Hello everyone! Ananya here. Thank you all so much for the love and affection that you all have been showering my stories with. Happy reading!
Twinj: It’s Always Been You: Episode 21
A quick recap: Twinkle and Kunj finally open up about their feelings about all that they had endured, with Kunj realising that Twinkle had carefully preserved every single thing that held memories of them. Aparna walks in excitedly and leads them down the stairs when they find Leela looking up at them.
Leela’s gaze softened when she spotted Twinkle and Kunj holding hands, which they dropped as soon as they saw her. “Kunj! So it’s you who brought these flowers!” Leela spoke, smiling warmly at him as she held up a bouquet of orchids. Twinkle cast a knowing glance at Aparna, and then burst out laughing while Aparna came up with an excuse to take the flowers from Leela. Twinkle and Aparna then headed to the kitchen where Yuvi and Chinki were trying to beat their cooking skills through a direct competition. “I’m glad both of you decided to talk it out.” Leela told Kunj as he walked down the remaining stairs and followed her into the hall. “What is this secret that you’re telling your son-in-law, aunty?” Yuvi asked, walking in with the others girls, only to be surprised when Twinkle replied irritated, “What son-in-law?” That had grabbed everyone’s attention, and Twinkle suddenly became aware of the fact that they probably hadn’t fully understood her stand yet. “I assumed you all knew already.” She began to explain, pausing when she heard Yuvi ask Kunj in a whisper, “Did you know?” Kunj shook his head and Yuvi whispered back to him, “How would we know then?” Twinkle looked annoyed at their banter but continued calmly, “I haven’t thought of that far into the future yet. We have just taken one step towards resolving our issues today.” Chinki gasped at looked at Aparna, who seemed equally confused. “Does she not want to get back with Kunj anymore?” Yuvi asked Leela, exhausting Twinkle’s patience. “All I said is that things like that take time!” She almost screamed before stomping off.
“Feeling uncertain about something?” Chinki asked as Twinkle finally opened her room’s door for her and let her in. She chose to remain quiet, making Chinki repeat her question. “Or, does Kunj appear way too boring to you now?” Chinki spoke with a giggle and Twinkle threw an uninterested look at her. “You don’t tell me anything anymore, do you?” Chinki began after a moment of silence, and Twinkle cut her short with a glare immediately, knowing that she was going to throw another tantrum about her friendship with Aparna. “What is it, then?” Chinki asked with a deep sigh, after relentless bantering for a few more minutes until she was sure that Twinkle was prepared to speak. “I don’t think I have the courage to dream again anymore. The very idea is frightening, after having lost and suffered so much.” Twinkle revealed, and Chinki nodded understandingly. “Remember how optimistic you used to be? That Twinkle knew no fear, and was adamant when it came to her dreams. She never gave up on them, even when she knew the probability of them coming true was bleak.” Chinki prompted gently, ensuring that she was leading Twinkle to recollect an incident from several years ago.
“Kunj! What are you doing here at this hour?” Twinkle had whispered when he had somehow managed to sneak into her room right when she was about to go to bed. “Hey beautiful!” He had replied back as she had rushed to the door and shut it, so that nobody would barge in and scold him. “What do you want?” She had asked impatiently, although she had been really impressed that he had risked being there that late in the night. “You!” He had responded, making her blush that she tried to hide with a gasp and he had chuckled at that. “Listen! I need your help. I’m going to propose to Alisha tomorrow.” He had announced, shattering the dreams that her mind had spun when she had first seen him there. “What? Why? That’s a terrible decision!” She had blurted out unintentionally loud, making him look at her in surprise. “I love her!” He had reminded her, adding “What’s with that harsh response?” Twinkle had shaken her head and sat down beside him resignedly, answering all his queries patiently. Chinki snapped her finger in front of Twinkle, bringing her back to the present. “Hadn’t you assured yourself that day, that that ‘I love you’ would be for you someday when Kunj realised Alisha wasn’t right for him?” Chinki asked. “Oh my goodness! You read my diary, didn’t you?” Twinkle shot back while Chinki giggled.
“I can’t let go of everything at once!” Twinkle said after a long silence, when suddenly she spotted a silhouette at her door. It disappeared as quickly as it had appeared making her wonder if it was her illusion. She decided to check for herself either way and headed to open the door. Chinki looked at her disappointedly when they realised they had just missed catching whoever was strolling the corridor. “Oh look! An orchid!” Chinki pointed out surprised to find a flower from the same bouquet from earlier in front of Aparna’s door. “Those were for her?” She asked again, watching Twinkle smirk to herself as they tiptoed towards Aparna’s room. “You won’t believe from who.” Twinkle whispered right as she pushed the door open to reveal Yuvi and Aparna sitting right next to each other on the couch inside the room. “Yuvi!” Chinki screamed anxiously, glancing at Twinkle who had a hard time hiding her laughter. “You two? How? When? How come I don’t know?” Chinki’s questions seemed endless while Aparna and Yuvi couldn’t even look up due to embarrassment. “Serves you right for stealing my diary!” Twinkle whispered to Yuvi, who was evidently annoyed at the intrusion. “We should let these love birds be, Chinki. You can get all your answers in the morning.” Twinkle said, winking at Aparna right before she dragged Chinki by her wrist, bumping into Kunj in her hurry. “Kunj? I didn’t know you were still here.” Twinkle said, suddenly realising that he couldn’t have been there all day. “Or did you just sneak in?” Chinki asked from behind, making Twinkle pinch her. “I think I’ll let these love birds as well be.” She said then, freeing her hand and walking away quietly.
“Hey!” Kunj said when he was sure that nobody was around to listen. “Hi!” Twinkle replied, her voice almost a whisper as she recalled how she had angrily left earlier that day, which was probably what he had come to speak about. “You had said you would push me down from right here.” He said, trying to break the ice, while she looked at him suspiciously. Her eyes widened when a minute later she realised what he was referring to. “You wouldn’t listen otherwise. Not my fault, you see. It’s amusing how you had stopped right when I had said that.” She spoke, giggling softly, making him smile. “A life threat just because I cancelled plans with you? Only Twinkle Taneja could have done that!” He teased as they walked to the railing and leaned on it, smiling at the memory. “We had put up a bonfire in the garden and sang and danced around it like maniacs that night to make up for missing that event remember?” She spoke and turned to him, only to find him watching her intensely. She sucked in a breath when he stepped closer to her and closed her eyes in anticipation. “I just need you to know that I love you, and I can wait for you forever.” He whispered as she looked up at him. He took slow steps backward, smiling warmly at her and had just turned to leave when he heard her call out to him. “I had just come by to make sure you were alright. I have absolutely no intention of pushing you to take any decision.” He explained, and she whispered “I know” as she held his hands.
“Does the idea of us not scare you after all that we’ve been through?” Twinkle asked, her voice shaky, as they stood in the middle of the dark corridor, and she felt him squeeze her hands assuringly. “It doesn’t. It never will, for I’m sure that as long as we’re together, we could battle the world and win. But I also understand if that is not what you want. I could walk away right now and we can pretend this never happened.” He replied, the fear of losing evident in his heart, dropping a gentle kiss on her forehead. “Say that again and I’ll actually push you down, Kunj Sarna!” She threatened, sounding dead serious. “Don’t think you can get rid of me so easily. All I had asked for was time to think about us, our future. Not your stupid ‘I will sacrifice everything for you’ speech.” She continued, making him chuckle. “I’m sorry!” He said, pulling her cheeks. “And you need to stop doing that.” She said, pinching his hands that made him let go immediately. “You need to stop pinching!” He complained, smiling to himself as he heard her giggle. “Do I take that as a ‘yes’?” He asked when she snuggled close to him, relieved at the turn of events. “Have you even asked yet?” She responded, knowing that it would annoy him. “I will, and then, you won’t be able to say ‘No’. Just wait and watch.” He whispered, letting go of her and sprinting down the stairs as she watched stupefied; she had definitely not seen that coming. What she was sure of though, was that now she knew what she wanted, and there would be no looking back.
That’s it for now, guys. Lots of love!