Twinj: My Lifeline

Chapter 12

Greetings all you lovely people! Thank you all very much for all the love. Although I must say it's kinda disappointing to see the responses getting lower. Anyways, happy reading!

"I didn't go and see Alisha." Kunj said, shocking Twinkle. "Why?" She asked, unable to figure out how she should be reacting to that. "How would I face her?" He asked, more likely to himself. Twinkle felt bad for him, and for the very first time ever, she was able to view things from his perspective. She mentally cursed herself for only brooding over her own misery and not thinking of his difficulties even once. "I'm sorry!" She said. "It isn't your fault!" He replied immediately, as though simply the thought of blaming her seemed awfully wrong to him. Twinkle watched him quietly as he sniffled repeatedly, obviously trying to hold back his tears. "Whatever happened in the last three weeks happened very quickly, Kunj. None of us had any control over any of it. If it isn't my fault, you need to remember that it isn't your fault either." She spoke softly, wondering if it would be acceptable for her to budge closer and comfort him. She decided to take her chances, and shifted closer to him. He looked up at her, and she smiled warmly at him. He smiled back, and whispered, "Thank you". Twinkle herself wasn't aware that she had somehow developed the knack of making him see things clearer. To Kunj, it seemed like no matter what his problem was, all he had to do, was speak to her. She would find the way out for him.

Kunj sat quietly next to her for a long time. She didn't disturb him either, observing that his mood got better slowly. All she could think of was how lucky Alisha was, to have Kunj love her so much that he was so troubled just at the thought of hurting her. She felt a tinge of jealousy, knowing that she would never be at Alisha's place, but cheered up at the thought that evidently, nobody else could take her place either. Kunj had grown closer to her than she had expected, he trusted her now, a lot more than he trusted anyone else, making her the only person he could bear to speak his heart out to that night. He got up to leave, and Twinkle giggled as he headed towards the balcony. He turned back to look at her. "Don't tell me you're planning to jump down from there!" She said, making him giggle as well. She then led him down the stairs, assuring that she could get him out unnoticed. As he followed her, he observed the house for the first time, glancing at Twinkle and Leela's pictures put up all over. "Leela Aunty is going to miss you horribly." He stated as they neared the door. Twinkle simply nodded, knowing that Leela would be left all alone after the marriage. She had already considered that, but hadn't come up with a solution as of it. "You need to make sure you visit her frequently, she's such a loving person." He said, surprising her. He then waved at her and stepped out when Twinkle stopped him.

Kunj noticed that she hesitated to speak. "What is it?" He asked, stepping towards her. She looked up at him, directly in the eye, and asked, "Could you do something for me?" She asked and looked away immediately, worried that she would fall deeper for him, if that was possible. "Yes" He said, without thinking even for a moment. "What if I had asked for your life?" She asked, staring at him, but he remained unaffected. "You wouldn't. I trust you!" He replied back, smiling. "Don't go to the rehab centre now." She said, watching his eyes grow wider in shock. "It wouldn't be right for you to go there at this hour. Go home now, get a good night's sleep. You could go there first thing tomorrow." She explained, and it seemed to make sense to him. "You're right." He admitted, "I always am!" the response came, making him giggle. "Sweet dreams!" she said as he turned around and began to walk away. "You too!" He said, just before he closed the gate after him.

Kunj did have a very sweet dream that night. He woke up with a bright smile on his face for the first time in weeks. "Good luck! I'm sure she'll understand!" Twinkle's message on his phone read. He was about to reply with a simple 'Thank you' but came up with a better idea instantly. He quickly searched his phone and found in it a picture of his and Twinkle's that had been taken outside the Sarna mansion he didn't know when or by whom. They had been discussing something cheerfully, eyes on each other in it. Probably the day she got Usha to agree for a simple wedding, he mused and figured he was right. He posted it on his social media page, with the caption "My Best Friend. Weirdo, but the sweetest!" He had added a red heart next to it after giving it much thought. Usha was extremely surprised to see her son whistling a cheerful tune as he headed out that she forgot to stop him. "Kunj! It's your Haldi today!!" She called out after him but he had already driven out.

Twinkle had gone about dressing for the ceremony absentmindedly. She hadn't received any response from Kunj, and had now begun to worry if she had done the right thing by suggesting him to go and meet Alisha that day of all days. Her train of thoughts was broken by Chinki barging into her room. She showed Twinkle Kunj's post that had gathered tons of likes in minutes. Twinkle couldn't believe her eyes. She picked up her own phone to verify for herself. Her eyes flooded with tears of happiness when she was sure she hadn't been dreaming. She blushed at the thoughts rushing to her mind, and smiled brightly to herself as she saw that the number of people spewing hatred for her in Kunj's comments had gone down drastically. Leela walked in right then to inform them that Usha had just called her up, the Sarnas would be reaching there within half an hour. Her happiness knew no bounds as she saw the smile on Twinkle's face. It seemed genuine after a really long time.

When Kunj entered the house, he gave Twinkle a small wave from right there before he got busy with the other people greeting him. She had smiled back with a nod, her mind quickly drawing a comparison with the first time he had come in through those doors, not even knowing who Twinkle was. It was evident from his expressions that things had gone well for him that morning and Twinkle sighed in relief. Finally the bride and groom were made to sit beside each other on low stools on a small dias that had been put up in the hall. "How's she doing?" Twinkle whispered, her words clashing with his, "Hi weirdo!" She glared at him before they burst out laughing simultaneously. "Is she alright?" Twinkle asked again, making sure nobody else heard her. "Health wise, yes. She isn't is a state to speak out yet, but the doctors say she's making great progress." He whispered back, with that killer smile of his that had made Twinkle fall for him in the first place. The ceremony began with the elders applying Haldi, blessing the couple for the new journey they were about to embark upon, which got a little awkward, for Kunj hadn't thought of them that way yet, but his bestie knew exactly how to ease things. She slipped in random jokes, making him giggle, and at one point, she suddenly shot a sharp look at Kunj and asked, "How dare you call me a weirdo?" Kunj returned her look with a, "Oh, look at you, only noticing the part that you want to! How about the part where I declared you my best friend?" He asked, but their oh so serious conversation was disturbed by Usha announcing that the ceremony was now complete and they could go and wash up.

That's it for now, guys. I hope you liked it. Until next time,

Lots of Love!