Hey, you all! Thank you for your continuous support and responses – it really means a lot to me. I’m sorry for the delayed update, again. But here’s the next one; Happy Reading!
PREVIOUSLY, Twinkle and Kunj talk about their difference of opinions; Twinkle and Kunj spend time with Leela and Sanjana, respectively
EK TUKDA PYAAR – EPISODE 21
As Twinkle sat down next to Kunj in the living room, she looked at him – a look of nervousness slipping onto her features. Despite the conversation she’d had with him the previous night, she couldn’t rid herself from the pessimism that swirled in her mind. She knew, she’d promised herself she wouldn’t let the negativity affect her today, but it felt too unrealistic of her.
Kunj: Are you alright?
Twinkle (nodding her head): I am. Just trying to convince myself that we’re doing the right thing.
Kunj: You trust me? (brushing his fingers along hers) You trust US?
Twinkle held her silence and looked at him. The thoughts kept swirling in her mind and the cluelessness gravitated toward her heart. She’d found her comfort around Kunj, but she didn’t know if her companionship had been helping him. The dilemma flooded the insides of her and she stared at him, willing to understand the basis of their relationship. She knew dishonesty had never been the basis of their relationship, but the two of them hadn’t been completely truthful to each other, either.
Kunj (snapping his fingers): Twinkle?
Twinkle (gulping the throatiness in her voice): Pata nahi. Itna aasan nahi hai bharosa karna. (pausing briefly) Do you trust me?
Kunj: I trust US. (looking around) You want to talk before the registrar comes?
Twinkle nodded her head, wanting to escape the swirling thoughts in her mind. She’d believed, she’d be able to side the thoughts during the evening. But as the confusion prevailed on her, she couldn’t ignore the muscles that clenched in the pit of her abdomen and the anxiousness that spilled within her.
When they stood in the patio and the silence of the evening engulfed her, she attempted to relax the chaotic waves within herself. The cold wind sprawled goose-bumps against the nakedness of her skin, but as Kunj’s fingers trailed over the goose-bumps on her skin, she felt his touch scorching her skin. She leaned back to him and tilted her head to glance at him.
Twinkle: What’re you doing, Kunj?
Kunj (shushing her): Words don’t work all the time, you know? So, I want you to feel this – feel what WE are; feel what WE have.
He threaded his fingers with hers and rested them on her stomach, creasing her freshly-ironed dupatta. She felt heat pool in the bottom of her stomach, lining the empty crevices and she looked at him, earnestly, wanting to delve into the intimacy of the moment. When he bent down and pressed his lips against her clavicle, she felt her breath skitter and the scorching heat unravel within her, curling her toes.
She rested herself against him and let the wind swivel past them to extinguish the flaring ends of her nerves. As minutes ticked by, she felt a combination of foreignness and acquaintance settle within her. The intimacy settled within her and she inhaled, deeply – wanting to filter through the misted thoughts in her minds.
After a long minute, Twinkle turned around and looked at him, carefully observing the charcoal freckles in his eyes and the faint pigmentation of the freckles that dotted his jaw. As her gaze shifted and fell on the uniform pigmentation of his lips, she stepped closer and threaded her fingers through his, wanting to feel the strength of their togetherness.
When the brewing tension surrounded them, prising them into an unknown chemistry, Kunj freed his hands and wove his hands around her waist, bridging the fragment of the distance between them. She looked at him and as his lips descended upon her lower lip, she gulped the throatiness and shut her eyes, grabbing fists of his clothing. She fell back – slipping as she lost her balance under the intoxicating spell – and the steeliness of the railing jutted into her back. The sound of the metal rippled around them and she held onto him, not wanting to let go.
When his lips swept past her upper lip, the realisation settled within all the crevices of her mind. She could never let go of him, despite the situations; He was a permanence in her future.
————
When Kunj sat down beside her distancing himself, Twinkle couldn’t rid herself of the heat that swirled within her and the blood that rushed to her cheeks. She’d always seen beyond a friend in him – ever since he’d held her close to himself in the Gurudwara – but the emotions that unravelled within her, forced her into an abyss of emotions.
He brushed his fingers against her, pulling her out of her own reverie and she looked up at him, trying to swallow the emotions that covered the unknown corners of her existence. She inhaled a deep breath as his touch swept past her fingertips and biting her lower lip, furrowed her brows at him in confusion.
Kunj (softly): You’ve to sign, Mrs. Sarna.
Twinkle looked down at the papers and let the loose strands of her hair fall over her face. She took the pen out of his grasp and twirled the pen between her fingers as the registrar directed her over the spaces she was required to sign at. She signed, following his directions and as the procedure ended, her lips curved into a small smile.
Usha: I’d brought this sindoor for Twinkle, Leela ji. I’ll let Kunj apply it?
Leela: Of course, Usha ji. She’s your daughter-in-law now.
Aarohi (tugging at her grandmother’s saree): Nani, is Maa not your daughter anymore?
Leela (bending down): Beta…
Twinkle (interrupting): Main toh hamesha Nani ki beti rahungi, Aarohi. (she sat Aarohi on her lap and caressed her hair) Just like you’ll always be my daughter.
Aarohi: Aisa kya?
Kunj (smiling): Hamesha.
He clasped a pinch of sindoor between his fingers and looked at Twinkle, smiling softly. She held onto Aarohi, anticipating the changes that’d compliment her new identity. Kunj had stilled the pessimism within her mind and as she looked at him, she couldn’t disregard the future that welcomed their togetherness.
Myra: Kunj! How much time will you take?
When Kunj’s fingers swept against her hairline, she felt a new identity sweep over her. Twinkle hadn’t dreamt of such a moment ever since her previous marriage had failed and broken, but as the redness of the powder adorned her forehead, she strove to succeed this marriage.
She promised herself, she wouldn’t let them fall apart. She decided, in a spur of the moment, they’d fight his demons, TOGETHER.
————
As the sky darkened and night prevailed, Twinkle stood away from Kunj, leaning against the bookshelf in his room. She observed the tired creases lining his forehead and sighed, softly. She knew, she was supposed to give him his space and time, but she was beginning to grow tired of the silence that’d engulfed them ever since his phone call. She looked down at the floor and rubbed her foot against the marbleised surface, trying to condense the silence.
Kunj (staring at the textures of the marbleised floor): Something has come up at office.
Twinkle (looking at him): That’s it?
Kunj: I thought, I’d it all sorted. I didn’t want to drag you or Aarohi in it.
Twinkle: We’re a family now, Kunj. You aren’t dragging us in anything. (pausing briefly) You want to tell me what happened?
Kunj (shaking his head): I don’t want to bother you. I’ll handle it.
Twinkle: What has happened?
Kunj (looking up): Why are you standing there?
Twinkle (shrugging her shoulders): I’m good here. This place is good. It reminds me of the isolation I’m being kept at.
Kunj: Is that where you’re going to stay all night?
Twinkle: Until you sleep, probably.
Kunj (sighing): Let me see what has happened once I go to the restaurant tomorrow. I’ll share it with you after that. (extending his hands) Come here, now. I shouldn’t be bothering with you all this today itself.
Twinkle slowly stepped toward him, dragging herself tiredly. Despite gaining the requited assurance in the evening, the pessimism had begun invading her mind, again. Every time she was around Kunj, she felt he was concealing another fragment of himself from her.
She stood before him and curved her palms along the edges of his face and looked at him. When she bent her head, her hair enveloped them in a darkness, but Kunj’s hands at the back of her legs steadied her.
Aarohi (from outside): MAA! UNCLE!
Twinkle moved away – increasing the distance between themselves – and looked toward the door, shock rippling through the her. She brushed the strands of hair from her face and looked back at Kunj, heaving a sigh of relief.
Kunj (chuckling): I’ll open the door. You stay there.
Kunj strode toward the door hurriedly, while Twinkle smacked her forehead and smiled to herself. She knew, she hadn’t wanted to propel for another intimate moment after the tension and worry that’d brewed. Twinkle was just trying to convince him to share his worries with her, but the sudden interruption had scared her – shocked, even.
Twinkle looked toward the door and saw Aarohi and Myra waiting at the berm of the door.
Aarohi: Uncle, can I sleep with Maa tonight? Please?
Twinkle (from behind): Aarohi, aj na…
Kunj (looking at the sadness covering Aarohi’s facial features): Of course! You don’t have to ask. Just come whenever you want. (taking the pillow from her) Come on, in.
Myra (looking at Aarohi’s retreating figure): Sorry. She was just being really persistent, I couldn’t…
Kunj: It’s fine, Nautanki. It’s a new environment, she’d need some time to grow used to. She’d be fine around Twinkle, now. But once she gets acquainted to everyone, she’ll be comfortable here.
Myra (smiling): Thik hai. Bas, you take care of your emotions while she’s in the room.
Kunj: Bhaag yahan se!
As Twinkle tucked Aarohi to sleep and kissed her forehead, Kunj picked up a pillow from the other side of the bed and walked to the corner of the room, refusing to disturb the mother-daughter moment.
Twinkle: Where are you going?
Kunj: I’ll sleep on the couch. It’ll get very crowded on the bed, otherwise.
Twinkle (walking toward him): Acha? Where was all this self-restraint when you were kissing me in the evening?
Kunj (widening his eyes): Aarohi is in the room, Twinkle.
Twinkle (snatching the pillow from him and walking away): Come, sleep on the bed. (turning around) Aarohi’s asleep, by the way.
Kunj walked behind Twinkle – following her closely – and scratched the back of his head. Twinkle smiled to herself and placed the pillow on the corner of the bed and laid down in the middle of the bed, next to Aarohi.
Kunj: Are you sure, Twinkle?
Twinkle (looking up and smiling at him): I am, don’t worry.
Minutes later, Kunj laid down next to her after shutting down the lights and stared at the ostentatious work of the ceiling. Twinkle turned toward Aarohi, trying to find a comfortable position. She wasn’t used to sleeping with a smaller number of pillows. As a minute ticked by, she tossed and turned trying to adjust herself on the bed.
Kunj: What happened? I told you, three on the bed would…
Twinkle: No, it’s not that. (sitting up) Do you’ve an extra pillow?
Kunj: Maybe. But I don’t know where to look for it at the middle of the night. (pausing briefly and placing his upper arm on the pillow) Abhi aise so jao, I’ll get those out in the morning.
Twinkle: No, it’s fine. It’ll take some time, but I’ll fall asleep. Tumhara haath dukhega, otherwise.
Kunj (smiling): It won’t. Sleep now. Aur agar dukha bhi toh – which won’t happen – you’re there now. You can apply some medicine.
Twinkle (resting her head against his arm): Main nahi karungi ye sab faltu kaam.
Kunj (continuing in the same teasing tone): Kaisi wife ho tum?
Twinkle: Agar itni hi napasand thi, toh kyun ki shaadi?
Kunj: How will I know you’d be like this? If I did, I wouldn’t have married you.
Twinkle (looking at him): Kaun jhelega tumhe mere sivaay?
Kunj (chuckling): Sleep, now. It’s late.
————
In the middle of the night, Kunj grunted and tried taking his hand away. Twinkle blinked her eyes open at the noise and let the realisation of her surroundings settle within her. As Kunj grunted again, she lifted her head for him to pull his hand away and shut her eyes. She turned around and shaking her head, smiled.
Twinkle (murmuring): Nahi dukhega.
————
Alright, that’d be all for this episode. Since we’re twenty chapters in, I figured, it’d only be fair to show some intimacy between Twinkle and Kunj. Thank you!