Chapter 1
Manohar stood in in the doorway of the house while Usha took the aarti of Kunj and Twinkle as they stood at the entrance, waiting to step inside the house. The journey from Amritsar to Delhi to Dubai to London has been quite hectic one and the weariness from excessive walking and turbulence of flights was reflecting on both of there smiling faces.
It seemed like eternity when the plate of aarti stopped circling around their faces and they both were welcomed in. She turned her head around to see the house and was happy to find it not as extravagant but just as comfortable and cozy in it's appearance as there family home in Amritsar.
"Kunj, aane mein koi problem toh nahi hui na? Immigration sahi se hogai thi? Aur baggage sahi same pe mil gaya tha na? Late tou nahi hua na?" Usha inquired as everyone stepped inside. The worry on her face creased away as she saw her son smile towards her with a slight amused nod.
"Haan maa, sab kuch theek se hogaya tha aur koi problem nahi hui. Aur baggage milne mein koi problem nahi hui. Har cheez apne waqt par ho gayi thi."
"Dekha Usha, tum bas aise hi fikar kar rahi thi. Mein ne kaha tha na ke koi problem nahi hogi!" Manohar assured his wife and turned towards the weary couple who were standing learning against each other.
"Tum dono kafi thaak gaye ho ge. Chaho tou kuch deer aram kar lo ja ke. Usha tum dono ke leye khana inn ke kamre mein bheej do."
The three nodded along and Kunj lead Twinkle towards the upper-level of the house. The stairs led up to a circular hall with two doors on opposite ends. The wooden floors were gleaming with the sunlight that was coming in through the windows by the staircase and the chairs kept in the middle gave a look of grandeur to the small area. Kunj pulled the door of the second bedroom on the right about three times before the lock gave away and opened up. The room was carpeted with beige colored carpet that was covered in different rugs with sports logo on them. The walls of the room were plastered by small cricket leagues that Twinkle hadn't heard about before and few old class photos along with framed pictures of him.
"Yeh tumhara room hai?" she inquired, pushing the door to close behind her.
"Haan. Sorry, tujhe isse aise halat mein dekhna para. Mein ne Maa ko bola tha ke posters hatwa dein aur yeh purane rugs hatwa dein." He apologized abruptly, hoping that the current living situation wouldn't be a problem between them.
She looked at his face, it was expectant but fearing her rejecting response and realizing how adorable he looked with the concern about her opinion, she flashed her pearly smile before walking over to the bed in the middle of the room and falling on it. "Mujhe toh acha laga. Bachpan ka room toh aisa hi hota hai na. Ab mujhe tumhare secrets pata chal jaain ge yahaan pe reh kar." She added on mischievously.
"Mere kon se secrets hain?" he asked looking at her with suspicion.
"Pata nahi. Koi na koi toh hoon ge. Tumhari purani girlfirends aur tumhare school ke time ke samman toh para hai yahain. Ab mujhe tumhare bare mein saab kuch pata chal jaye ga." she replied happily as if she had discovered another wonder of the world.
He heaved a sigh and seated himself beside her. "Tu ajeeb hai. Pehle toh tou chir rahi thi purani girlfriends ke bare mein baat kar ke aur aab khud har cheez ka pata lagana hai."
"Kunj Sarna, tum nahi samjho ge!" she replied cheekily while throwing the wedges in her feet away and pulling herself on the bed.
"Kunj yeh bed intna chotta kyun hai?" she inquired finding less space to spread her legs and hands.
"Twinkle mein yahan pe A' levles tak rehta tha. Uss ke baad college aur uss ke baad Amritsar. Uss waqt Queen size ki zaroorat nah padi thi." He taunted her, pushing her hands away from him and looking at her with a twinkle in his eyes.
"Mein koi zada jaagh nahi leti hoon. Mein apne corner mein aram se soti hoon."
"Aise bharak kyun rahi hai? Mein tujhe toh kuch nahi bola!" He relied cheekily, undoing his sneakers and walking towards the small study-table in the corner to place his watch and wallet on them. There interaction was interrupted by the slight knock on the door and Twinkle bolting up right on the bed. He smiled amused at her state. Ever since they had returned from Goa, she had been more conscious of who would be on the door and instead of welcoming people inside, she had looked at him blankly until he would make sure who was at the door.
He pulled one the door to see his mother standing with a tray in her hands and a small child creeping behind her.
"Maa app rehne deti na. Hum thori deer mein neeche aa jate." He spoke taking the tray of food from her hands and placing it on the night stand.
"Arre, mein toh rehne dete par isse Nikki jab se drop kar ke gayi hai, tab se hi pecche para tha ke chachu ke paas jana hai. Chachu ko khana dette hain Dadi. Is eye mein khan le hi ayi." She replied indicating to the small hands holding on to her dupatta and the mischievous smile that was adorning the small face.
Twinkle managed to make her way up towards the door. "Arre Ishu, andar aao. Mein yaad hoon yah sirf chachu hi yaad hain?" She inquired kneeling down and putting her hand forward towards the little boy.
"Nahi beta tum loog thori der aram kar lo. Yeh tou aaj raat yahin ruke ga." Usha spoke but her words came out a little too late because the boy had slipped inside the room and was now jumping on the bed.
"Koi baat nahi Maa, thori deer mein main isse bahar bheej doon ga. Jab tak khaain ge tab tak yeh yahi pe khel sakta hai." Kunj assured his mother who looked apologetically towards him. The door was left open and Kunj turned around exasperated at his wife's spontaneous decisions to see her trying to show Ishaan that she has not mastered how to properly jump on the bed.
"Ishu, tu ne mujhe miss nahi kiya na?" He asked the child, pulling him towards himself and sitting on the edge of the bed.
Twinkle moved herself towards them and gently placed her head on Kunj's arm while he inquired about his current status in Ishaan's life. Kunj stopped in the middle of his sentence sensing her touch him but pick dup his sentence right back realizing that she was using his arm as a pillow for herself. He peeked at her to see her yawning and her eyes falling close on there own accord in next few minutes.
"Ishu, dekho chachi sou gayi na. Hum thori deer baad khele gein theek hai?"
"Chachi ko pillow pe sula detein hain na Chachu. Hum neeche chaltein hain." The child tried to trick him with an extra surgery voice and bated his eyelids in front of his uncle to woo him into turning back into a partner in crime he used to be for him.
"Nahi Ishu, Chachi gussa ho ke uth jain gi. Tum aik kam karo, tum door ko band kar ke neeche chale jao. Mein throi deer baad khud hi aa jaoin ga."
The child looked at him thoughtfully and realizing that his Chachu was offering him a deal that would be in his favor, he nodded and pulled the door close behind him before leaving.
Kunj pulled the scarf off Twinkle's neck that was wrapped over her light pink peasant top and eld her up to place her on the other side of the bed before laying next to her himself. She turned around unceremoniously and slapped her arm over his face making him wince. He grumbled before pulling the covers over them and placing his face by the crook of her neck to fall asleep himself.
Twinkle didn't realize the time it was when she felt her eyes open. The stickiness in her eyes and the weariness in her body made her realize that she was not home but somewhere else.
"Mein jeans mein sou gai?" she wondered looking at her clothes and then turned to see her husband whose face was facing her and his arm was wrapped over her waist. He was in the same clothes as before as well instead dog changing into something more comfortable. She rubbed her eyes open and yawned before carelessly throwing his arm off her and getting up. Her move was not appreciated and just as she stood u, she was pulled back to fall over her husband.
"Tu mujh par laadh laadh ke sou sakti hai par mein thori daer bhi tohri daer tujhe pakar kar nahi sou sakta?" he inquired looking at her with a heavy-lidded intense gaze.
"Aise kyun dekh rahe ho. Mujhe stretch karna tha aur neeche se suitcases upar laane the." she replied settling herself over his chest. His arms circled over her waist.
"Tujhe tou mujh pe focus karna chaiye." he added on staring deep into her eyes.
"Tum pe focus karna chaiye? Tum pe! Duniye khatam ho gai hai ke sab chor ke tum pre focus karoon?"
"Pati hoon tera. Mera haq banta hai tere attention mangna!"
"Biwi ko special feel karana tum se seekhe!" she muttered smiling at him and just as she had distracted his attention towards herself, she slowly leaned in to place a kiss on corner of his lips. His grip loosened on her waist and she rolled away from him and rushed towards the door before he could realize what she had done however her spirit towards the door wasn't of much use because he had skipped off the bed and the handle of the door was once again stuck.
"Kahan chali mujhe dhoka de ke?"
"Mein kab dhoka deya?" she questioned him back and pushed him away.
"Sun na Twinkle!" he called from him behind making her stop. "Dekh aik dafa niche chale gaye na, tou Maa tujhe kissi na kissi kaam mein lag leein gi aur kal se mein by busy honga. Aaj thora sa time saath mein spent kar let hain na!"
"Batao kiya karna hai!" she questioned haughtily!
"Chaal mein tujhe apni purani cheezen dekhata hoon!" he replied happily, "Aur yeh Maa ne do ghante pehle khana bheja tha, tujhe khana hai tou thora sa khaa le!" he pointed towards the tray of food on the night stand.
She leaped up towards the food midway through his sentence, gulped half of the water and started at the plate in her hands making him roll his eyes in amusement. Her legs hung down from the bed, her top flowing straight and her hair were roughly tied in a bun behind her head but was on verge on spilling open to drop down. He smiled at the sight she presented and walked over to his closet to pull out a cardboard storage box from it.
He stood still staring at the clothes still hanging in the closet. There were few shirts from his school days, a couple of button downs that he was sure he wouldn't be able to fit into now and then there were few of his shirts and old jeans having from when he came back to stay in the house before his father announced that he was to accompany him and his mother back to Amritsar. He had just finished the first year of his MBA and was hoping to transfer when his father's ideas changed course of his life altogether. He turned to look back at his wife, sitting on the bed and gobbling down food without noticing anything around her. There was so much innocence in her and he felt a rush of appreciation for knowing such a pure-hearted soul who had managed to remain untainted, kind and generous despite the ordeals that had followed through.
He pushed the door behind him, letting it lose halfway through and seated himself beside her.
"Chal Twinkle. Yeh dekh." he pointed opening the lid of the box and placing it between them. "Yeh sari meri school ki photos hai!" he declared, that caused her to gulp down her morsel and wipe her hands clean from the napkins lying underneath the tray. She picked the glass of water in her hand before turning around to face him.
"Sari ki sari school ki dinoon ki hain?"
"Nahi. India mein jitne classes parhi woh sari nahi hain. Woh sari Amritsar ke ghar mein jo peche band kamra nahi hai, jahan har waqt taala laga rehta hai; woh sari purani cheezen wahi Maa ne sambhal ke rakhi hai. Yeh sari yahaan ke school ki han. 1st standard se le ke A'levels tak ki."
"Hayyyeee!!! Kunj tum bachpan mein kitne cuteee the!!!" she squealed showing him pictures from some kind of activity day.
"Kiya matlab cute tha? cute hoon!" he spoke indignantly
"Haan haan, abhi bhi theek thak se ho!" she replied taking up another picture in her hands and squealing at him.
"Tum kitne cute the!! Tumahre gaal kitne cute hai!"
"Haan, jaise abhi tere hain na. Gaplo gaplo se!" he retaliated
"Haw!" she gasped dropping the picture in her hands back into the box, "Tum ne mujhe motta bola!?!"
"Mota thori bola! Tere gaaloon ko gaplo gaplo bola hai." he replied pulling her cheeks and shaking her head left and right. She shook off his hands and stood up fuming.
"Mein jaa rahin hoon suitcase upar lane aur shower karne. Mujhe nahi bethna tumhare saath!" she got up and pulled the door angrily, stomping off.
He looked at her retreating figure and pulled the box shut, placing it underneath the bed before walking out behind her to help her up with the suitcases. "Had hai matlab. Acha khasa cute hoon!" he muttered walking downstairs to see her trying to pull up a suitcase.
"Haato. Mein karta hoon!" he called out picking up the suitcase. "Is mein rakhae kya hai Twinkle?"
"Mere kapre aur joote!"
"Kitne kapre aur joote hain? Is mein toh laag raha hai patthar hain!" he added on halfway through the stairs.
"Agar nahi uthana toh bol do!"
"Mein toh aik baat bol raha tha!" He pushed the door of the room open and placed the suitcase by the bed and walked out after staring at her angry orbs for a brief minute.
He came back to see the suitcase laying open in the middle of the room with the clothes on top that were previously properly folded, all scattered. "Yeh ladki karti kya hai!" he uttered, placing the emitting two suitcases on the corner and leaning to shut down the opened one and got her lingerie bag falling on his feet in attempt to place the spilling clothes back into there place. He there the bag back in, with a smile creeping up on his face. He could hear the shower run and remembered how she had unconsciously held onto his arm throughout the journey. He looked around the room, seating himself on the chair by his study-table and realized how he had never once imagined coming back to this house or this place ever after getting married to Twinkle.
Twinkle walked downstairs towards the family dining area to see Kunj and Ishaan being fed by Usha in turns and Kunj suddenly feeling embarrassed to see his wife looking at him with an amused expression.
"Yeh kiya ho raha hai?" she questioned standing opposite the family.
"Arre Twinkle. Accha hua tum aa gai. Mein Kunj ko bol hi rahi thi ke tumhe bula kar laye." Usha spoke as she pushed another spoonful of rice into his mouth. "Tumhare leye mein ne fruits kaat kar rakhein hain. Rukoo mein lati hoon!"
She gave him a pearly smile with a teasing eyebrow look to which Ishaan interjected, "App chachu ko aise kyun dekh rahi haain?"
"Mein dekh rahi hoon ke Chachu ke kitne laad ho rahe thee!" she replied Ishaan, pulling his cheeks.
"Abb har koi tere tarha nakre wala tou hota hai nahi ke har waqt choti choti batoon pe gussa ho jaye." he replied dejected but before he could continue his mother had walked in. "Kaun choti choti batoon pe gussa ho jata hai?"
"Chachu chachi se gussa hai Dado!" Ishaan replied
"Kyun?" she questioned putting forth the bowl of fruits in front of Twinkle and blessing her by putting her hand on her head.
"Kyun Kunj? Itni pyaari bahu se tu gussa kyun ho gaya? Abhi abhi tou tum loog aye ho!"
"Kuch nahi Maa. Gussa nahi hoon. Ishu toh aise hi bol raha hai." He replied getting up. "Mein thori deer sone ja raha hoon Maa. Kaafi bura sar daard ho raha hai!"
Twinkle looked up at him, the smile on her face creasing into a thin line realizing that maybe he was not happy with her. She was confused as to why should he be angry with her when nothing serious hasn't even happened. She watched him walk out of the room and brushed away the conflicting thoughts coming into her mind by distracting herself by engaging with the little boy sitting opposite her.
She walked upstairs to the room to find Kunj asleep in middle of the bed. She looked outside at the scorching English heat and thanked the lord for the Air Conditioners. She walked around the room aimlessly here and there before kneeling by the bed and taking out the box of his old photographs but instead of the one that Kunj had taken out earlier, this box encompassed of small trinkets and about ten different photographs with only one of the girl she could recognize from before.
"Sab mujhe modern modern kehte hain par in sahab ke harkatein tou lagta ha kisi ko nazar nahi aain." she flipped through the photos to spot a boy of about fifteen years old, holding hands with a brunette haired girl and grey eyes. A couple of photos encompassed with a girl who appeared half indian and his arm was encircled around her waist while both were smiling at the camera. It appeared as if it was from a School Dance. The rest of the photos were of Alisha who appeared visibly more happy with Kunj in the photographs he had stored then she ever did when she saw her with him.
The photos seemed to encompass over more then three years which was a shocking revelation to her as Kunj had carefully skipped over that aspect while enlightening her with his pst relationships. She felt anger fill inside her and pushed the box shut and starred at his sleepy face.
"Waise kitna shareef lagta hai par asal mein kya hai, mujhe sab pata hai!" she huffed and sat up besides him.
"Twinkle." he muttered sleepily, throwing his arms over her and buried his face into her waist making her melt almost immediately.
"Kunj, tum sach mein sou rahe ho?" she probed him by poking his shoulder after two minutes to which he let out an affirming grunt.
"Kunj." she poked him again. "Kunj!!"
"Kyaa??" he whined.
"Tumahre room mein mujh se pehle koi larki ai hai? I mean iss room mein?"
"Nahi na Twinkle. Papa pakar lete." he cuddled into her further before waking up and looking at her with groggy eyes. "Tou aise bheeke bheeke batain kyun kar rahi hai? Sou ja yaar." She stared at him until pulling herself down and resting next to him.
She breathed in heavily and let her eyes wander around. For some reason she truly and perfectly felt to be finally right in middle of her husband's life. There journey towards each other had been so dramatic and unconventional that at times during the past week she feared that Kunj would slip away from her. The posters on the wall, the tilted frame of his class photos and and the dusty shelves of books took her into there own world and the way he rested on her shoulder left her in awe of how finally her life was breathing the perfect moments she never thought she would be worthy of deserving.
She slipped her hand over his arm and let the sleep and weariness of past drown her out and relieve her of the burden of a pestering future. All was Well.
[NOCOPY][MEMBERSONLY]
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