Greetings everyone! Thank you so much for all the love and affection that this story has been receiving! Happy reading!
Twinj: My Lifeline: Episode 54
A quick recap: Twinkle and Kunj land in Greece, and he chooses right then to inform her that he had other plans for the two of them – a surprise for her. They end up in Mycenae the next day, and as the evening draws near, he gets to work on his intentions and finally confesses his love to her, but when he spots the tears in her eyes, he is confused.
“Twinkle, I’m sorry, I was keeping my hopes so high that I never thought I would make you cry instead! Please don’t cry!” Kunj pleaded, looking helplessly and guiltily at her, earning a dismissive look. When he wouldn’t stop apologising even then, she resorted to a loud “Shhhhh!” and that made him quieten instantly. “Would you let me speak?” She taunted, still wondering if this was a dream. She sighed deeply as she mustered all the courage she could find in her and whispered a still slightly hesitant “I love you too!” with a dazzling smile, looking like her heart felt lighter, like a burden was lifted off of her. “You do?” He asked with bated breath, feeling the tension that had clouded his mind a few minutes ago make way for such joy that he had never felt before. “I love you!” She repeated, hugging him tight, finding no other way to calm her raging heart. He hugged her back, letting go of his apprehensions and holding onto her like his life depended on it. “You won’t believe for how long I’ve been hoping desperately for this to happen! If this isn’t a dream come true then I don’t know what is!” She added, disclosing just enough to convey the depth of her love, careful enough that she didn’t reveal too much, she didn’t know if he would be prepared to accept that yet. “Really?” He teased, thanking his lucky stars, for even if it had taken a while, he had attained all that he could have ever asked for, and more. He also secretly wished he could pause time right there, for the silence that engulfed them, the warmth of her love and her presence, the leaping around that his heart was doing, all brought him more solace than he knew he could experience.
“There’s this other little thing that I prepared for you with all my heart!” Kunj beamed excitedly, and in all honesty, Twinkle had almost seen this coming. After all that had happened in one day, she knew that she had to stop assuming things and just go with the flow, for the prince of her dreams had turned out to be much more of a romantic than she knew. He held her hand in his and smiled brightly at her, making her blush hard, and then led her to a little clearing beside the pathway they were standing on, where a sky lantern was waiting for them. “What? I want the whole world to know that someone’s celebrating the biggest joy of their life!” He explained casually when he noticed her looking at him questioningly. She giggled and looked away, but he pulled her by her waist towards himself, pointing to the lantern, and she nodded before helping him light it up. As they both held it high, waiting for the warm air to fill in it, he looked at her, her eyes glistening in the warm glow, and realised that his life, which he had always assumed was a mess, was now more in place than ever. She was right there, in front of him, her still slightly flushed cheeks a clear indication of their love, and he couldn’t believe she was his, despite all that had happened, fate trying its best to throw them apart, but they had braved it all, and here they were, their eyes conveying unspoken vows to each other, vows of love and togetherness, of sticking together, of trust and accepting each other’s shortcomings, of supporting each other through thick and thin, and of remembering that as long as they were united they could take on the whole world. He followed her eyes as they released the lantern and it flew higher and higher, watching it till was out of sight. When their eyes met next, he whispered, “I’m not done yet!” and grabbed her wrist, pulling her along, while she watched him lovingly, he was actually hers now and he loved her so much that her heart throbbed gladly when he simply even looked at her, recognising the very warmth that had first aroused hopes of this happening, in her.
Twinkle looked at Kunj and the sight before her alternatively, trying to figure out what his intention with the spread out mat and just a few cushions on it, was. She looked around them, just a few lights from the citadel at some distance trying to make up for the otherwise pitch darkness and them, not a single other soul in sight. “Come!” He called out to her, patting beside his comfortable seat by the cushions and pulling out a little basket that she hadn’t noticed earlier. She took slow steps towards him and sat down, casting another glance around them before returning her eyes to him. He giggled at the confused expression on her face and pointed to the sky and when she looked up after passing him another suspicious look, she gasped, for she had never seen the sky look so beautiful, so many stars twinkling up there that she couldn’t believe her eyes. “I knew you would love this!” He sighed, smiling as she nodded her head vigorously in agreement, too dazed by the sight to find another way to respond. “We only have cup noodles, sorry.” He informed her a few minutes later as he placed the packets in front of them, and now it was her turn to giggle, even as she assured him that it would do, as she helped him set up a decent meal for them. As they laid back on the pile of cushions, watching the stars in absolute silence after they had eaten, he found himself more amazed by her than the stars. Of course this wasn’t a new thing, but the way her eyes lit up when she noticed a new star pattern made even the cold air that was slowly beginning to bother him now, worth bearing. “Here!” She offered him the blanket she had found in the basket and he looked at her in awe, and she shrugged her shoulders whispering “I know you well enough by now.” He accepted it and had just begun draping it over himself when an idea struck him. “I’ll only stay under this if you join me too!” He laid down his condition, knowing that the blanket was too small to accommodate both of them if they maintained the little distance between them. She detected the mischievous glint in his eyes, making the heat rise up to her cheeks yet again, but she inched towards him nevertheless, helping him with the blanket and resting her head on his shoulder with her hands wrapped around his. He recovered quickly from the shock he had gotten since she had actually accepted his demand, and placed a gentle kiss on her head before holding her in his embrace, he was fully entitled to do so now, after all.
“Did you know that the legendary founder of this city Mycenae, Perseus, saved Andromeda from the sea monster Cetus, and they went on to become one of the most legendary couples spoken of in ancient Greece? It is also said that our galaxy is a result of the route he followed to save her, which is also why I chose this place to profess my love to the queen of my heart, so that our love story could be eternal too, so that we would always have fond memories of this place and the first time we featured in a song together.” Kunj spoke some time later, his voice almost a whisper as he revealed some of his most private thoughts to her for the very first time. Twinkle withdrew from him and watched him with widened eyes, her mind racing as she processed all that he said bit by bit, being surprised for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. One, Kunj, the Kunj Sarna, who once hated going to ‘ancient ruins’, was narrating chapters from mythology to her, and the rest of his words had left her numb. “Ha! I learnt those facts about this place to impress you!” He explained, earning a soft giggle from her, followed by a “What about the rest? Did you read them off some Greek romance too?” He shook his head, looking deep into her eyes as he placed her right hand over his heart and whispered, “Those came straight from here.” She felt her breath hitch at that, and looked up from her hand on his chest to his face, his eyes conveying that every single word he had spoken was true, and suddenly she didn’t know what she should do with herself, with the emotions bubbling up within her. “Kunj..” She tried, but broke off, and he replied “It’s alright, I know. I love you too.” because he actually did. He understood her, and knew she probably needed time to make peace with all that was happening with them.
Kunj hadn’t realised that Twinkle had fallen asleep until he gave in to his curiosity to know when she had fallen for him or realised the same, and asked her, but got nothing in response. “Twinkle?” He called out again, a little louder this time and she hummed in her sleep, murmuring something like “Five more minutes please.” He took a minute to admire her before stretching out his arm and mentally smacking himself when he realised it was just past midnight. He carefully picked her up in his arms and walked back to the entrance of the Lion Gate where the driver had been asked to wait. As he sat in the car beside her and she went back to leaning into him, he sighed, for his questions would have to wait for their answers now. It had been around 2 when he had woken her up, they were in their hotel room by then, and she looked around confusedly on opening her eyes. “You fell asleep midway through stargazing!” He complained, adding “It’s absolutely alright though, I totally enjoyed carrying you around.” with a wink. She shut her eyes embarrassedly and he laughed his wholehearted, carefree laugh, the one that always left her staring at him, and this time was no different. “By the way, I woke you up so that you could change into more comfortable clothes, not so that you could stare at me.” He whispered as he shifted closer to her on the couch where he had put her down. She leaned backwards shyly as he continued to lean towards her, until her head hit the armrest of the couch, and he pulled her up quickly, making sure she was alright, muttering on and on about how careless she was. “It isn’t my fault Kunj! You were..” She began her protest and shook her head quickly as she realised what she was about to say, but he didn’t seem to be in a mood to give in so easily, even if it was in the dead of the night. “I was?” He asked, feigning innocence and as expected, she rushed into the closet and shut the door behind her, as he watched her with a content grin. “We don’t have any plans for tomorrow by the way, we’re sleeping in.” He informed her, knowing that by the time he would change in the washroom and get back, she would have already fallen asleep, or would pretend to, owing to the almost kiss situation they had just had.
That’s it for now, guys. I really hope you all liked it. Lots of love!