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Twinj: My Lifeline: Episode 64
A quick recap: Misunderstandings only continue to increase between Twinkle and Kunj as neither of them tries to speak out their mind, but stick to their own ways, avoiding each other instead, until Kunj runs out of patience and confronts Twinkle, and she finally asks him if he wishes to speak about all that has transpired between them.
Twinkle knew, that although Kunj had agreed to let her in on his thoughts, he would need some time to open up, and so she waited patiently, the two of them now sitting with their backs to the wall, her head resting on his shoulder and his arm around her when he finally spoke, “I can’t believe Ma did things of that scale!” She straightened up and turned around in her place to face him, watching him carefully. “She knows attempting to harm someone’s life is a crime, right? How could she stoop so low?” He added with a huge burden over his heart at the idea of even having such thoughts about his mother, who had been his hero in all terms. “Kunj..” Twinkle called out with a soft voice, placing her hands gently over his that he had been fidgeting unconsciously, only becoming aware of it when she held them still, her look warm and loving, only acceptance and understanding in them. “When she could come up with such a fool proof plan to ring Alisha out and you into my life..” He began, frustrated that no amount of thinking and over-thinking had answered his questions. “You would think she knew how severe the implications would be if she got caught, isn’t it?” She questioned, knowing exactly what was running through his mind. He nodded, searching her eyes for an answer, obviously surprised when she let out a small laugh. “Of course she did, Kunj. But that didn’t stop her from going ahead with her intentions. In fact, you could safely assume that not a single soul would have been able to stop her, and definitely no fear or inhibition could!” She continued, her eyes alternating between his hands that had been holding onto hers like his entire life depended on it, and his eyes that appeared so restless right then. “What..” The question he was trying to frame remained incomplete, for he had no idea what he wanted to inquire, the intention behind her words, how she thought it was alright to defend Usha even now, or Usha’s view on the matter. “I know Kunj, I understand the chaos in your mind, but have you ever wondered what fuelled Ma to take such an extreme step?”
Twinkle’s question had put Kunj in deep thought, but it didn’t seem to make things better for him. His thoughts only spiralled into deeper guilt and darkness up to a point where he couldn’t think straight anymore. “From all you know her, don’t you it would have taken Ma every single bit of courage in her to take things in her own hands, to go ahead and try to kill Alisha? I know I might sound wrong to you when I say this, Kunj, but have you ever tried to put yourself in Ma’s place and think about this? Do you realise that if she had to handle things this way, she would definitely have tried all the better ways out at first? Perhaps you chose to believe Alisha more back then, leaving Ma no other resolve?” Twinkle put forth her thoughts, making him realise that she was absolutely right. It made him recall the several instances when Usha had tried to dissuade him from dating Alisha, but he wouldn’t listen to any of that, which had led them to have several arguments as well, some of them even leading to them avoiding each other for days on the run. He reckoned that his and Usha’s equations had gone topsy-turvy with Alisha’s entry into his life, and had only settled back into peace and harmony with her exit. He wondered he could have been so thick-headed that he never saw through Alisha’s crooked desires in the veil of being in love with him. It made him question if Alisha had ever actually been loyal and sincere in their relationship, and the answer seemed pretty evident. She never was, and the recognition of this fact made him regret falling for her, letting her interfere in his life. He suddenly flinched, feeling disappointed in himself and looked at Twinkle, who had placed her hands on his shoulders comfortingly when she spotted his discomfort and sighed, just so glad that he had her in his life now.
Kunj was now lying on the ground with his head nestled in Twinkle’s lap as she gently ran her fingers through his hair, he had caught her free hand in his own and placed it right over his heart, as they remained absolutely quiet. She hadn’t pushed him too much after he had hesitated, but had proceeded to relieve him instead, and this way seemed to be working out much better for them, at least until she sneezed and he sat upright in an instant, muttering angrily to himself for not letting her dry her hair first, and now she had caught a cold. He quickly reached out and got her a bundle of tissue papers, and then pulled out her blow dryer, plugging it in and aiming it carefully at her hair, all of which she watched amusedly, for he had just reminded of back when she had first dried his hair for him – that had been one hell of an adventure. “What?” He asked, not even trying to hide his annoyance when he saw the grin on her face. “Just that, when you’re so worried for me at just one sneeze, can you imagine how frightened Ma would have been when she saw her incredibly stupid son was headed straight for doom?” She answered, smartly merging in the issue that actually required attention right then, catching him off-guard in the process. “I’m sure there’s nobody Ma loves more than you, and I’m also betting there’s nobody who could love you that much! You see, Kunj, she only did what she could back then to save you, and from where I see it, that’s the more important thing – that you’re no longer in deep trouble!” She intentionally used a humorous tone as she got to the end and he shot her his trademark ‘I don’t find that very funny!’ glance, making her burst out laughing, something he wouldn’t have minded gladly joining in with if it hadn’t been for another of her sneezes, and now he was glaring unhappily at her instead, but that wouldn’t make her stop laughing either. It felt like it had been ages since either of them had been truly happy after all.
“Be a good boy, and resolve things with Ma, please.” Twinkle called after him as they eventually headed out of the closet, more like she threatened to push him out and lock herself in if he didn’t get out and let her leave too. He, however, had some sinister intentions that there was no way she would give into so easily, and she had won, like pretty much always. “Kunj! Are you for real? That’s what is cooking on your mind when everyone out there is horribly worried for you?” She had admonished like he was a little child, and he had pouted disappointedly just like one, earning a small giggle from her, the carefree kind that he lived for. “Hey, wait!” He stopped her right when she was about to walk out of the room, grabbing her wrist that he had gotten so accustomed to doing that he had almost memorised her reaction to that, a confused yet curious look as she quickly turned around, looking him right in the eye. “What about..” He seemed to only be getting to begin rendering his thoughts out aloud all day, she knew exactly what he meant when, saving him the trouble, since they both knew how hard it was for him to speak about these things, except for right now, because her expression didn’t turn to a soft, ‘I’ve got you, don’t worry!’ one immediately, but remained confused. “What is it?” She asked instead, and he stepped towards her at a painfully slow pace, and when he got to her after what she felt like an eternity, he kneeled down in front of her, surprising her. “I’m sorry you had to marry me forcibly, Twinkle!” He whispered, his head bowed and eyes carefully hooded from her view. “Kunj, what..” What would have been her argument was cut short by him when he shook his head vigorously, and although she couldn’t see his face, she knew he was sobbing. She dropped to her knees too, guiding his face by her hands to make him look at her, but before she could even begin speaking, he hugged her tight, pleading, “Don’t go away though, please! I promise I’ll never make you regret this!” She gave in quietly, not holding in her own tears either, perhaps this wasn’t the time for that.
“You know what? I would readily deal with all that all over again if it meant this is what I’m getting at the end! I agree Usha Ma was a little unfair..” Twinkle had finally managed wipe away both of their tears and had just begun speaking, when Kunj objected, “A little? You call that a little? That’s just too much! Leela Ma must have felt so cornered, scared, worried, threatened and insecure all at the same time!” She looked up at him momentarily before returning to her warm sanctuary in his arms, listening to his heart beat, her mind flashing Leela’s worried face on the day she had seen Usha at the Taneja Mansion for the first time, all the tears Leela had shed worried for her daughter, in the fear that she would lose the only thing they had of Twinkle’s father, his memories, and she had to give in. “Alright, might be more than a little, but why don’t you see how much she loves us, Kunj? She’s always been going out of her way, doing little and great things for us, for you, more importantly. There hasn’t been anything other than your happiness that she ever asked for, and she doesn’t deserve to be punished more than we already have! Keeping you away from her could be the worst she’ll ever have to deal with!” She spoke in a low voice, knowing that it would be sufficient to get her point across, and turns out she was right.”Fine!” He said, giving in with a sigh of defeat, snuggling her closer, and this time she didn’t even object. She did squeal though, when he picked her up in his arms suddenly – that’s another thing that he didn’t mind getting used to – and carried her to the bed. “There’s so much of catching up we need to do!” He teased, earning a playful smack, but he knew she wasn’t actually protesting too. Needless to say, one thing led to another and the two of them didn’t get out of the room for a long time.
Twinkle smiled as she looked at Kunj sleeping peacefully beside her and leaned in carefully to place a deep, loving peck on his forehead, already aware that he wouldn’t wake up. She laughed to herself as he mumbled in his sleep and shifted closer to her, his arms involuntarily reaching out to her. She had half a mind to prank him by not giving in, but then decided to save that for another day. She slid closer to him and yawned sleepily, already excited to see the look on Usha’s face the next day, when she would be back home from a relative’s place. “I love you!” She whispered to Kunj; she knew he wouldn’t hear her, but just saying it brought her a feeling of belongingness that she thought was incomparable. She then shut her eyes, letting peaceful sleep take over after the longest time.
That’s it for now, guys. Lot of love!