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Twinj: My Lifeline: Episode 35
A quick recap: Twinkle asks Kunj to convince Alisha to get her treatment completed, which Kunj manages to do, although not exactly as they would have wished. Spending more time with Twinkle and pondering over his feelings for hours, he finally questions her about his confusions.
“How come you’re in such a hurry today, Kunj?” Usha asked when she saw Kunj hurrying out way before his usual time. “He’s going to meet Alisha, Ma.” Twinkle answered for him, making both mother and son go “What?” in an equally surprised tone. “Take a chill pill, Kunj!” Twinkle said and turned to Usha to reply to her when Usha spoke, “How does he know where Alisha is? We only told him yesterday that Alisha was no longer at the rehab facility. What is going on?” Twinkle turned back to Kunj and raised her eyebrows at him, she hadn’t been aware that Usha and Manohar had told Kunj that they knew Alisha had fled. He smiled nervously in response making her roll her eyes at him angrily. “He only found out this morning that she’s now undergoing treatment at home, Ma. I thought it would only be polite if he visited her once.” She told Usha, who looked at her suspiciously, giving Kunj enough time to sneak out. “Why are you doing this to yourself, Twinkle?” Usha asked Twinkle helplessly when she realised that they were the only ones left there. “Aren’t you already aware, Ma? I’m in love, stupidly, hopelessly, deeply, you name it.” Twinkle said with a sigh of defeat, smiling at Usha, who was evidently unhappy with it. “You’ve thought enough about him, Twinkle! I really want you to start thinking about yourself now. Go to those parties with him, claim your place as his wife in front of the world, which I know for a fact you’re not doing because you don’t want to make things harder for him, but do something! Just don’t let Alisha take away all that is rightfully yours!” Usha implored, but Twinkle shook her head firmly. If Usha thought she herself was the most stubborn person she knew, she hadn’t realised just how rigid Twinkle could be.
“Twinkle! I need to discuss something really important with you!” Kunj spoke anxiously as he rushed down the stairs and practically sprinted to the hall where Twinkle was sitting. She looked up at him strangely and asked, “Right now?” He nodded, wondering why she was so unsure, but realised for himself when he saw Yuvi and Chinki sitting opposite to her. “Oops, didn’t notice you guys were here too. Hi Chinki!” He said quickly, attempting to cover up his folly and then smiled awkwardly at Yuvi before muttering a “Hey Yuvraj.” Twinkle eyed the two of them alternatively, cringing in embarrassment at how weird she thought they were behaving. Yuvi too reluctantly greeted back with a “Hello” disappointing her further. She then looked at Chinki who was holding back her laughter as she enjoyed the show. “Kunj! Stop it! What’s wrong with you?” Twinkle whispered as he sat down beside her, and he replied, “Hey! That’s not fair! He is doing it too!” a lot louder than he had intended to, making things more awkward. Twinkle smacked her forehead and Chinki burst out laughing at that. “Sorry!” Both the guys grumbled when Twinkle glared at them alternatively, even as she wondered what had actually made things so uncanny between them. “We’ll take our leave now. We just thought we should let you and Usha aunty know about the recent developments. Twinkle, would you want to come to see us off?” Chinki spoke after a few minutes of awkward silence, practically dragging her along. “Did you see that? Kunj is so cute when he shows his affection for you! I think it’s amazing that he found about Yuvi’s proposal, he’ll realise his feelings for you real soon. He’s so in love with you, isn’t he? He seems so happy just with you around!” Chinki whispered excitedly to Twinkle, breaking loose the final bounds that were holding back her thoughts about Kunj’s feelings for her. She couldn’t bring herself to stop imagining a happily ever after with Kunj anymore, especially not after that night when she was so sure that she had seem something way deeper than friendly fondness for her. “Wait! You guys told him about Yuvi’s feelings?” She asked in a shock when her mind got to that eventually, but Chinki simply grinned and got into the car where Yuvi was waiting for her.
“Kunj, you wanted to say something, didn’t you?” Twinkle asked as she and Kunj walked up the stairs after seeing Chinki and Yuvi off. “I’m sorry for acting childish back there. I don’t know why I did that.” He divulged and she nodded, if Chinki’s guess had been right, she knew why he felt so about Yuvi. ‘What if not?’ was the thought that still bothered her, but she had been dealing with it for so long now that it seemed inconsequential. “Was that all?” She asked, turning to catch a glimpse of him as they entered their room. “No. Actually, there’s something that I need advice on. Not me in fact, a friend. I didn’t find a way out myself so I thought I might as well discuss it with you.” He answered adding the latter part as he realised he couldn’t actually tell her the truth, sitting on the bed and watching her reorganize her accessories as she took a seat in front of the dressing table, such that they could view each other’s reflections properly. “Which friend?” She asked, looking up briefly. “You don’t know that one.” He lied, looking away momentarily. “Really?” She asked with a bored look as she turned back and stared right at him. “Alright, a member of the band. You do know the person, but they don’t want anyone else to know about their problem.” He made up, mentally appreciating his story telling ability. “I see. Tell me.” She replied, returning her attention to the jewellery box in her hand. “This person, friend of mine I mean, was in love with someone for a couple of years and had almost got married to her, but then had an arranged marriage although he was still in love with that someone. Now he thinks he had never realised true love before and his true love, might be his wife!” He spoke cautiously, framing his sentences carefully, watching Twinkle who looked up doubtfully at his reflection, hoping she hadn’t caught him.
“What is the problem then?” Twinkle asked when Kunj didn’t say anything further. “You think this isn’t a problem?” He asked with exaggerated surprise, making her giggle as she shook her head. “Honestly, I don’t see the problem, or why recently you’ve been speaking about things like this, Kunj!” She answered, not looking up, for she was afraid that is she did, her face might give away the constant thoughts of them brewing in her mind that wouldn’t go away at all. “How could it not be a problem? How could he simply leave that ‘someone’? What if, just a hypothetical situation but still, he just thinks that he’s in love with his wife because he spends all his time with her now? What if she’s just making it seem like love to him? How can he be sure?” Kunj asked curiously, putting out all the questions that had been troubling him, and carefully dodging her second question. “Do you doubt your feelings for Alisha?” Twinkle asked, hating how happy that idea had made her feel. “Of course not! I love her!” He replied, crushing her heart yet again. “I know. I was just kidding.” She faked, letting out a quiet sigh. “It could be, what you would term attraction, Kunj. Need not be love. He could, still be in love with ‘someone’ and not his wife.” She said half heartedly, realising that that situation was so similar to theirs. “But he feels things for his wife that he’s never felt before! Like he could keep watching her quietly, or just be around her doing nothing for hours and not get bored!” Kunj exclaimed, somehow not happy with the idea of mere attraction. Twinkle smiled as she heard this and so many other things that he told her that he had begun to feel only after he had realised that his feelings for Twinkle could be more than friendship. “Tell you friend then, Kunj Sarna, that he is definitely, hopelessly in love with his wife. ‘Someone’ wasn’t the lucky girl!” She said as she got up and went into the closet, leaving him wide eyed. Although some part of him wanted to hear just this, the rest of him was still not ready to accept it.
“What if his wife doesn’t feel the same way about him?” Kunj asked when Twinkle walked back. She sat down beside him and spoke, “Not everyone is as lucky as you and Alisha to have the person you love, love you back, Kunj. I can’t assure you that your friend’s wife could be in love with him too, but your friend is extremely lucky, for he is tied with the one he loves, for life. As time passes by, things will, hopefully, get better and easier for him.” She was speaking only out of her pining that her own one-sided love had brought her, adding to herself that she wasn’t so lucky, for she didn’t know how much longer she had with Kunj. “It isn’t fair to expect someone to love you just because you feel so for them, Kunj. Once you’re in true love, their happiness becomes more important than them being with you or being in love with you. Does that resolve your friend’s problem?” She continued after a brief silence, only generalising her own feelings and not looking at him. She smiled sadly at him and walked out when he nodded, leaving him staring at his reflection in the mirror. “Kunj Sarna, whether or not you’re in love with her, you can’t force her to feel the same for you!” He said to himself, shutting his eyes and falling backwards onto the bed.
That’s it for now, guys. I hope you liked it. Also, let me warn you all that Alisha’s chapter isn’t closed yet, she’ll be back soon, stronger than before. Stay tuned. Lots of love!!