Happy reading!!

After a  long exhaustion and many sleepless nights when she got a little bit of solace in her lap, she dozed off for a while. However, it would be so long when Karishma's loud voice from the lounge startled her and she sat up straight with a jerk.

Pushpa ji once looked at Haseena's sudden anxiousness to face her, took a deep breath and responded loudly, "Karishma!!! Here in my room...." "Haseena talk to her right now and end both of yours pain...." Pushpa ji added being a little over optimistic.

Just then Karishma entered, "Amma..." Her loud voice suddenly got lost in her throat seeing her there. Just one glance in each other's eyes; starting from all the love and care she got from Haseena to this unbearable pain all their moments flashed in front of them and increased karishma's pain and Haseena's guilt manifolds.

Pushpa ji who desperately wanted them to resolve their differences patted Haseena's shoulders lightly encouraging her to speak. Haseena stood up, took two steps towards Karishma with great difficulty, opened her mouth to say something but her vocal cords left her side. Wiping her tear, she cleared her throat, trying to say a lot but what comes out of her mouth was, "I AM SORRY....."

Though Karishma knew this sorry is burdened with loads of guilt but the truth, that her dear Haseena had not that much of a trust on her that she can never harm her, in combination with her presence had increased her anger to the point where Haseena's remorse went useless.

She chuckled sarcastically and added, "I don't need your sorry.....my Haseena died that day in front of my eyes.....you ...you are nothing to me except my senior......what you have done why you have done is all your concern......you are not answerable to a junior, madam sir.......this is the pain of my Best friends death and I.....I have to live with it whole my life......anyways, door is that way!!!" With red blazing yet wet eyes, Karishma gestured towards the door commanding her to exit.

Karishma's anger, her words, her eyes had crushed Haseena terribly, taking deep breaths she was trying to gather sufficient energy to drag her lifeless body out of the room. When Karishma's next words proved last nail in the coffin, "one more thing......if you accidently reached here next time then do remember that doors of this house and my heart have been closed for your forever," she claimed forgetting that relations of heart can't be finished this easily.
Haseena so, wished that the earth beneath her opened and she got hurried in it but much to her dismay she had to bear the burden of her lifeless body until destiny's wish....
It is often said that time is the biggest healer however is it always the case??? 6 months have passed since the storm hit MPT but it is still facing it's after effects.

It was 4 a.m. inside Haseena's darkened room, she was lying on cold tiled floor with a cushion beneath her head inside the closed doors in the presence of her soft empty comfortable bed, with her eyes closed waiting for her alarm to ring. A few minutes later,  she dismissed it before it could even ring.

She moved towards her self made gym room, starting from running on treadmill at high speed to weight lifting and then extensive  cycling she was continuously working out from three hours without stopping while her mind was flashing with Karishma's words from their last confrontation, six months ago and her eyes were stuck on her own photo on the wall in front of her with countless darts......

After her daily extensive work out session she was moving towards her room lost in her thoughts, when her mother was waiting for her at breakfast table. "Haseena come have some breakfast," Ammi called her stopping her from climbing the stairs. She turned passed a weak smile to Ammi, "Good morning Ammi, sorry I didn't see you. I am coming after changing."

A few moments later, she was sitting on dining table with a number of her favourite dishes. A wave of  anger appeared on her face and she gave her mother questioning look. "Please bacha.....end this and move on.......until when you are going to punish yourself.......from past six months you are just taking one meal per day and that too this blanch salad of boiled vegetables and chicken.....turning your workout into a kind torture.....taking just two to three hours sleep and that on hard tiles.......and not to forget those countless slaps which you bestowed on yourself venting out frustration, more often.......Haseena I am your mother and it's end of my patience.....my heart bleed every second at your condition.....what if something happened to you....what will I do?" Ammi vented out all her fears and frustrations with wet eyes.

Getting up from her chair, Haseena scooped her in her arms and added comforting her, "Nothing will happen to me Ammi, work out is the need of my profession, vegetables and chicken are necessary for my health and you know I do take fresh juices and sufficient liquid intakes......you are worrying too much....I am absolutely fine.... It's just that some times I got a little angry but I will try to control that too...." A calm and soft voice of her daughter was entering her ears along with continuous comforting careases and it calmed her down.

Other side in Pushpa ji's house, Karishma and Pushpa ji both are at dining table. Pushpa ji was worriedly seeing her daughter's anger rising to its peak, "S.....Shanti!! Where is breakfast??" She called her loudly in a panicked voice. Soon Shanti came out holding the tray with her shivering hands and scared face. "Sorry didi!!! I....I woke up a bit late...." She added apologetically and served the breakfast. Karishma glanced at her watch and asked in scary low voice, "how many minutes, you are later?" "F....five....!!! Sorry di di.....please!!!" Her voice shivering and cracked.

Pushpa ji was feeling pity on her and tried to intervene but one glance from Karishma had forced her to keep silence. "bring the stick!!!?" Pushpa ji closed her eyes hearing karishma's order for Shanti. Next moment, Karishma had granted her sharp five stick on her palms causing her to sob, "i hope it will help you waking up on time!!" She added strictly and started eating her breakfast while a lone tear was about to escape from the corner of her eyes but she wiped it of the very next instant, "please God, send someone who could return my daughter-in-law's heart.....I am unable to tolerate this anymore," Pushpa ji prayed helplessly.

Dressed in uniform, in her Jeep, Haseena was waiting two streets away from Pushpa ji's house. Some time later, Shanti came with red teary eyes and settled in her Jeep. "Did something happen again??" She asked worriedly. "It's enough didi, I can no longer tolerate this behaviour....just, just five minutes late and look what she did!!!" She complained crying. Haseena held her hand, applied an ointment on her hand and responded, "I apologize to you from her side, I know what you must be feeling.....and honestly it is all because of me, I had pushed her to this state of heartlessness.....please forgive me!!!" She joined her hands and then pleaded, "but please don't quit.....I won't get anyone for taking care of her..... Your presence in there makes me a little tension free..... Please I beg you to not leave her side ..... I am trying to solve the issue..... Please!!" Teary eyes, joined hands and begging tone of an S.H.O had compelled her to agree. She put her hands down and nodded. "Thank you!! Thank you so much!!" She got a bit relieved.

Some times later, Haseena reached MPT, a place which was showing how the storm had changed its features. Instead of entering in the hall, she entered her cabin from outside door whose other door was locked and it's glass was covered with opaque sheets, since last six months.  Instead of sitting on S.H.O chair she sat on the chair in front and rang the bell. In a minute, two new constables entered, Salina and Kabir, and saluted her, "Greetings madam sir!!!" "How many time I had told you not to salute me??" She cringed a little. "Sorry madam sir," they responded professionally.

"What are the updates of Police Station?" She asked looking into a file. "Tomorrow Pushpa ji had registered two F.I.Rs and as per procedure send them to D.S.P sir who had granted this case to you and the other one to Karishma madam." Haseena nodded taking the file from Kabir. "Salina what about other things?" She asked. "madam, Karishma madam was in a very bad mood today and when she entered she found an incomplete file as result her team members, Pushpa ji, Santosh Sharma and Cheetah Chaturvedi not only got a good share of scolding but an extra twelve hour duty as punishment. Other than that, today after a week, Karishma madam had once again exhausted herself with boxing practice to an extent that she almost got fainted but Pushpa ji managed to handle the situation in time." As she finished, Haseena become very worried and asked multiple questions regarding her health. " Don't worry madam, now she is absolutely fine and everyone is busy doing their work." Haseena took deep breath, held her head in her palms and gestured them to leave her alone. "I wish you would have given all these  punishments to me instead of venting it out on everyone around you.....," She thought to herself while tears started streaming down her eyes.

Inside Police station, all three Santosh, Cheetah and Pushpa ji were doing there work with holding their breathes, scared of which of their step would fuel her anger. Their seating arrangement has changed, their tables were arranged at Karishma's right opposite the main door of the station while Salina and Kabir's desk were on both sides of the door. Just then Karishm's cell rang, hanging up she ordered, "Cheetah Chaturvedi!! Let's go we need to raid." He at once jumped up from his seat nodding and started following her. As Karishma was exiting the station, Haseena waited for her to step down from the stairs, before raising her head from the file. She locked her eyes with Cheetah, "please take care of her....and if situation went out of control then inform me immediately..."  who gave her an assuring blink, "Don't worry, I won't let her do any wrong.....we will manage her anger and heartlessness just like we had since last six months." Haseena nodded, broke her eye contact with him and gave her head back into the file.

In side, as soon as Karishma left, Santosh first took a deep sigh of relief and then in no time she started sobbing faintly and then loudly. "Santu!! Beta what happened??" Pushpa ji asked her worriedly engulfing her in a warm hug. Hearing the sobs and being aware of Karishma's absence, Haseena ran inside the station through main door, only entrance she uses these days and that too only in Karishma's absence. However, she stopped at the door only hearing Santosh's words, "I am done Pushpa ji.....I can't bear it more......Karishma madam is punishing us for last six months unnecessarily, she is pushing all of us away from herself ......I don't want to leave her alone, that's why I....in fact we all are tolerating her b....but now it is getting beyond my control.....I love her, I still do but....but I can no more bear this behaviour......" She added and burst into loud cries while Pushpa ji was rubbing her back to calm her down while her own tears were streaming from her eyes. Haseena on the other hand was standing at the door, hearing her family's distorting condition and blaming herself for everything with her own wet eyes......

MPT, which was famous for its loving working atmosphere and familial bonds along with providing justice to people, is now only famous for its 100 percent success rate. Instead of their synchrony and unity, Police Station is divided into two teams in terms of work, one lead by Haseena and the other by Karishma. Karishma's include Pushpa ji, Santosh and Cheetah while for Haseena two new constables were appointed Salina and Kabir. Instead of lively banter of jazbaat and muka laat, these days every F.I.R is first sent to D.S.P who then assign the cases to one of the two teams. Haseena, who is still In charge but had restricted herself just to her cabin and she was managing everything through Salina and Kabir. Since the incident she had not sat on S.H.O chair as she doesn't find herself worthy of it. Karishma, who's feelings and emotions were emerged out so beautifully under Haseena's guidance, has now turned herself into a heartless person in an attempt to detach herself from Haseena's love.

As per strict orders of Karishma, S.H.O and S.I of MPT had zero interaction with each other to an extent that Haseena is not allowed to look at Karishma because if she would, Karishma would torture herself by exhaustion or anything she finds at the heat of moment. Thanks to D S.P who happened to be an old friend of Haseena, so helping her managing like this.

Regardless of her every attempt to detach her self from Haseena, she is unable to do it even a bit. Though unintended but in doing all this she is not all punishing Haseena but also herself and all her closed ones. She had closed herself in a shell in which no one is allowed to enter. Other side, with each passing moment Haseena was deepening in more and more guilt. Her guilt has heightened so much that she has closed the doors of all kinds of comforts and happiness upon herself.

Who will come their rescue? Will Karishma be able to see past her anger? Will everything be alright if Karishma forgives Haseena???

To be continued.....