

Aaaaaahhhhhh.. Maddam Sir.. SAVE ME!!!!

Kaira, in a split second, turns off the sink, water droplets dripping from her wet face, and practically sprints out of the room, her heart racing as she followed Kainat's voice. But what she found on the other side of the door brought a wholehearted smile to her face.
Kainat, her face dripping sweat and her hair in disarray from the chase, was circling the couch in the living room, looking more exasperated than ever. Chasing her was ammi, holding and swinging a wooden rolling pin at Haseena.

Ammi: (chasing KJS) Haseena!!.. I'm warning you one last time.. Just stop running!!

KJS: (running into the kitchen) Ammi do you think I'm brainless to stop running?.. I might be your daughter.. But I have at least a pea-sized brain..

AM: (running towards kitchen) Nalaayak!.. You call your ammi brainless??.. You will definitely suffer the consequences today beta..

KJS: (picking up a frying pan and holding it as an armour) Ammiiiii.. Why are you acting out so much.. It's just an apple and my hands were clean..

AM: (swinging the rolling pin) Your bike will tell how clean your hands are.. God alone knows how long since you last washed your bike.. You lazy fellow!!!

KJS: (blocking the attack with frying pan and sprinting out of the kitchen) Ammiiiii but I had used sanitizer..

AM: (chasing KJS out of the kitchen) We don't have sanitizers in our house Haseena.. Which world are you in??..

Says Ammi in an irked tone irritated by stupid lie of her daughter while Kainat, spotting Kaira outside her room, runs and hides behind her saying,

KJS: Maddam Sir.. Please save mee.. This lady is gonna kill me and you will be a lone ghost once again without any friends.. Do you want that to happen?
Says Kainat in a dramatic tone using Kaira as a shield from her mother's wrath.

Kaira, who had grown up an orphan and had never experienced such a family scene, was astonished but couldn't help but enjoy the banter between Kainat and her ammi.

Ammi: (exasperated) You beta.. Just grab her and hold her still!.. She deserves punishment for breaking my rules..

KJS: (pleading) Maddam Sir!!.. Don't listen to her if you want me to be fit for my duty tomorrow.. She will break my bones and throw me to the hospital if I get to her hands..

Kaira, stuck between the mother-daughter duo, stood there, unsure of what to do, as Kainat continued to make frantic rounds around her, with her ammi in hot pursuit.

Finally, Kaira deciding to intervene, steps between ammi and Kainat, blocking ammi's path.

DKS: Mrs. Mallik.. Please spare her.. It was just an apple.. She was really tired from the duty and was also starving.. She won't repeat it again.. Right Ka.. Haseena?
Asks Kaira looking back at Haseena, who was hiding behind her, clutching her shoulders like a scared kid.

Haseena, nodes desperately with a nervous smile at Kaira's question to calm down her ammi.

Watching Ammi shooting daggers at Haseena,
DKS: Promise?

AM: Don't ask that idiot to promise beta.. Our whole neighbourhood knows how good she is at keeping promises.. I have lost the count how many people died just by this nalaayak swearing on them..
Says Ammi still glaring at Haseena, while the latter let's out a sheepish smile scratching her head causing Kaira to shake her head in disbelief.