Teri Lakeerein

16. Closer

Holi had long passed, and summer was at its peak.

To say Karishma had been busy would be an understatement. The moment she approved the redevelopment proposal, the workload surged, leaving her increasingly occupied.

She had last encountered Haseena about twenty days back, when she had put forth her proposal of friendship. Haseena Malik was a busy woman after all. And especially with the election fervor at an all-time high, she was neck deep in work.

And yet, they had kept in contact through the ill-timed messages. A Hi here, a how are you there...something like that.

"Bhakkk!"

Suraj flinched when his sister, who had been silently perusing a dull magazine, suddenly let out a curse. He stole a glance at her and saw her scowling at the magazine, her jaw clenched.

He pondered whether the issue involving Dalal Singh was the source of her annoyance.

If he only knew that her murderous expressions were caused by a newfound friendship, now stuck in stasis.

Karishma slapped the magazine on the table in between and leaned back on her chair, letting out a loud sigh in process.

When she sought friendship with Inspector Sahiba, she had envisioned something different. Although not particularly adept in matters of friendship, she was certain of one thing: formalities and superficial greetings had no place in a true friendship. Yet, that's exactly what persisted.

They stood where they had begun, yet she felt they had drifted even further apart, engaging in superficial conversations that lacked any real depth.

Or was she overthinking it? Maybe that's just the way friendships are balanced when there are responsibilities involved.

"But this distance is..." Karishma muttered scrubbing her face.

"This is not normal. I want to get to know her. I didn't want our interactions to be dictated by coincidence, and yet!" She threw her hands up in exasperation, and Suraj took another peek at his sister.

She rose from her seat and began pacing behind the sofa, while Suraj feigned interest in his book, straining his ears to catch his sister's mumblings.

"Aise toh ye mitrata panpe bina hi dum tod degi", She shook her head, reached for her phone to call Haseena, but paused and opened their chat history instead.

Their last conversation was two days ago when Haseena was on duty at a public event.

She began to compose a message but hesitated once more and let out a heavy sigh.

"Aaj toh matdaan hai, woh vyast hongi"

It was the reason she found herself overthinking so much today. It seemed to be an off day for everyone.

"Suraj hum abhi aate hain", She made her announcement the following moment.

"Jaa kahan rahi ho di- However, his question failed to reach her as she was already hurrying out the door.

"I sometimes question her sanity," he sighed, closing the book and turning his attention to his phone.

-----------------------------

Karishma had no particular destination in mind, her thoughts preoccupied with a certain elusive individual. Thus, when she glimpsed a white police jeep across the road she was traveling, she stopped abruptly. Lines of people were queuing up at the matdaan kendra, beside which the vehicle was parked.

Karishma attempted to peer inside the jeep, but the four-lane distance, her poor eyesight, and the bustling traffic were of no help.

Before she knew it, she found herself crossing the road. She arrived at the intersection and waited for the traffic signal to turn red. With two lanes to go, she discerned the letters 'SHO something' on the jeep's rear glass. It resembled 'Aminabad,' yet 'Alambagh' was also a possibility, as we often see what we wish to see.